JRC Vinyl and a “Cheap” Colossus?

Johnny CJust wanted to follow up on some of the items from the Jazz Record Center auction of last week.

Ted Brown Sextet, Free Wheeling, Vanguard 8515. This was an original pressing in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The simple post surprisingly generated quite a bit of comment. Perhaps that attention pushed up the interest in the record? It wound up selling for $510.

Johnny Coles, Little Johnny C, Blue Note 4144. This was an original pressing in M- condition for the record and cover. When I did the post there were no bids at $100. The bidders eventually jumped in, pushing the price to $338. As one of the commenters suggested, perhaps that is a nice bargain for a great record.

This one was listed as a John Coltrane record, but in my collection it sits under “H” with Wilbur Harden as the leader: Mainstream 1958, Savoy 12127. This was an original red-label pressing in M- condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. It sold for $272. Probably a good idea to list it under Coltrane.

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An Early Prestige, A Few from KD

jonWow, that last post drew quite a compelling discussion. I have yet to listen to that Ted Brown record, but it is definitely on the agenda. In the meantime, there are many interesting records currently for sale on eBay, including:

Jon Eardley Seven with Zoot Sims, Prestige 7033. This is an original New York yellow label pressing. The record is in VG+ condition and the cover is VG++. The start price is in the $300 range and, with nearly three days left in the auction, there are no bidders yet. We would expect this one to sell, but you never know. It is Prestige and not Blue Note, after all.

Kenny Dorham and the Jazz Prophets, ABC Paramount 122. This looks to be an original deep groove pressing. It’s not simple to decipher the condition based on the seller’s description, but I would guess that the record is between VG+ and VG++ and the cover is probably about the same. The start price for this one is $300 and, with less than two days left, there are no bidders.

Speaking of Kenny Dorham:

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A Few From the Jazz Record Center

tedOur friends at the Jazz Record Center have an auction closing this week, so let’s take a look at some of their items, starting with: Ted Brown Sextet, Free Wheeling, Vanguard 8515. This is an original pressing that looks to be in M- condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. The bidding is in the $320 range with a little more than a day to do. This record features Warne Marsh and Art Pepper and, I must admit, is one I have never heard. That will be corrected today, however: When I bought the big collection last summer there was a reissue of this record and it has been sitting on my shelf ever since. Today it will make it’s way onto the turntable.

I can’t figure out why there are no bids yet for this one: Johnny Coles, Little Johnny C, Blue Note 4144. This is an original pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The start price is $100.

Here’s a nice Riverside:

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A Plethora of Jazz Vinyl Riches

PhilI mentioned all of these nice records on eBay last week that were making my eyes cross. Here are some of them:

Phil Woods and Gene Quill, Phil and Quill with Prestige, Prestige 7715. This is an original New York yellow label in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It closes in about 11 hours and is currently in the $225 range. Quite a beauty. This one is being offered by Atomic Records, which also sold this one: Clifford Brown and Lou Donaldson, New Faces, New Sounds, Blue Note 5030. This one was in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $228.05.

The seller of this record also had quite a large number of nice records: Jackie McLean, A Fickle Sonance, Blue Note 4098. This looked to be an original mono pressing listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $264. Also from this seller was: Horace Parlan, Speakin’ My Piece, Blue Note 4043. This looked to be an original deep groove West 63rd Street pressing in VG+ condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. It sold for $499.

This seller also has some real beauties, including:

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Oh Little Label of Bethlehem

mal waldronThere’s so much nice jazz vinyl on eBay now my eyes are crossed just looking. This is the first one that caught my eye: Mal Waldron, Left Alone, Bethlehem 6045. This was an original pressing in M- condition for the record and probably VG+ for the cover. It just sold moments ago for $999.99. It’s funny, because I woke up this morning thinking about doing a post on the Bethlehem label, similar to the ones I did last week on Riverside and New Jazz. Then I realized I am not familiar enough with the entire Bethlehem catalogue to make a really strong list. Not only do I not own this Mal record, I also don’t own the Roland Kirk Third Dimension record, nor the Booker Ervin Book Cooks record, nor the Charlie Mariano Sextet record, nor, as earlier noted, the Jimmy Knepper record with Bill Evans. I am certainly Bethlehem-deprived in my collection. Of the ones that I know and like, my favorites are:

