Jazz Vinyl Listings That Raise Questions

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jaspar maybe copyHere’s one I’ve never seen before: Bobby Jaspar All Stars Band, Modern Jazz at Club Saint Germain, Barclay 84023. This looks to be an original French pressing that was apparently owned by Bobby Jaspar who, unfortunately seemed not to take such great care of it. The cover looks pretty beat up, I’d say VG-, but the seller lists the cover as VG+ and also lists the record as VG+, so you’d have to be a little skeptical, I guess. The start price is $300 and so far there are no bidders. I imagine the record is quite rare, in that I’ve never seen in in 40-plus years of scouring record shelves all over the U.S. and other parts of the world.

Someone please explain this one to me: Clifford Brown Memorial Album, Blue Note 1526. This is a New York USA pressing, with a West 61st Street address on the cover. In other words, nothing about this record is close to an original first pressing and, at best, the vinyl was issued, when, in the early 1960s? Not to mention the vinyl is in VG condition. The cover is VG+. Somehow, there have been four bids on this record and the price is close to $200. Explanations please?

Our friends at Euclid Records seem to have made a nice discovery/score:

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A Mingus, A Rouse & Some Blue Note Questions

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Mingus jazz vinylHere are a few more from the pre-updated Jazz Collector watch list from the past week, starting with Charles Mingus, Mingus Ah Um, Columbia 1370. This is an original mono pressing with the white promo label. The record and cover both looked to be in M- condition. We’ve been seeing promo Columbia pressings selling for a decent amount of money, particularly Miles Davis Kind of Blue. The seller was apparently hoping for more of the same and may have been disappointed. This one garnered a top bid of $110.50 but it did not meet the seller’s reserve. Very credible, reputable and experienced seller, I might add.

Charlie Rouse, Bossa Nova Bacchanal, Blue Note 4119. This looked to be an original pressing with the New York USA label and the Van Gelder and ears. It looked to be in about VG+ condition for the record, and maybe VG++ condition for the cover, although the pictures looked more like VG+ to me. The record sold for $194.41. The listing also triggered a couple of questions, for which I don’t have the answers at my immediate disposal. To my  Read more

Some Sell, Some Don’t, One Gets Quite A Price

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Kenny Dorham Jazz VinylMany ages ago, when I last posted on Jazz Collector, there were many items I was watching on eBay that have subsequently sold. Or not. Here are some of them:

Kenny Dorham and the Jazz Prophets Volume 1, ABC Paramount 122. This was an original pressing listed in VG++ condition for the record and M- for the cover. It sold for $510. One of the things I’ve always liked about this record is the “Volume 1.” Obviously, somebody thought there was going to be a Volume 2, but it never materialized. Wonder if anyone here knows what happened to Volume 2? I searched for this record for years. About 20 years ago I passed up a very nice copy at the Jazz Record Center, which Fred Cohen very generously agreed to sell to me for $100. I have no idea why I didn’t buy it, but I didn’t. I finally acquired a copy last year in that lovely Baltimore collection. Still haven’t listed to it, though. Getting a turntable upgrade in New York this week. Maybe now’s the time.

This one had a starting price of about $1,500 and, not surprisingly (to me, at least), did not attract any bidders:

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Once Again, The Familiar Allure of Rare Jazz Vinyl

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Cliff Jordan Jazz VinylNo I know I am truly back from vacation. Got up early this morning and went right to eBay to look for rare jazz records. Here are a few that I found, starting with: Cliff Jordan, Cliff Craft, Blue Note 1582. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing with the deep grooves, ear, etc. The record is listed in VG++ condition and the cover is VG+. I still don’t have an original pressing of this LP. This one is now in the $300 range with more than four days to go. It will surely sell for a price outside of my comfort zone, so I’ll keep looking.

Hank Mobley, Hank Mobley Sextet, Blue Note 1560. This is also an original deep-groove West 63rd Street pressing. The record is listed in VG++ condition and the cover is VG+. This one closes today and the price is in the $500 range.

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Sonny Rollins and The New Yorker: YIKES!

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I’m back from vacation and what am I greeted with — a real-life and genuine, if fully trumped up, jazz controversy. I am referring to the fervor being generated over a column several days ago in The New Yorker titled: Sonny Rollins: In His Own Words. The article appeared in the “Shouts & Murmurs” section, which is a longtime humor column in The New Yorker. In the article a writer under the pseudonym Django Gold attributes a number of ridiculous statements to Sonny. Samples: “The saxophone sounds horrible. Like a scared pig.” And: “Jazz may be the stupidest thing anyone ever came up with.”

