Tag: Art Farmer

More Adventures, More Obsessions

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Sorry, I need to complete the story. Given that it was an online auction and many of the bidders probably never saw the condition of the records, I was pretty surprised at some of the prices. For example, Waltz for Debby sold for more than $1,000. Bill Evans Trio Sunday at the Village Vanguard seemed to sell for more than $500, if I recall. Kenny Drew 10-inch Blue Note was more than $300. When I went to pick up my records I asked Kendra, the woman responsible for the auction, if the buyers for those records had visited  the house and seen them on site. Nope, she said. They were bidding based just on the pictures from the auction. Very brave, I thought, but having seen the records myself, I figured the buyers would be pleased. The one record I would thought I could steal, the Art Farmer Quintet Featuring Gigi Gryce, Prestige 7017, just eluded me. Read more

Another Adventure in Jazz Collecting, 10-inch Edition

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After buying, curating and eventually selling the Ornette Collection from Dee, I felt myself gripped in that very old, very familiar, somewhat obsessive feeling of wanting more. Not necessarily more records because, Lord knows, I have enough records. No, it was all about wanting more action. So, I reached out to my friend here in The Berkshires who is planning to sell his collection at some point, but he said he isn’t quite ready yet to part with them. Then, out of the blue, another friend up here sent me a note with a link to an online auction of jazz records that was being conducted locally. The site was something called Caring Transitions, so I clicked the link and this is one of the pictures I saw:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Rare Vinyl, eBay Complaints: An Email Grab Bag

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Somebody sent me this link: Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This was an original New York yellow label in nice condition, VG++ for both the record and the cover. It sold for $2,028. Not sure why this particular link was sent to me, but I figured I’d share it nonetheless. Nothing seems out of whack to me, in terms of the eventual price or the provenance of the record as an original pressing. Maybe someone else can find something. You have all been more observant than I have been lately, it seems. Perhaps too many distractions at my end. Maybe I should just retire from work and devote myself full-time to Jazz Collector. 🙂

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A Prestige-eous Day at Jazz Collector

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Let’s look at a few from Prestige and related labels today, starting with Hank Mobley, Mobley’s Message, Prestige 7061. This was an original New York yellow label pressing listed as being in “pristine” condition from a reliable seller. The final price was $715.99, which strikes me as quite a bargain for this record in this condition. Or at least as much as any record for $715 can be a bargain. With this personnel — Mobley, McLean, Byrd, Barry Harris, Doug Watkins and Art Taylor — what would this record go for if it was on the Blue Note Label. I think we’d probably be looking in our metaphorical $2,000 bin.

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A Septet of Rare Jazz Vinyl

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Here’s one for you: Joe Henderson, Page One, Blue Note 4140. This was an original New York USA mono pressing. It was listed in Ex condition for the record and the cover. Certainly not mint minus or near mint or anything close to mint. It sold for $1,108.33.

From the same seller: Harold Vick, Steppin’ Out, Blue Note 4138. This was also an original mono pressing with the New York USA label. It was listed in Ex+ condition for the record and M- for the cover. It sold for $621.92.

Mal Waldron, Left Alone, Bethlehem 6045. This was an original red label pressing. The record was probably VG+ and the cover was listed as VG. The final price was $745.55.

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A Matter of Prestige?

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bennie-green-jazz-vinylAre we finally starting to see the Prestige records follow the same path as the Blue Notes? I’ve been quite surprised at the price of several Prestiges recently, including the Sonny Stitt record I mentioned last week and this one that sold yesterday on eBay: Bennie Green With Art Farmer, Prestige 7041. This was an original New York yellow label pressing. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was excellent. Great pictures from the seller are always helpful in achieving high prices. Still, I wouldn’t have pegged this record to sell for $860, which was the final price. Careful readers may recall that I purchased an original copy of this record for 25 cents. It was sitting in the bargain bin at Mr. Cheapo’s record store in Mineola on Long Island. I typically never looked in the 25-cent bin because it was always junk. But this day I was looking to kill time and not go back to work and, voila, there was Bennie Green With Art Farmer. Now the condition was just VG for the record and VG for the cover. But it was literally a quarter, the same as the parking meter outside the store. Still have it. The record, not the quarter.  Read more