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Sonny Rollins, Esquire (And More)

newkLet’s catch up on some more jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with: Saxophone Colossus, Sonny Rollins, Esquire 32-045. This was an original UK pressing listed in M- condition for the record and between VG++ and M- for the cover. It sold for $358. It seems that the prices for these original European pressings have been getting higher and higher in recent years. I imagine, for many collectors, these would represent second copies, along with the original U.S. versions? Or perhaps for newer collectors, this record at $358 is a lot more affordable than a U.S. original at $2,000? From a listening perspective, I don’t think there is a major difference between the U.S. and U.K. pressings and, as we’ve seen, some of our readers prefer the sound of the European pressings.

Lou Donaldson, Light-Foot, Blue Note 4053. This was an original deep groove, West 63rd Street pressing. The record was listed in VG++ to M- condition and the cover was a strong VG+. The price was $481.

From the same seller came:

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New Jazz, Prestige, Blue Note: Covering Some Bases

RoyLet’s take a break from label picking today and go back to watching some rare jazz vinyl on eBay.

Speaking of New Jazz, this one sold recently in eBay: Roy Haynes, Phineas Newborn and Paul Chambers, We Three, New Jazz 8210. This looked to be an original purple label pressing with the deep grooves. It was listed in VG condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The seller was very stingy with information and there was only one bid, which always makes me suspicious. The price was $299.99.

Maybe I should have bid. I was watching that copy of Jackie McLean, Jackie’s Pal, Prestige 7068. This one was in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover and looked quite nice. I figured it would sell for more thna $1,000. It didn’t. It sold for $535. Worth it? Just look at the cover.

I also had my eye on this one but, considering the condition, the price was too high:

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From Riverside to New Jazz

quiet kennyNow that we’ve gotten everyone engaged in thinking about their favorite Riverside records, let’s try a couple of other labels. I was thinking about doing Prestige next, but I realized that my entire list up to 10 records would probably be all Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane and Miles Davis. So instead of Prestige for today, how about we try New Jazz instead. As usual, I will go first. These are five personal favorites on New Jazz, not “the best.” Also, not including Prestige reissues. I see my list is very straight-ahead, if you know what I mean. Here goes:

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Celebrating Riverside Records

abbeySomebody recently sent me this great clip celebrating the 60th anniversary of Riverside Records. It features an interview with Riverside co-founder Orrin Keepnews, still quite articulate and interesting at 90 years old. I find it interesting that he considers Thelonious Monk to be the patron saint of the label, and that signing Monk was what gave the label credibility among other jazz artists. I’m a huge fan of Riverside, and so are most of the readers here at Jazz Collector, I’m sure. So this morning, laying in bed, I start putting together a list of my favorite Riverside albums. These are my personal favorites, not the ones I would call the “best” or the most influential. Just the ones that through the years I’ve listened to most often and enjoyed the most: Here goes:

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A Tale of Three Blue Notes

BennieI find my eyes, ears and eBay searches attracted to Blue Notes today, so that is what I shall write about.

I’m tempted to bid on this one, but I can’t figure out the condition: Bennie Green, Walkin’ and Talkin’, Blue Note 4010. This looks to have the West 63rd Street address and the deep grooves. The seller makes no mention of the ear or RVG. He also says it is a flat-edge pressing, which it’s not. So right away the seller’s credibility and knowledge are suspect. Then there’s the listing itself, whereby in the headline and the description the record is listed as VG-. But elsewhere on the same listing it is listed as VG+ with the additional descriptor that it “plays great!” (his exclamation point, not mine). We are now about four hours from closing and there are still no bids at a start price of around $200. If I knew it was a nice VG+ record and an original pressing, I’d think about a bid. As it is, however, I think I will pass. Obviously, others feel the same way.

I was mentioning 10-inch Blue Notes the other day, and now there is this:

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