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Catching Up on A Couple of Jazz Vinyl Rarities

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Sonny Rollins Plays Jazz VinylHey, everyone. Checking in from vacation. Just spent three lovely days in Creede, Colorado, and I’m now in sunny San Diego, where, apparently, there is an excellent record store I should be checking out. And perhaps I will. In the meanwhile, I’m sneaking in some time to take a look at my eBay watch list and see what I’ve been missing. BTW, I am not here for the Comic-Con convention. One crazy obsession is enough for one lifetime.

Sonny Rollins Plays, Period 1204. This was an original  deep-groove pressing listed in M- condition for the record and the cover, although the cover seemed slightly less to me. I’d love to own this record someday. Hard to imagine that it’s eluded me for more than 40 years, but that’s part of the joy of collecting, isn’t it: To always have something to look forward to. This one sold for $1,136.11.

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DG or Not DG; That Is The Question

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Burrell and Coltrane Jazz VinylFound a little time this morning to peruse eBay and these are some of the items I noticed, starting with Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane, New Jazz 8276. This is listed as an original purple label pressing, but I’m not so sure. I zoomed in on those labels and they didn’t look to me like they had deep grooves. One of our regular readers asked me about this record the other day, so here it is if you want to take a chance. I’d be a little careful. The record is probably VG++ and the cover either VG+ or VG++. The start price is in the $150 range and so far there are no bidders. Perhaps I’m not the only one looking for deep grooves. One other question: To those of you who own this record and organize their records alphabetically, where do you put this one: Under Burrell or Coltrane? I used to keep it under Coltrane, but it would get lost among all of the other Prestiges, so now I keep it under Burrell and I actually notice it. Lovely record too.

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Ruminations on Trane and Dizzy

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Coltrane JAzzThere’s a new auction from the Jazz Record Center on eBay. I like to watch their auctions, not just because of their sterling reputation as sellers, but also because I often learn something new, or at least recall something I’ve forgotten. For example, John Coltrane, Coltrane Jazz, Atlantic 1354. I have a hard time keeping track of the Atlantic original pressings once they stopped with the black labels, and this is a nice reminder that the original pressing of this record has the red and purple labels. This is the mono pressing, which is always nice to have, although in the case of this record, I typically prefer the stereo pressing. In any case, this one is in M- condition for the record and the cover and has a start price of $75 with no bidders, so far. I’m getting some new equipment this week. I’m thinking about the first record to play and this would be on the list if I had a stereo copy, but I don’t so I’m taking if off the list. Right now I’m thinking perhaps Way Out West or Sonny Rollins Plus Four or perhaps Blue Train.

This one I find really interesting:

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Who Picked the Sidemen?

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A couple of items from the Jazz Collector mailbox.

One of our readers and regular commenters, Japhy, send a note with the following question:

“Sidemen — who picked em?

“Something I’ve long wondered is — if an artist without a regular working band came in to can an album, how were the sidemen chose? At Blue Note, for example, did Alfred and Frank assemble the players, or would a guy with some pull like Dexter Gordon say, “Hey this is who I want to play with?” Could a name artist veto a sideman? Maybe the leader would come in with a couple of guys and then Lion would fill in the holes? It’s pretty clear that a lot of artists tended to record together, but overall it’s just something I’ve always wondered about.”

Readers?

Another reader sent me this article:

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A Pair of Blue Note Originals. Or Not?

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Burrell 2 copyHere’s an interesting item now on eBay: Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights Volume 2, Blue Note 1597.  The seller, who obviously knows his stuff, describes this as a “rare original US press.” I guess that’s true in the sense that the record was originally pressed in the United States, although that doesn’t necessarily make it a first pressing. This one has the West 63rd Street address, but no deep grooves. There is also no mention of the Plastylite ears. I guess, what is original is in the eye of the beholder or, in this case, the bidder, of which there is one at about $200. In my vernacular I would not call this an original. From what I can see, the cover looks like it might be an original mono cover, although someone out there might know of some aspect that might change that view. In any case, potential bidders may be only interested in the cover anyway, since it is by Andy Warhol and it is presumably in much better shape than the vinyl, which is only in VG- condition.

I am tending to think this one is also not an original original:

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