Tag: Billy Bauer

And, On Rhythm Guitar . . . .

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In my haste to get the last post up on the site, I left out the part I really wanted to talk about. Geez, where is my mind? Anyway, I won my 20 records and made an appointment with Kendra to pick them up at her house. I got there and the records were organized and waiting for me. We chatted a bit and she told me how pleased she was with the auction and some of the top prices she was able to get, especially for the Bill Evans and Kenny Drew records. Casually, I asked if there were any records that hadn’t sold. I tell you I asked casually, but that is a bit of a fib. It was actually not casual. It was carefully prepared. Because on the auction there were two records that had $50 start prices that seemed to get no action. They were (1) the previously mentioned Let’s Have a Session on Ad Lib with Billy Bauer, Tony Aless, Arnold Fishkin and Don Lamond; and (2) Afro Cuban Jazz by Machito on Mercury, which features Charlie Parker. Read more

A Few Non-Blue Notes; A Flat Market?

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Is it just me, or is there a softness in the market these days? To expedite my posting I  sometimes do a search of jazz records for sale filtered through the highest prices first. There are often $1,000 records and many in the $500-plus category. Lately, however, the searches in that range have been coming up short. Are prices relatively flat at this point or is there just less good stuff on eBay now? These things go in cycles so I wouldn’t put any meaning into it either way. In the meantime, here are some of the rare jazz records that came up on my latest search.

Red Rodney, Signal 1206. This is an interesting one because of the condition. There’s a nice clear picture of the cover, which may give the impression that the cover is in nice condition. However if you look closely and read the description, the cover is in only G condition. And the vinyl is only VG. Despite the condition issues, however, the bidding is already more than $400. I guess this LP is in greater demand than I would have realized.

This is another one that’s getting up there in price, somewhat to my surprise: Booker Little, Time 52011. This is an original mono pressing with the deep grooves and gatefold cover. The record is in M- condition and the cover is VG+. The bidding has already topped $250 and the auction closes later today. Perhaps my previous comment about a soft market was premature.

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More Vintage Getz

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Posting that clip on Stan Getz playing The Way You Look Tonight evoked something for a bunch of readers last week. I got a note from my friend Dan Axelrod with an interesting story and clip:

“Billy Bauer told me he was in the Royal Roost in the early 50’s and Stan on a break returned to the bandstand and without accompaniment daven’d Little Girl Blue and when he was done there wasn’t a dry eye in the club.This ’56 live  Basin Street Cafe rendition (Shelly Manne, Oscar Pettiford, Dick Katz)  evokes a bit of that beauty- if you wanna post.”

stan-getz-little-girl-blue

A few words of explanation. Dan uses the word “daven’d.” This would be something of a Jewish colloquialism, although I’ve never heard anyone else use it precisely in this context. I think it generally means prayed, but in this case

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Catching Up, Nov. 24, 2008

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Here are updates on some of the records on eBay we’ve been watching at Jazz Collector recently. Most of these will be added to the Jazz Collector Price Guide by the end of the week. Take a look, please. 

Sahib Shihab, Conversations, Polydor 623257. This was an original pressing in M- condition. Price: $256

Billy Bauer, Let’s Have A Session, Ad Lib 5501. This was an original pressing with the red label. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. It sold for $160. I have two personal Billy Bauer stories. Back in the early 1970s, I had a gig as a rhythm guitarist accompanying my friend Dan Axelrod. My musical talents are, to be generous, modest at best, but Dan taught me enough chords to support him while he soloed. At the time Dan was taking lessons from Billy Bauer and one night Bauer came down to see us with a group of his other students.

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