Tag: Clifford Brown

Tracking Another Great Record Score (Not Mine, This Time)

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Time for a guest column, this one from our friend and frequent contributor Gregory the Fish.

By Gregory the Fish

I love jazz and I love collecting jazz records. Everyone reading this does. But none of us is rich enough to buy every record we want whenever we want to. We’ve all read stories about buying collections, and it seems so rewarding… you buy a big fat stack of records for a great bulk deal, keep some real treasures, make your money up selling the doubles, and feel all warm and fuzzy inside. But how does one go about finding these collections? We don’t all have big websites like this one that pull in the e-mails. Read more

Back To Blue Note

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Where were we? Oh, yes, eBay. Tina Brooks, True Blue, Blue Note 4041. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing from the Jazz Record Center, part of a nice auction that closed last week. Based on the description I would count this as M- for both the record and the cover. The final price was $2,275. Before eBay was around to show us what the market really looks like, I used to think that True Blue was the ultimate Blue Note collectible, and for a while that did seem to be the case. But it has since been surpassed in desirability — and price — but at least a couple of other records, to wit: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This was an original pressing with the New York 23 label on side two, which makes it uber-original in the eyes of many collectors. Perhaps of equal excitement, this was a promo copy. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was listed as EX+. The final price was $7,970, which may be a record for any jazz record, depending upon how you view these things. Quite incredible, don’t you agree.

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Back to Blue Note

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If yesterday was a Prestige day, let’s make today a Blue Noter, starting with Here Comes Louis Smith, Blue Note 1584. This looks to be an original West 63rd Street pressing listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The bidding is in the $175 range with about four days to go. We were watching a different copy of the same record a few days ago and that one was in just VG condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It wound up selling for $561, so I would expect this one to fetch a higher price. Will it enter the $1,000 bin? Could be. According to Popsike, the highest recorded price for this record is $1,514. Not owning an original copy of this record myself, I haven’t listened to it in a long time. When I put a record on the turntable, I usually prefer an original pressing. But perhaps I will make an exception. After all, the personnel includes one of my all-time favorite alto players, none other than the infamous “Buckshot La Funke.”

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Jazz Vinyl From Blue Note and Vogue

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Let’s start the day with a couple of 10-inch LPs we are watching on eBay: Gigi Gryce and his Orchestra with Clifford Brown, Jazz Time Paris, French Vogue LD 173. This is the original French pressing, issued before the Blue Note version in the U.S. The record and cover are both listed in VG++ condition. This one has just been posted on eBay and closes in seven days. There are already 15 bids and the price is in the $115 range. Here’s the question: Would you rather own the French pressing or the Blue Note? I know, most of us would say “both” but that is not an option. I have to admit, I’d go for the Blue Note. I can’t say why, other than I always have a big smile on my face when I go through my 10-inch records and come across an original Blue Note in beautiful condition. The Vogues, of which I have a few, don’t have nearly the same effect.

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Some Jazz Vinyl for Our Files

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Just looking at some random items from my watch list, starting with Clifford Brown and Max Roach, Study in Brown, Emarcy 36037. This was described as an original pressing, but clearly it isn’t, with the black writing on the back cover instead of the blue. Also, the cover was graded at M-, but it’s not that either, with both a sticker and writing on the back. So perhaps it was not surprising that the record did not sell at a start price of $300. But it’s back again. I just wanted an excuse to run a picture of the cover. And pose a quick question: I keep all of my Brown and Roach records filed under Brown, and I assume those that file by artist do the same. Does anyone file these under Roach? Drummers, anyone?

This one did sell:

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Cool Struttin’ At the JRC

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The Jazz Record Center had an auction last week and I was keeping tabs on a few of their records, including: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This was an original pressing with a weird variation: Both sides had he same label (Side 2). To me that would diminish the value, not sure why because the music is the same, but it just would. This one looked to be in M- condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. The final price was $2,500, so perhaps the label aberration effected the price, since we’ve often seen this record sell for more than $3,000 and occasionally more than $5,000. It used to be that the Jazz Record Center would get a premium on its records because of it’s reputation, but I find that is no longer the case. I had thought, perhaps, it was because they didn’t take Pay Pal, but now I notice that they do take Pay Pal. The action also included a bunch of 10-inch Blue Notes, which I love, including:

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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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Oddities and Ends, So to Speak

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Wait a second. Did you see what happened with this record I mentioned the other day: Clifford Brown Quartet, Blue Note 5047? This was an original 10-inch Lexington Avenue pressing. Original Blue Note, but, as noted by Rudolf, a reissue of the French Vogue material. Anyway, this one was in VG++ condition for the record and the cover and we were watching the auction with about a day left and there were still no bidders at a start price of about $500. I wasn’t sure if the record would sell at all. It did, for the whopping price of $1,535. There were two bidders and three bids and they all came in the last few seconds as snipes, I would presume. Talk about a bidding war. Wow!

I had thought about bidding on this when the price was relatively low, but I never would have won it anyway:

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The Blue Note Bargain Bin . . . Not

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eBay experts tell us what you make of this: Lee Morgan Indeed, Blue Note 1538. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing listed in M- condition for the record and Ex condition for the cover. We first noticed the record with a start price of $3,999. There were no bids. I just re-checked this record and now it is no longer available because the seller pulled it. However, it shows a price of $4,999. My assumption is that the seller had it listed at that price, someone made an offer, and he sold it for something under the asking price. But if you look on eBay, the assumption is that the record sold for $4,999, which would be extremely high market value for this record, although on Popsike they have a version having sold for $7,786, which seems somewhat bogus to me, given that the next highest price is $3,500.

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A Prestige Pair; a Bird Autograph?????!!!!!!!!!

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clifford-brown-jazz-vinylWe’ll start the week with a couple of nice Prestige records on eBay and then move on to a possible autograph (?) by Charlie Parker. First up is the Clifford Brown Memorial Album, Prestige 7055. This is an original New York yellow label pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding starts at $155 and so far there has been no action. The auction closes in a bit more than two days. This has never been one of the Prestiges overly coveted by collectors, but I would still expect it to sell for a decent price, in the $300 or more range. We’ll see. Clifford is one of the greats, so it has always eluded me why collectors might be willing to pay a higher price for a Moondog Prestige versus a Clifford Brown. I guess it’s supply and demand, but you’d think the demand for a great Clifford record would be higher.

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