In a Mellow Mood

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HodgesThe other night I was sitting in the living room with The Lovely Mrs. JC and we she was reading and I wanted to put on some music. I asked what she would like and she asked for something mellow. I said I could do that. So I went up to the shelves and stared for a while, you know, how you just stare at an open refrigerator waiting for inspiration. For “mellow” my go-to choices would typically be Bill Evans or Coltrane Ballads or perhaps a Chet Baker, since The Lovely Mrs. JC is a fan of all of the above. But I wanted something different and I somehow settled on a Johnny Hodges record, In a Mellow Tone, Norgran 1092. Normally, Hodges is not someone that I would put on the turntable, but she asked for mellow and mellow was actually in the title of this record and it had always been one of my favorite Hodges LPs. Listening to it was quite a revelation. The music is of a pre-bop vintage, but it is actually quite timeless and absolutely beautiful. If you have it, put it on, and perhaps pour yourself a glass of wine and enjoy. From there, I wanted to move to something a little bit more modern and I chose

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Searching for Bargains and Deep Grooves

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Informal Jazz copyInformal JazzHere are a few more rare jazz records worth watching on eBay, starting with Elmo Hope, Informal Jazz, Prestige 7043. This looks to be an original New York yellow label pressing listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. This one just came onto eBay and has a start price of $380. It also has a “but-it-now” price of $700. I have a feeling, once people start reading this article, someone just might swoop in and buy it. The $700 price tag actually seems pretty reasonable for this very rare LP. I, fortunately, have my own copy now, courtesy of the family of Bruce W. West in Baltimore. Also from Prestige: Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This is an original deep-groove purple label pressing listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. There are five days left on the auction and the bidding is in the $565 range, on its way up into somewhere in the $1,500 to $3,000 range for its final price.

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Tracking Jazz Vinyl To The Ends of The Earth . . . . . . (And Perhaps Beyond)

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Frank Foster Jazz VinylBack in action again. Working out of my apartment this week in Manhattan. There’s a construction project next door, so I’m sitting here with headphones to block out the noise. Right now it’s Bill Evans “I Loves You Porgy.” There are worse ways to work. Now, on to eBay, starting with Here Comes Frank Foster, Blue Note 5043. This is an original 10-inch pressing with the Lexington label. The seller misspells the name as “Forster.” Can’t imagine that would affect searches, but you never know. This one is listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The starting price is about $300 and so far there are no bidders with more than three days left. I imagine, in this condition, this record will get some decent action. I have seen Japanese reissues of this record, but was it ever issued on Blue Note in the U.S. on a 12-inch LP? Same with the Dizzy Gillespie Blue Note, Horn of Plenty. I don’t recall seeing that on a 12-inch LP. Any other Blue Notes in a similar category? I can’t think of any off the top of my head, although I’m sure there are more.

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Guest Column: Adventures in Jazz Collecting, Atlanta Variety

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Jazz Collection AtlantaBy Dave S.

“Honey, how much money do we have in our bank account? I want to buy some jazz records.” That was what I asked my wife, the darling Mrs. JC-A, two weeks ago.

There was a rumor circulating around town that there was a pretty nice collection of records up for sale by a private seller. Seems he had spoken to all the record stores in the area. A few of them had been out to his house to inspect the collection, but no one was willing to either commit to what he was looking to get for the records or had turned him off. Imagine that. A record store employee with an attitude. A friend of a friend who worked at a local record store finally squeezed a phone number for the seller out of his boss at the store, when they also decided to pass. Over a thousand records in the collection, but no way for a record store to quickly get in and out of the transaction was the explanation. Atlanta is a mediocre jazz record town, with rock and southern blues (think the Allman Brothers) being the local taste. People like you and me are certainly the exception.

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High Priced Vinyl? ‘Tis in the Eye of the Beholder

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Tommy Flanagan Jazz VinylJust checked my eBay watch list and came right up with a pair of high-priced items that we had mentioned here before, starting with Tommy Flanagan Overseas, Prestige 7134. This was an original deep groove New York yellow label listed in M- condition for the record and Ex for the cover. When we first saw this record, the bidding was more than $1,000 and it hadn’t reached its reserve price. The record eventually surpassed the reserve price and beyond, selling for $3,938.

This one sold for more than $2,000 but, frankly, I thought it would sell for more, given it’s rarity: Kenny Dorham, Harlem Youth Unlimited, Jazz at P.S. 175. This was an original pressing listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. I asked in the previous post: Is this the rarest of them all? No one seemed to say no, so I’m assuming perhaps it is. It did not get the highest price of them all, although the price was quite high, $2,225, in fact. I would LOVE a copy of this record, but not at $2,225, thank you.

