Another Adventure, Part 6

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Zemanta Related Posts ThumbnailSo we are now in late December 2011 and I am going through the box of records that was delivered to my apartment in New York City and I am recording my discovery in real time for posterity. Here goes:

Let’s keep digging.
Another beauty. Donald Byrd, Byrd in Flight, Blue Note 4048. This is another one I’ve never owned, certainly never an original pressing which .  .  . this is! Sweet again. I just did a post on this record on Jazz Collector, just a week ago. A copy in near mint condition sold for more than $1,700 on eBay. This one is also in near mint condition, at least it is for the record. The cover is at least VG++, perhaps even M-. Perhaps this won’t top the market, but it’s got to be worth at least $1,200 in today’s market. Will I sell it? Will I sell the Griffin? Not a fucking chance. I’ve been waiting more than 40 years to get original copies of these records for my collection. And now .  .  .  finally. They are mine.
There’s more.
Let’s keep digging.
A bunch of Blue Notes all in a row: Read more

Another Adventure, Part 5

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Garner copyWell, yes. Yes, I would be interested in the records at around the price that we had discussed nearly two months earlier. Now, recall, I had still never seen the records. They were in Toronto and I was in New York. The guy selling them admittedly didn’t know much about them, other than what he had gleaned from the Jazz Collector Web site and the Fred Cohen Blue Note book. He also told me that many of the records were from England and South Africa, which meant that it was still possible they were not original pressings. If it wasn’t a big investment for me, I wouldn’t have cared that much. But we were talking about a hefty hunk of change, a few thousand dollars, for essentially 25 or so records. This was definitely a risk on my part. So I made a suggestion: I would send him one third of the total price and he would send me 25 records, of which there would be at least 10 of the Blue Notes. If the records were as he said—original pressings, nice condition—I would then send him the rest of the money and he would send me the rest of the records. There were some more negotiations. Again, I won’t bore you with the details. Eventually we struck at deal. I took a deep breath, wrote out a check, put in the mail and waited.

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Another Adventure, Part 4

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Byrd in FlightWhat’s the saying: A little knowledge is a dangerous thing? Unfortunately, I was the inadvertent cause of my own undoing, at least temporarily. By publishing a price guide on Jazz Collector with very specific details on pressings and condition, I was able to provide enough knowledge for my new friend in Toronto to be a little bit dangerous, at least dangerous to the prospect of my ever getting my hands on his records. I will spare you all the grim details, but we went through several weeks of negotiations and couldn’t agree on a price. I still hadn’t seen the records, but I had pulled enough information that I had a good sense that most of the Blue Notes—but not all of them—were original pressings, including Cool Struttin’ and Byrd in Flight, among others. And I was promised that the records and covers were in excellent condition.

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Another Adventure, Part 3

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Lou takes off copyThere were several things that struck me about the latest note from my new friend in Toronto, the one with the 25 Blue Notes he was looking to sell among a batch of other jazz records. One was that he had taken the time to do the research and come up with some potential values for the records. Two was that he had taken the time to catalogue them and even listen to a few. And three was that he was asking if I knew a Jazz Collector who might be interested in the collection. I liked that he capitalized Jazz Collector, because that would be me and not just any jazz collector, and he said that his dad would have loved for these records to go to a real collector who would appreciate them. I took all of this as an indication that, all things considered, he would like to sell the records to me.

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Another Adventure, Part 2

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cool struttin'Toronto. That’s where the records were located. In Canada.
So a few thoughts went through my head. First, how long does it take to drive to Toronto from New York City? From my recollection, it was about 10 hours. I checked on Google. Only eight hours. Not bad, but not great. Then, what’s it like crossing the border hauling hundreds of records. Granted, this was only 200 records, but what would happen? Would I be stopped? Would I have to pay some kind of tax? Would the border guard be a closet jazz collector anxious to confiscate my one and only treasured copy of Cool Struttin’?
The idea of Toronto didn’t thrill me, but I wasn’t at the stage yet where I had to worry about that. I still hardly knew anything about the records. That issue was cleared up just a week later in the next e-mail. The owner had taken my advice and purchased Fred Cohen’s Blue Note book. He had taken the time to go over each of the records and provide me with a full list. He had gone through the Jazz Collector Price Guide to come to an approximate value for each record.

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We’re Back: Another Adventure in Jazz Collecting

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Griffin copySo yesterday I was in my apartment in New York and I had 45 minutes to kill and I decided to put on a classic Blue Note record I hadn’t listened to in a while, if ever. I went through the collection and stopped at Johnny Griffin, A Blowing Session, Blue Note 1559, and I put the record on the turntable and it is quite an interesting record, with early Coltrane and lots of up-tempo material, particularly The Way You Look Tonight. And one other interesting thing is the presence of Art Blakey in the rhythm section, who has an ability to make every session sound like one of his own, with that perpetually driving beat and heavy accents. And I’m listening to the record, and I’m looking at the cover, and I’m reading the liner notes and I’m thinking to myself: Where and when did I get this record? And therein lies a story.

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A Trifecta of Rare Jazz Vinyl

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Flanagan copyBack on eBay after an extended absence, for which I apologize once again. Took a quick check of some listings and found this: Tommy Flanagan Overseas, Prestige 7134. This looks to be an original New York pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding ends tomorrow and it is already more than $1,000, perhaps on its way to the $2,000 bin. Interesting thought about this record: Did Prestige ever issue this on the yellow New Jersey label? I don’t recall ever seeing one or hearing about one. I guess it’s possible they just issued it once in the original format, which is what makes it so rare and so treasured by collectors.

Our friend Serge in Canada has several nice records on eBay now, including Jutta Hipp at the Hickory House, Blue Note 1515. This looks to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing in VG++ to M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The bidding is in the $450 range, but it hasn’t yet reached the seller’s reserve price.

My goodness, look what happened to this one:

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How About A Sealed Mobley?

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Untitled copyA few more jazz vinyl pieces from the Jazz Collector eBay watch list.

Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. This looks to be an original West 63rd Street pressing, listed in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The auction closes in two days and the bidding is close to $700. Given the current market it would be a real shocker if this doesn’t sell for more than $1,000.

Here’s one with similar personnel from the same era: Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Jazz Message #2, Savoy 12092. This is a sealed copy and this is the seller’s story: He recently purchased a bunch of sealed Savoys and opened one, which was an original red-label pressing. He’s not opening the others, because he is assuming that they are all original pressings. He is saying that he “guarantees” that the rest are original pressings. As a potential buyer, which I am not, I’d be

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Another Blue Note Tuesday

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Walter Davis Jr.I spent some time on eBay the other day and wound up putting a bunch of Blue Notes into my watch list, starting with Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This looks to be an original West 63rd Street pressing in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The auction closes later today and the bidding is already more than $1,000.

Walter Davis Jr., Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. This looks to be an original pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The auction closes later today and so far there are no bidders at a start price of about $750. I would expect this one to sell, wouldn’t you?

This seller has a lot of nice items on eBay this week, including Art Blakey, A Night at Birdland Volume 2, Blue Note 1522. This looks to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The start price is $350 with no bidders so far. There is also a buy-it-now price of $700.

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