Phil Woods, Warm Woods, Epic 3436. This looks to be an original yellow label pressing. It is in shrink wrap, but that might indicate this particular copy may have hit the selves after the initial run. Not sure when the industry shifted from loose plastic to shrink wrap, but I think it was in this time frame, late 1950s or early 1960s. Anyone with a better idea? Rudolf? This is another seller who doesn’t deal in returns or refunds. He said he played the album and there are no skips, but some crackling. Start price is $200 with three days to go and so far there are no bidders and only seven watchers.

Could I do a complete post without mentioning a Blue Note. I could, but I choose not to. So how about Here Comes Louis Smith, Blue Note 1584. This looks to be an original West 63^rd Street pressing. The record is listed in VG+ condition and the cover is Ex+. The bidding is at $500 with four days left. This one will end up in the $1,000 bin, don’t you think?

I have another question about this record. It features the alto saxophonist “buckshot la funke,” who is, of course, Cannonball Adderley. But a few numbers later in the Blue Note catalogue comes Somethin’ Else, the only Blue Note under Cannonball’s leadership and a record that seems more of a Miles-driven session versus a Cannonball session. Does anyone know what was going on with contractual rights in those days – why Cannon could not appear under his own name for Louis Smith, but then has an album under his own name in the same time period? I know that the Louis Smith record was originally a Transition, but that doesn’t explain the contractual issues with Blue Note. And, if Cannonball had a contract with Blue Note before he moved to Riverside, why was it only for a single record?

For as long as I’ve been collecting, it’s nice to know that there’s always something new to learn. Here’s a record I’ve like for a long time: John Lewis and Sacha Distel, Afternoon in Paris. I’ve only owned this as an Atlantic recording, black label, of course, and I frankly had no idea that it was originally issued in France under the Versailles label, Versailles, MDX 12 005. I just checked out the liner notes on my Atlantic pressing and it makes no mention of Versailles. It does mention that Barney Wilen was only 19 years old at the time of the recording, which is pretty incredible considering how well he plays on this record and how mature he sounds. Anyway, this copy was in VG++ condition for the record and M- for the cover, which was the soft cover that seemed to be typical of the European pressings in those days. This copy sold for $630. The highest price we’ve recorded for the Atlantic pressing in the Jazz Collector Price Guide has been $121.

This is by far the highest price we’ve seen for this record: Bennie Green, Soul Stirrin’, Blue Note 1599. This was listed in M- condition for both the record and seemed to attract a bidding war among three or four potential buyers. The winning bid was $825.67. I’m sure the presence of Sonny Clark helps to inflate the price. I always liked that they used “Jug” as a pseudonym to hide one of the tenor players, obviously not worrying too much that anyone would be able to identify Gene Ammons, and not worrying too much about contractual obligations. It’s as obvious, but not quite as creative, as the use of Buckshot La Funke to disguise Cannonball Adderley on one of the Louis Smith Blue Notes.