What Happens? Records Sell for High Prices

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Art Farmer Jazz VinylOnce again we find another record that is unfamiliar to us, this one sent in courtesy of our friend CeeDee: Art Farmer and Phil Woods, What Happens?, Campi SJG 12001. This was an original Italian promo pressing from 1969.  It was listed in M- condition for the record and  VG++ for the cover. It sold for $355. I did a quick search to learn more about the record but pretty much came up empty. That’s why it’s nice to have the Jazz Collector community weigh in with our collective knowledge. So, friends, what’s the story behind this record and the label?

I think a lot of us had our eye on this one: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This was an original original pressing, with the New York 23 on one side. The record and cover were both listed in VG+ condition. The final price was $3,998. There were 11 bidders. Given the rarity of this record, the price of nearly $4,000 seems to be market-appropriate, even with the VG+ condition. Based on the description, I’m sure the buyer is expecting this to be somewhat under-graded, particularly since there can be such a wide span within the VG+ category, don’t you think?

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Four Jazz Classics, and Nary a Blue Note

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Art Farmer copyAnd now for some more jazz vinyl from our eBay watch list, starting with Art Farmer Quintet, Prestige  7017. This is an original yellow label pressing with the New York address. The record and cover are both listed in VG+ condition. The price is only at $88 with less than a day left on the auction. Someone may be in line for a bargain (and a great record). In the same vein, and from the same seller, there is Art Farmer and Gigi Gryce, When Farmer Met Gryce, Prestige 7085. This is also an original New York pressing, listed in Ex condition for the record and the cover. Based on the seller’s descriptions, it looks like Ex is a higher grade than VG+. This one is at a bit more than $200.

While we’re on Prestiges, there is:

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Not-So-Cool Struttin’

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cool struttin'I happened to be perusing old DownBeats yesterday when I casually opened up the issue of Oct. 30, 1958. The “jazz record reviews” listed on the cover were for Harry Belafonte, Terry Gibbs, Benny Goodman, Earl Hines, Shorty Rogers and Bob Scobey. Nothing too interesting, and I almost passed up on reading the reviews. So I was a bit surprised to see that this issue contained reviews of two of the rarest and most highly treasured records in the entire Jazz Collector pantheon: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588 and Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568.

 

Let’s start with Cool Struttin’. The reviewer, Don Gold, gave it two and a half stars out of a possible five stars. To put it in perspective, Cool Struttin’ had a lower rating than these records, also reviewed in this issue: Steve Allen All Stars Featuring Terry Gibbs; Danny Alvin and His Kings of Dixieland Play Basin Street: Belafonte Sings the Blues; Paul Horn Plenty of Horn, and Moe Koffman, The “Shepherd” Swings Again. This is what the reviewer had to say about Cool Struttin’:

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And Yet Another Jazz Vinyl Update From eBay

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trumpets jazz vinylI am going to get through my Watch List and update the Jazz Collector Price Guide. I really am. I think. I will post a few more in a second, but first I want to point everyone’s attention to the comment from the buyer of the Hank Mobley Blue Note 1568. Perhaps we will less ready to throw stones, those of us who who live in vinyl houses. It is also not often that we get comments from female readers, so welcome to Caroline.

Now, onto the Watch List and the Price Guide:

Art Farmer, Donald Byrd and Idrees Sulieman, Three Trumpets, Prestige 7092. This is an original New York pressing that looks to be in M- condition for the record and perhaps a drop less for the cover. It sold for $338.58. I happen to have a spare copy of this record sitting in my closet, if anyone is interested. I also have a spare copy of this one: Lou Donaldson, Swing and Soul, Blue Note 1566. This was an original pressing listed in VG condition for the record. The cover looked like it was probably VG+. The record sold for $127.50.

This one fetched quite a nice price, breaking into the $1,000 bin:

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