Comments on: Paying For Pres and Other Jazz Vinyl

By: Joe L

Joe L — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 17:26:47 +0000

Thanks for the heads-up on the Bobby Scott article – it was superb.

By: Gregory the Fish

Gregory the Fish — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 15:41:51 +0000

oooohhh that is helpful. how kind of you! few people are usually willing to reveal their sources. i appreciate it!

By: geoffrey wheeler

geoffrey wheeler — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 15:22:19 +0000

It takes hunting and luck, Gregory, to find early Blue Note 78s from the “modern” era that are in E condition or better. I find the prices on E-bay higher than I care to pay. My best luck has been with auction vendors who specialize in pre-War 78s where a post-war Blue Note or Savoy 78 may crop up. Because the typical buyer is only interested in pre-War, they don’t know much (or care) about post-War 78s so it’s surprising what one can get for $10 or $15. I have often suspected I was the only bidder for such discs. I once bought a brand new Monk Blue Note 78 for $15.00, whereas it might go for five times that or more on E-bay. Three auction lists to check are recordsforcollectors, Alan Cooperman, and Jim Prohaska. All three are listed on Google. Rather than wade through a long list, just pick the names that interest you on either Blue Note or Savoy (you won’t find much in the way of Prestige, Debut, Contemporary, etc.) and go directly to their alphabetical listing. Art Zimmerman’s Jersey record bash is also a good venue for both 78s and LPs. It’s listed on Google. It’s over for 2016 but there will be another in 2017. Hope this helps

By: Richard

Richard — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 15:07:56 +0000

That Bobby Scott piece was ace, thanks.

By: Gregory the Fish

Gregory the Fish — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 14:56:43 +0000

geoffrey wheeler,

my turntable can play 78’s and i would LOVE to hear some of those very early sessions, like the drum solo 78 by art blakey, or monk’s earliest recordings. but the prices are always a little higher than i would like to pay for something that is probably sandpapery at best.

By: Gregory the Fish

Gregory the Fish — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 14:38:29 +0000

eric,

i appreciate the sentiment, but no, your comments did not offend or bother me at all. you merely provided your own take and even went so far as to say you did not intend to offend. i found it helpful. and you hit the nail on the head: “I wonder if those whose aesthetic centre is firmly in the bop and post bop period may find Lester, well, not their cup of tea”. That’s exactly it. Bop is my jam. i have no problem with lester young, i’d just rather spend me time listening to other things. i don’t think he’s bad or anything. and you were nice about it, i thought.

i only got mad because some people called into question my appreciation of the music, my ability to discern quality music, my general understanding of jazz history, etc. this was perhaps unintentional, but it is a symptom of a much larger elitist mentality that i think is an absolute plague among jazz aficionados and music hobbyists in general, and i will vigorously resist it, especially when it comes from merely enjoying some artists more than others. there’s no reason for it.

By: geoffrey wheeler

geoffrey wheeler — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 02:47:22 +0000

In the past on Jazz Collector, I have seen questions about the value of Blue Note 78s. Among the 12-inch Blue Note 78s, BN 5 by Earl Hines will sell in the double digits. Blue Notes 8 and 9 by Meade “Lux” Lewis (“The Blues, Parts 1-4”) can command a hefty price $$$ if the records are in the very rare flimsy original paper album. I have only seen it up for auction once and it sold for something like $225.00. By themselves, the records sell for nothing like that. The 10-inch 78s don’t start to command over $10.00 until BN 540, the beginning of the modernist era with Tadd Dameron, Monk, Art Blakey, James Moody, and Howard McGhee. Starting with Monk 1564 in the 1500 Series, the discs become more valuable, especially Monk, Bud Powell, and Howard McGhee. The Max Roach sides (BN 1570, !571) were originally issued in France as 78s on the Vogue label, and then as a 10-inch LP so the Blue Notes are less valuable. I have only purchased a few in the 1600 series because most of these were issued on LP, giving the buyer the advantage of the format, the front-cover art, and the notes on the back. The rarest and most expensive jazz 78s don’t even come close to prices commanded by rare 1920s blues records (see John Tefteller’s website). Compare $1600 for Alphonse Trent’s “Clementine (from New Orleans)” with a recent price of $37,100 for a Tommy Johnson Paramount blues record of which two extant copies are known, both owned by Tefteller. Only 50 copies of the Trent record were issued in 1933 on Champion 16587.

By: JAZZCOURIER

JAZZCOURIER — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 01:54:55 +0000

Essential reading for all Jazz lovers and all Lester Young fans is the essay written by Bobby Scott, “A house in the heart”. This was originally written for Gene Lees’ newsletter in 1983 and is reprinted on Jazzprofiles.blogspot.com or you can just google the title and the author and you can find it that way. Scott has affectionately detailed his time on a 1955 JATP tour with Prez and he gives us insight into the mysterious world he walked through,his vocabulary,his musical philosophy and his personality.
Scott was 18, he had the world at his feet as a hot shot pianist,he befriended Young and they became traveling partners on the tour.I think this is one of the better bits of writing on Jazz and we all gain insight into Prez via Scott’s superb storytelling.

By: Eric Lewis

Eric Lewis — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 23:06:38 +0000

For the record…..I meant no offence at all with my original comment, and I hope none was taken. Everyone on this blog is clearly deeply invested in Jazz and its history. I find puzzling, and so am interested, in those who Lester leaves cold, and as an academic of Jazz, it gets me thinking. In many ways Lester is an anti-bop player, and I wonder if those whose aesthetic centre is firmly in the bop and post bop period may find Lester, well, not their cup of tea. Lester’s influence actually is greater in the Post-bop period (although the “west coast” sound is indebted to him in many ways). For me his tone, precise placement of notes in the time domain and way of swinging is magical, but hey, its a big wide world of jazz out there, there are sub-generes and artists that leave me cold, that others love. If one were to totally generalize, Lester and the Hawk are the two great sax influences of the their next generation(s). It is hard to imagine Lester playing with Sonny Rollins and taking Summertime into new places like he (they) did, but Lester’s influence can be directly heard in many post-bop players. For me his duos with Teddy Wilson, his recordings with Sweets, his deeply heart-felt collaborations with Billy, are all marvellous (among others). Hey, gotta go, I think I will listen to some Lester Young…. and then some Lester Bowie

By: geoffrey wheeler

geoffrey wheeler — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 22:11:03 +0000

Wise words from Jazzcourier! Years ago, I was interviewed by U.S. News & World Report about record collecting. I told the interviewer there were far better qualified people than me to speak on the subject. I relented when he told me who had recommended me. At some point, he asked me who was my favorite jazz player. I told him I had many favorites but if he had asked me who best defined jazz, that would be Lester Young. Everything about his music and his persona embodied “jazz.” Others might say Duke Ellington. To me, Duke is sui generis like any of the great classical orchestras around the world. He and his orchestra basically existed without reference to anyone or anything else.