Vince Guaraldi, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Fantasy 85019. This is a stereo pressing. Frankly, I’ve never been that interested in this record and never had an original copy, and I don’t know the criteria that would make it an original. I’ve always loved the music, but I didn’t really get interested in the album until I started doing my Jazz Collector Live radio show and podcast, and I was looking for Christmas music to play on the show. In doing further research, I learned that this is the second highest selling jazz record ever, behind Kind of Blue? The question mark is there because I’m not so sure this is accurate.

In any case, I’m preparing to record my next Christmas show this week, so any ideas are welcomed. This particular copy of A Charlie Brown Christmas is listed in good condition for the record and “worn” for the cover. You would think a record in that condition would be a tough sell, but not this one: There are already 10 bidders and the price is getting close to $200, with the auction closing tomorrow.

Finally, I have one more from the Jazz Collector inbox. A reader sent me this note:

“Subject: Bird. Hi. I found what I believe to be a rare Charlie Parker 7” shellac single. It has his name and Dark Shadows printed on one side of the white label and on the other “Garner original” is printed. I can’t find any references to its existence online in this format and was wondering you had come across it before.”

My reply: “No I haven’t. You can safely assume it is from the Dial label. Dark Shadows was a tune Bird did with the singer Earl Coleman. He also did several sides with Errol Garner, who was on Dial at the same time. Could be some kind of test pressing, not sure. I’m not a huge expert on 78 RPM records. You could send me a photo if you want.”

Here’s one of the photos.

Still didn’t ring a bell with me, and I wasn’t interested in this piece for myself, so I suggested the reader reach out to Fred Cohen at the Jazz Record Center. If you’re reading this Fred I apologize — I seem to send a lot of stuff your way. As I said to this particular reader, Fred is far more knowledgeable than I am. The reader did contact Fred and afterward he sent me this reply:

“Fred said the following: ‘Charlie Parker recorded “DARK SHADOWS” for Dial records on February 19, 1947. He recorded three different versions of the song. Yours is probably a dub (transfer) from another source, but without comparing it to the issued takes it would be impossible to know which one you have.'”

And that, I believe, is the end of this particular story, unless someone here has some additional insight.

The post Back in the Wacky World of Jazz Vinyl on eBay first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]> https://jazzcollector.com/impulse/back-in-the-wacky-world-of-jazz-vinyl-on-ebay/feed/ 0 9792 https://jazzcollector.com/riverside/a-new-case-of-vinyl-envy/ https://jazzcollector.com/riverside/a-new-case-of-vinyl-envy/#comments Sun, 15 Dec 2024 10:10:51 +0000 https://jazzcollector.com/?p=9525 OMG, it’s so freaking easy to get hooked again. I went on eBay on Thursday for the first time in months and now I’m checking [...]

OMG, it’s so freaking easy to get hooked again. I went on eBay on Thursday for the first time in months and now I’m checking every few hours, including 5 AM on a Sunday. It’s re-awakening the old, familiar adrenaline rush of just looking at the records, seeing the prices, and feeling that old collector’s feeling of “boy this is fun.” Then there’s the vinyl envy of the records in great condition that I don’t have, The Unique Thelonious Monk as a case in point. I’m pretty sure I’m going to bid on that record. I’ll keep you posted. In the meanwhile, here are a few more records that have tickled that familiar feeling, starting with another Monk record from the Jazz Record  Center auction: Thelonious Monk, Monk’s Music, Riverside 242. This is an original white label pressing that looks to be in M- condition for the record and at least VG++ for the cover. I have never owned an original white label pressing of this record, and it is John Coltrane (among others) playing with Monk. Bidding is a little bit more than $100, with the auction closing Monday evening.

You don’t see too many Gerry Mulligan records in triple figures, but here’s an interesting one: Gerry Mulligan Quartet, Fantasy 3-6. This is an original 10-inch record with red vinyl. The record is listed in VG+ condition and the cover is EX.  Bidding is in the $130 range and there are already 42 bids. The auction is closing within a few hours of this posting.

Finally, I am preparing to record my Christmas radio show/podcast this week and this record caught my eye: Vince Guaraldi, A Charle Brown Christmas, Fantasy 85019. This seems to be an original stereo pressing, although I don’t know enough about it to confirm that this is an original. The seller has it listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover.  The start price is $450. I had never owned a copy of this record until the past few months. It didn’t seem like a real jazz record to me.

However, doing my radio show last year, I discovered I had a dearth of good Christmas music to play. So, when I saw a reissue of this record sitting on the shelves for $20 at Spike’s Record Rack in Catskill, NY a couple of months ago I figured, what the hell, here’s some more music to play on my Christmas show. What I didn’t know at the time was that this record is the second highest selling jazz record of all time, with more than 5 million copies sold, behind only Miles Davis Kind of Blue. Having listened, it’s also a pretty good record. I guess because Vince Guaraldi was so popular with the Peanuts soundtracks and the Cast Your Fate to the Wind record, he was probably underrated as a jazz player. It’s a bit of a takeoff on he old Yogi Berra line about a restaurant: “Nobody goes there anymore because it’s too crowded.” Am I tempted to get an original copy of A Charle Brown Christmas? Not at all. The reissue I own is just fine.

The post A New Case of Vinyl Envy first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]>