A Promo By Any Other Name

Carriage Trade copySo now that I’ve been writing about promo copies for the past few days, it seems that every other item I’m watching on eBay is a promo copy.  Just works out that way sometimes.

Barbara Lea with the Johnny Windhurst Quartet, Prestige 7065. This is an original New York yellow label pressing with a “Not for Sale” stamp on the back. I’ve never actually owned or even heard this record and I have no idea who Johnny Windhurst was, but it is, of course, a record I would love to have, it being an original Prestige and all. This copy is in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover and it looks quite nice overall. The start price is in the $300 range and that is already too steep for me.

George Wallington, Jazz For the Carriage Trade, Prestige 7032. This is also an original New York yellow label pressing with a “Not for Sale” stamp on the back as well as on the labels. The record is in M- condition and the cover seems to be VG++. The start price is in the $500 and there are no bidders with four days left in the auction. Perhaps I am wrong

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Two for The $1,000 Bin; More Promos

Eric Dolphy copyToday we have a couple of updates for the $1,000 jazz vinyl bin and a bit more on promos, including the WLPs (white label promos) that are apparently a common term that is new to me after 45 years of collecting. First, for the $1,000 bin there is Eric Dolphy In Europe, Debut 136. This is the original Danish pressing and the record and cover both looked to be in M- condition. The record sold for $1,026.

This one is left over from New Year’s, but CeeDee had sent it to me and I had forgotten to post it: Hank Mobley, Soul Station, Blue Note 4031. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing listed in Ex condition, which sounds like VG++ based on the grading system we use here at Jazz Collector. It sold for $1,605. I happened to be perusing my collection late last night and came upon this record and almost forgotten that I had it: Almost, but not quite. I’ve only had it for a little more than a year, since the Baltimore score of a lifetime. I think I will listen to it later today.

Back on the promo front there was this:

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Are We Seeing a Shift in Value of Jazz Promo LPs?

Donald Byrd copyWhat’s going on with promo jazz records? I was just perusing eBay and came upon this number closing later today: Donald Byrd and Gigi Gryce, Modern Jazz Perspective, Columbia 1058. This is a mono pressing with the six-eye white promo label. It is listed in M- condition for the record and the cover and it certainly looks nice. But the condition doesn’t explain the bidding, which is now more than $200. I’ve seen this record so often for $20-$30 even in nice condition, it’s hard to rationalize such a high price for a promo copy, but perhaps things are changing and, for whatever reason, these white promo Columbias are suddenly in greater demand. We’ve certainly seen a big price increase over the years for promo copies of Kind of Blue and Dave Brubeck’s Time Out. Maybe this is just an extension of the interest? The seller must have run into a collection owned by a former Columbia employee, at least that’s what he suggests, because he has many of these white label Columbia pressings on eBay this week. There are Read more

Of Autographs, Promo Copies and More

Phil copySo this is what we’ll be watching on eBay this weekend as we brave the chills of the lovely Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts, starting with Phil Woods, Warm Woods, Epic 3436. This is an original pressing with the yellow label. The record and the cover are both listed in VG+ condition and the front cover has a nice clear autograph by Phil, apparently signed in 2000 at the Blue Note in New York City. Not a bad idea to get an autograph on one of these vintage records, if you like that sort of thing, as I recently did with my Herbie Hancock Blue Notes. This one is in the $80 range with one day to go and there is only one bidder so far. We’ve seen this record sell for more than $400 without an autograph (but in M- condition) in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so we’re curious to see what this goes for. For some collectors the autograph on the cover is a turn-off, which has always baffled me.

This one may be closed by the time many of you read this:

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Missing Out on a Pair of Beauties

Phil Woods copyOur new friend Mr. Nobbyknucks had quite a week for himself, so, now that you are officially a commenter here at Jazz Collector, congratulations. Still, there were records on the list that I thought would go for more and, in retrospect, would have been worth a bid if I were so inclined. Specifically, these caught my eye:

Phil Woods, Woodlore, Prestige 7018. This was an original pressing with the yellow label and New York address. It was listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG for the cover. It sold for $351, which is a nice price, considering the cover. But my sense is that the cover was pretty nice and that the VG grade was super conservative. If you look at the pictures and description, I’d have no problem having that record in my collection, even for $352.

