Watching Some New Jazz Vinyl
Can you stand a day without Blue Note? Let’s look at some Prestige jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay (actually, it’s all New Jazz):
This was part of the recent batch sold by our old friend bobdjukic: Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This was an original pressing. It was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover, but from the pictures it was clear that the cover was not anywhere close to VG++ condition. Perhaps that affected the bidding, because this sold for the surprisingly low price of $740. If potential buyers were confident that the condition of the vinyl and cover were really VG++, it would presumably have sold for quite a bit more. The last one we had in the Jazz Collector Price Guide in VG++/VG++ condition sold for $1,225.
This one looked to be in beautiful condition and the price certainly reflected it: Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot, New Jazz 8260. This was an original purple label pressing with the deep grooves, which were not described by the seller but were apparent if you blew up the pictures. It was in M- condition all the way around and sold for $687.
This one got a nice top bid, but failed to meet the seller’s reserve:
Jackie McLean, Makin’ the Changes, New Jazz 8231. This was a sealed copy and it looked to be in the original factory seal, but who knows, which makes it quite a risky proposition. Could be a blue label, or a purple label with no deep groove. The top bid was $303 and it did not sell and has been put back on eBay with a lower reserve price.
I definitely enjoy the non-BN posts. It’s interesting to see always the same records fetching high prices (e.g. Quiet Kenny) while others are in the low price area.
I would love to see a Riverside/Jazzland special 😉
Yeah Katharsis, that´s a good idea. Musically Riverside/Jazzland are the same level as BN and if you like well arranged midsized bands, Riverside is unbeatable.
I have reissues of quite a few Riverside/ New Jazz records – 1970’s-80’s by Fantasy Records (“Tenth and Parker, Berkley, Ca)
Sonically they are not great,but they are cheap.
The few Prestige/ New Jazz orginals I have, some have audible continuous surface noise due to poor selection of vinyl for manufacture.How could they!?
Blue Notes are very well documented now. Is there some equivalent body of knowledge on these labels that would help navigate the labels and pressings?
@Robert: I agree. There are some really great recordings that came out on Jazzland originally. Al has occasionally mentioned Charlie Rouse or Don Sleet, but there’s a bunch more.
@London Calling: The Fantasy-LP’s are not really comparable to the original heavy vinyl, but there are nice pressings amongst them. “Doin’ the thing” by Ronnie Mathews e.g. has been pressed on thick vinyl and the sound is nice. On the other hand I would agree, that even original pressings sometimes have some imperfections. What do others say?
it is true that later pressings and mid-sixties issues are pressed on heavy, but cheap vinyl resulting in continuous surface noise. More so than with Blue Note, it is important to find first pressings of Prestige/NJ/MV/SV for their superior audio quality.
Refreshing indeed to see featured something else than Blue Note.
Any idea how to run an ebay search for new jazz purple label originals.
The key words “new jazz” produce thousands of items on ebay and I do not want to run a search for every single artist/title that might be interesting.
Jan: I face the same problem. There does not seem to be a solution. Since more valuable items are most likely to be sold in auction format, you may eliminate the set price sales, to have a more limited number of items presented.
Just started collecting Jazz and and spent hours on this site. I’m posting my question here again if that’s OK. I want to buy a 1st press of Thelonious Monk’s Misterioso Riverside RLP 12-279. (I know its not ultra rare) but I love the album. What are the features to look out for that denote a first press?
Jan: Rudolf’s suggestion is a good one. I’d also try the “individual artist” route w/ some significant abbreviations,as in: “Dolphy, NJ,Hubbard,mono,purple”…the more specific the better. Then whittle away from there. I picked up a mono “Live At The Five Spot”-albeit w/ a dark blue label(2nd)pressing- in this fashion. Still fine sound,and a minty cover(and what a cover)!
…and as stated,”new” and “jazz” as search terms by themselves will narrow things down to a precious few (thousands)! (:>
J L:blue label with mike and reels,silver lettering,deep groove on both sides,RLP-12-279 A (RLP-12-279 b) hand graved in dead wax,Bill Grauer Productions New York City on label;cover address:553 West 51st Street New York 19,N.Y.
cover painting by Giorgio De Chirico
MY question:small or large label ?
Hi Jan,
When I search for New Jazz pressings I usually use “New Jazz 82*”.. if they included the catalogue number in the listing then it comes up.
Hope it helps.
Thank you very much Doctor Jazz!
I was wondering about the label size?
What kind of inner sleeves did Riverside use then?
mine has rice paper,as early Prestige
Thank you guys, I think this will help a lot.I will let you know if the hunt for NJ records was successfull.
The first pressing of Monk Misterioso was on the small reel & mic label. I have a Riverside labelography in progress on my site if you scroll to the bottom of this page: http://33rev.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=68
Here’s Riverside blue labels in brief:
1957-58 Large Blue Label w/DG (no “Inc.” on bottom)
1958-60 Small Blue Label w/DG (no “Inc.” on bottom)
1960-63 Large Blue label, early w/DG, later w/o (“Inc.” on bottom of label)
Thank you Dottor jazz and Aaron. This is such a great forum and I really appreciate the information. Saves us novices from the clutches of bob djukic!
Same here. Thanks everybody. This website is very helpful and has tons of great information.
Aaron and Doc thanks for heads up. Aaron, just a thought about your labelography, which is great.
Its always useful to have a picture of what the “real deal” look like . More often than not we come across the later reissues, I’m thinking like Milestone – blue, green, yellowandbrown,and “reddybrown” Its helpful to see what the more recent labels look like, if only so we know what to avoid.
New Jazz for example, the reissue labels look identical to the originals, apart from the catalogue number on the label changing to OJC Original Jazz Classics I assume.