Let’s check out the e-mail bag:

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Jazz Auctions on a Summery Day (in November)

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Anos-l1600ther unseasonably warm day in New York – which, at least for me, makes it harder to stay inside after work with a nice whiskey and a stack of jazz records – but I suppose that is the direction we’re headed at this latitude. Meanwhile, here are a few of the things I’ve been watching on eBay (and in keeping with the ‘oddball’ directive):

First up, from our friend bullsite2000 in Italy, is this copy of Illumination! from the Elvin Jones-Jimmy Garrison Sextet. This was an original Impulse! mono pressing from 1963 and was listed as M- for both the record and the cover. It’s a really nice, albeit brief session with Prince Lasha, Sonny Simmons and Charles Davis on reeds and McCoy Tyner on piano. The feel is much more like a Lasha-Simmons date than the music that Jones and Garrison would record later for Impulse! and Blue Note. I picked up a copy about 20 years ago in similar condition for about $5. That’s far less than the whopping $228 it went for here; though we’ve noted the steady climb of Coltrane and Oliver Nelson Impulse! albums, it’s a little uncharacteristic to see these obscure, perhaps also-ran LPs reach similar heights.

The same seller also had a nice-looking example of Booker Ervin’s lone date as a leader for Savoy, Cookin’, which is an album I’ve never owned (though I would like to). I do have his co-leader LP with Bill Barron, The Hot Line, though it’s been a while since it’s been on deck. We’ve certainly seen original pressings of Ervin’s records on Bethlehem and Prestige do some wallet damage before, and the Savoy is seemingly rarer than any of those albums. While I like Ervin, I understand others’ criticism that his albums are relatively interchangeable – nevertheless, that didn’t stop someone from forking over nearly $500 for a copy that was probably VG++ for the record and M- for the cover.

From France, a seller was offering what appeared to be a pristine copy of one of my favorite records, pianist François Tusques’ first session as a leader, titled Free Jazz, on the small label Disques Mouloudji. It’s an excellent and actually rather tightly-arranged 1965 sextet featuring a fine crop of French modern jazz musicians. I thought about getting into the fray just to get a copy with the booklet (that brochure is impressive!), but the price was a little out of my range. From what I understand, only a few came with the brochure, which might’ve been a promotional addition. It ended up selling for $661 and I’m sure the buyer will be happy.

The same seller also had a nice-looking copy of Boston saxophonist Abdul-Hannan’s only recording, titled Awareness and privately released on his imprint The Third World. It’s the first appearance on disc of tenor saxophonist David S. Ware and was recorded in 1968 (with one track from ’71). It’s an interesting, albeit very low fidelity, album and one I’m happy to have in my collection. The record and hand-assembled cover were both probably in VG++ condition, and it sold for a respectable $386. These private-press jazz albums from the ’70s are pretty hard to find, and compared to the stratospheric prices on jazz records from a decade or so earlier, almost seem reasonable.

In any event, happy bidding and happier listening!

Some Jazz Records That are in the $3,000 Value Range; And Some That Aren’t Close

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Doug Watkins Jazz VinylHere are a variety of jazz records from my eBay watch list, as I still get back into the swing of things following my trip to Italy and subsequent return to reality. Let’s start with Doug Watkins at Large, Transition 20. This was an original pressing that looked to be in absolutely pristine condition, including the record, cover and booklet. Even the labels seemed to be intact. Potential bidders probably assumed, and probably correctly, that this may be the cleanest version of this record to come on the market some 60 years after its original release. So it sold for a whopping $3,161.

While I’m looking at whopping prices, here’s another: Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. This was an original pressing with the deep grooves, ears, West 63rd address, etc. It was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $2,750.

And then there are some records that don’t sell at all, or sell for relatively low prices. To wit:

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Is This The Rarest of Them All?

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Kenny Dorham Rare Jazz VinylBuongiorno! Back from Italy and a little bit worse for the wear. My flight home was delayed because a horse was acting up in cargo and they had to remove all of the luggage, then remove the horse and then reload all the luggage. Yes, that really happened. Then I got a nasty cold, but I’m starting to feel better and finally am able to look at eBay to see what’s going on. I want to thank Clifford Allen for filling in while I was away. Clifford, I really appreciate it and you did a great job — please feel free to continue posting at any time. I think it adds a lot of value to the site to have another perspective.

I did a search on eBay and found an extremely interesting record, which is: Kenny Dorham, Harlem Youth Unlimited, Jazz at PS 175. This is a live recording from 1964. I was told by a reputable dealer several years ago that this is possibly the rarest jazz record of them all. Has anyone else heard that? I’ve been looking for a copy for more than 30 years — ever since I learned about it — and have never seen one. In fact, this is the first one I’ve ever seen even on eBay. I will be very curious to see what this record sells for, particularly now that I have called attention to it. This one is in VG++ condition for the record and the cover. The start price is about $900 and there are nine days to go on the auction. I’m curious if anyone in our community owns this record and how it sounds.