This one also would have filled a nice gap in the collection:

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Insanity Check

Monk2 copyHaving taken note of what I considered to be the pretty high price on that stereo copy of Giant Steps, and having taken note that it was a listing by the seller bobdjukic, I wandered over to eBay to look at some of the other completed listings of his recent auctions because I am always impressed and somewhat taken aback by the prices he is able to get on most of his jazz vinyl listings. And, while there wasn’t that much jazz in these latest auctions, the prices continue to rise to the occasion, so to speak. Here are a few examples:

Thelonious Monk, Monk’s Dream, Columbia 1965. This is a two-eye pressing that is listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG++ for the cover, although upon close examination of the pictures of the cover it would seem more like a VG+ on my grading system. This one was only listed as “very rare,” but it sold for $127.50, which is significantly more than we typically see for this album.

Duke Ellington at Newport, Columbia 934. This is an original six-eye mono pressing that is in shrink wrap, although, to be fair, they were not actually shrink wrapping records when this came out in 1957.

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A Jazz Master Class

Gary BartzSo last night I had a blast seeing some great live jazz. This is the story:

I was planning to go to dinner and a movie with The Lovely Mrs. JC when I sat down at the kitchen table at about 4:30 p.m. to do The New York Times crossword, which is always a challenge on Friday. I was able to get it done fairly quickly and decided to swing over to the listings to double check on the time of the movie. While there, I figured I would look and see what was doing on the jazz scene, not that I go to live jazz so frequently these days. I usually tell people I don’t go as often because most of the artists I would prefer to see are dead, but that is probably just a lame excuse for the reality that I am still working hard, still getting older and don’t stay out as late as I used to in my halcyon years. Still, there is some unfortunate truth to my rationale in that I much prefer seeing and listening to the artists and music that we write about here at Jazz Collector.  And there are, unfortunately, very few of them left to actually see.

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Tracking Some Later Blue Note Originals

Blue copyHere’s some more jazz vinyl we were watching on eBay:

Dexter Gordon, One Flight Up, Blue Note 4176. This was an original mono pressing, still in its original shrink wrap. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. It sold for $255. This was among a bunch of later original Blue Notes I was watching from the same era. Others included Blue Mitchell, The Thing To Do, Blue Note 4178. This also looked to be an original mono pressing and was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $280. Also: Wayne Shorter, JuJu, Blue Note 4182. This was also an original mono pressing and was listed in M- condition for the record and VG for the cover, with water damage and tape repairs. Nonetheless, it sold for $265. Here’s another one that seems destined to sell in the same range as these, perhaps even higher:

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A Wailin’ Session (And More)

Art Taylor copyI was piling a bunch of very nice records into my Watch List folder and noticed that many were from the same seller, including Art Taylor, Taylor’s Wailers, Prestige 7117. This is an original New York yellow label pressing that looks to be in at least VG++ condition for both the record and the cover, and perhaps even better. The auction closes in three days and the bidding is close to $500. Interesting coincidence: Just a couple of days before noticing this listing I put this record on the turntable and gave it a close listen. I don’t think I’d ever listened to it and I was expecting one of those Prestige jam sessions. It’s not. It’s a well arranged, carefully conceived album with tremendous playing all around. The main group has Donald Byrd, Charlie Rouse, Jackie McLean, Ray Bryant and Wendell Marshall, in addition to AT. I have no idea why Prestige threw in another track by a separate group with John Coltrane, Red Garland and Paul Chambers, but of course it’s wonderful that they did. Coltrane is in nice form, but it’s the rest of the album that is also quite impressive. I highly recommend giving it a listen for those of you lucky enough to own a copy.

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A Boxed Set, An Autographed LP, a Mega-Rarity

Stan Getz copyDon’t see a lot of Stan Getz records in the higher price ranges, and we’re seeing fewer Norgrans in there as well, so I have my eye on this one: Stan Getz at the Shrine, Norgran 2000. This is a boxed set with two LPs and a beautiful booklet and all of it looks to be in M- condition and original, with the yellow labels on the vinyl. The bidding is in the $240 range and there are more than three days left on the auction.

Here’s another one you’re not going to see too often: An autographed copy of Bill Evans, Portrait in Jazz, Riverside 315. The Bill Evans signature is on the back cover and it is dated from 1974. The record is an original pressing with the deep grooves and blue label and it seems to be in about VG++ condition for the vinyl and VG+ for the record. The auction closes tomorrow and the bidding is in the $150 range with 13 bids and what looks to be eight different bidders. Wouldn’t mind this one myself. Hmm — birthday is coming up.

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