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M’Boom, John Gordon and Other Rarities from Jazz Record Center

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s-l1600Greetings all – Al should be back posting soon as I think he’s nearly back from holiday, but it’s been fun writing up various eBay shenanigans while he’s been out. The Jazz Record Center had a number of interesting items up last week, mostly 70s jazz on the Strata-East label, and I actually completely let these records slip notice until they were done for. A few titles in the list I might’ve gone toe-to-toe on but likely would’ve been taken to the cleaners anyway, starting with this one:

M’Boom – their self-titled debut, issued on Strata-East in 1973, went for a whopping $1,592. It’s probably the rarest Strata-East album by a long shot and certainly one of the scarcest in Roach’s discography. My memory is foggy on the details, but I believe that Roach decided he wanted the record pulled right after Strata-East released it and most copies were destroyed. Maybe he had a falling out with Tolliver and Cowell? A few leaked out, though, and it was bootlegged on CD in Japan several years ago (that’s what I’ve got). It’s probably their strongest album, and percussion ensembles are (for me) usually a pretty engaging listen. This one was M- for both record and cover.

Trombonist John Gordon’s Erotica Suite is another rare Strata-East title, though I don’t think I’ve ever seen it go for quite this much. Sealed and presumed Mint, this copy went for just shy of $1,000. It’s a nice, funky post-bop record with reedist James Spaulding, drummer Frank Derrick and trumpeter Waymon Reed. Gordon has another nice record on Strata-East that doesn’t usually go for nearly as much – in fact, it attracted no bids at the opening price of $75 and was also sealed.

Here’s a rare one – pianist Enrique Villegas’ trio featuring Paul Gonsalves and Willie Cook, titled Encuentro, on the Argentine label Trova (which also issued a nice record by pianist Alberto Favero called Suite Trane). Fred showed it to me in the shop at one point though I wasn’t feeling like spending $250 that day. Someone got lucky and was able to get it for $91 at auction. The record was listed as M- and the cover was probably a strong VG++. I like those later Gonsalves LPs and wouldn’t mind having this one in the collection at some point.

Until next time, happy bidding and happier listening…

Updating the $1,000 Bin, Near–$1,000 Bin, and Obscure Bins

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LSP10040Another week in the world of collecting jazz records, and the march of Blue Notes cresting or nearing the $1,000-bin continues. It never ceases to amaze me what people will pay for original pressings of modern jazz LPs, though as the ceiling gets (and stays) high, it’s easy to catch oneself saying something like ‘oh, that title only went for $800 – good deal!’

It was pointed out in another thread how much Herbie Hancock’s Maiden Voyage tends to go for these days. The Jazz Record Mart out in Colorado was able to get a whopping $1,500 recently for a mono first pressing in nice condition, which seemed like a fluke. Maybe it was, but the guys over at Atomic Records in Burbank got a cool $815 for a similar copy, which was graded at EX+ for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. Given my experience with their – and others’ – grading I’d translate that to a strong VG++ all around. It’s a wonderful record, but those mid-60s Blue Note sessions weren’t nearly as collectible a decade ago and it’s interesting to see them fetching so much coin. The smattering of original Blue Notes in my collection are all from the 1960s (or later), mostly purchased when that section of the catalog was more affordable, rather than the always-hot 1500 and early-4000 series.

Speaking of Atomic Records, this copy of Lee Morgan’s Candy cracked the $3,000 bin. It’s not the first time for such a feat, but certainly eye-popping when it happens. It’s a nice, swinging session with Art Taylor’s squeaky hi-hat keeping time, and certainly one of the more desirable early Blue Notes. Atomic grades this as an all around ‘EX’ with light marks; having asked them before about whether an ‘EX’ grade would have marks that click and being politely told I’d be better off staying away, I can’t imagine this record is much better than a VG+. At $3,000+ I hope the winning bidder is happy.

Atomic also has a copy of Tina Brooks’ True Blue – once seen as a Blue Note grail, it seems to pop up every now and then and still does hefty wallet damage. It’s a beautiful record and one I actually wouldn’t mind having in my collection in its original form (only have the Japanese King pressing). That said, it would be hard to get me to plunk down $2,000 for it and with a bit over one day to go, it’s already at $1,300 – although the reserve hasn’t been met. The record is graded EX (or VG+/VG++) and the cover is a nice-looking VG++.

And in the realm of my main interest, bullsite2000 had another interesting round of European jazz albums for sale, although none of them went particularly stratospheric. I was intrigued by this early Finnish LP from saxophonist Esa Pethman; it predates slightly the excellent Christian Schwindt LP, also on Finnish RCA, and is probably a bit more mainstream. Both albums feature early appearances by pianist Heikki Sarmanto, whom astute observers may recognize from a string of excellent semi-electric jazz LPs he recorded in the 1970s for Odeon, and this one also includes reedist Juhani Aaltonen, whose work took a much freer direction some years later. The Pethman LP was graded EX- for the record and VG++ for the very thin cover, which probably translates to an all-around strong VG+. I’d never seen it before and it is presumably quite rare. Perhaps getting it for just shy of $200 is a steal.

Happy Bidding and Happier Listening!

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