This week’s theme: Alto Saxophonist Charles McPherson. Artists include Charles McPherson, Barry Harris, Carmell Jones, Lonnie Hillyer, Clifford Jordan, Alan Dawson, Tootie Heath, and many more.

John Jenkins, Cliff Jordan and Bobby Timmons, Jenkins, Jordan and Timmons, Prestige New Jazz 8232. This was an original purple label preview copy, that looked to be in M- condition for the record and VG++ or M- for the cover. The final price was $1,713.88 and, yes, that is a new record price for that particular record, according to the records kept by Popsike.

Freddie Hubbard, The Artistry of Freddie Hubbard, Impulse A-27. This was an original mono pressing with the white promo labels. The record and cover both looked to be in M- condition. The final price was $520, another record high.

Many of you may have seen that Michael Cuscuna passed away the other day at the age of 75. Michael was co-founder of Mosaic Records and one of the icons of the record collecting community, unearthing hundreds (thousands?) of treasures from the Blue Note and other catalogues.  I did not know him personally, but I offer sincere condolences to his family and many friends. If you do a Google search you can find more information about his life and contributions to the jazz world. I copied the following from an email message I received.

Michael Cuscuna 1948 – 2024 Michael Cuscuna, a titan in the world of jazz, passed away on April 20, 2024, leaving behind a legacy that will resonate for generations. Michael is survived by his wife Lisa, his children, Max and his wife Jackie, and Lauren, and two grandchildren, Nicolas and Penelope Cuscuna. His passing leaves a void in the hearts of all who knew him. May he rest in peace, and forever be remembered as he will be deeply missed. Throughout his career, Michael possessed a curiosity for unearthing unissued jazz recordings, delving into the vaults of record labels looking for hidden gems. In 1975 his search led him to the great Blue Note vaults – unlocking a treasure of unissued material by the great jazz legends. This experience would later be the impetus for co-founding Mosaic Records Inc, a boutique label specializing in complete sets of some of the most influential jazz artists. Mosaic Records, co-founded with Charles Lourie, produced hundreds of editions including works by Thelonious Monk, Sidney Bechet, Hank Mobley, John Coltrane, Lee Morgan, Dexter Gordon, Art Blakey, Tina Brooks, The Nat King Cole Trio and Miles Davis. Michael recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Downbeat and here is an excerpt of one of Michael’s last interviews this past January. (full interview here). Born in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1948, Cuscuna first got into music at the age of 9 or 10. “It was contemporary R&B on the radio at first,” he recalled recently. “But I played drums on a little starter kit and got into drum records like Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich on Verve, then Max Roach and Art Blakey. When I started to hear the music around the drums, that’s when I got completely hooked. I went through Benny Goodman, Dave Brubeck and the MJQ, until I caught up to what was going on around me around 1960. “By age 14, I was going to Birdland, which had a peanut gallery. That’s when I heard Blakey and the Messengers, the Coltrane Quartet and Miles. They became my passion and still are. It’s the stuff that gets to you between about 12 and 25 that stays with you for life. You never absorb music in quite the same way after that.” Many years ago, Woody Shaw said of Cuscuna, “No matter what you produce or do in your life, the thing you’ll be remembered for is rescuing all that Blue Note material.” “Looking back all these years,” Cuscuna says today, “I’m content with that.”

I’ve known Michael for 25+ years since having the privilege of joining Mosaic Records. While many are aware of the legacy of riches he has catalogued for one of the greatest art forms, all of us who work or have worked at Mosaic also know him as a hard worker, generous and dedicated to his family. Michael possessed an energetic spirit and drive that was infectious. When I look at the list of 200 sets for Mosaic plus all the Blue Note, Impulse and other recordings that Michael was instrumental in bringing to the public, it’s clear his passion for music drove his life-long ambitions. He was proud of his achievements while at the same time being very appreciative and grateful that he was working with many of the greatest jazz musicians and their body of work. It’s very hard for me to convey my feelings about someone I worked closely with every day, had many lunches with and was treated to innumerable special musical memories. I’ll miss a partner, a lunch-mate, and a special friend. – Fred Pustay ====================================================== I can’t think of any better way to describe Michael than as my mentor. His guidance was immeasurable – filled with direction, leadership, knowledge, understanding, and of course, toss in some of that incredibly sarcastic wit and sense of humor. Michael knew, like his partner and close friend Charlie Lourie, how to run the business of a jazz re-issue label when there were few and far between such companies. He also was a true family man. I saw and heard the love he unconditionally gave to his family. It was not uncommon to hear a heartfelt “I love you” at the end of a conversation to his wife Lisa, or to see and hear the love and dedication to his children, and then, in the past few years, the stories of his grandchildren who gave him immeasurable pleasure. Michael embraced my passion for jazz record collecting and after about a dozen years of managing the Mosaic warehouse he and Charlie gave me a job of producer, expanding the Mosaic catalog to include more pre-tape era boxed sets. I am ever in debt to the both of them. And there are so many other Mosaic journeys in the past 36 years that I could impart to you, as I’m sure there are many others who knew him even better than I that could spin countless tales of this unique man.  Seek them out. Keep Michael in your heart and on your turntables, CD players or however else you listen to the music. And be grateful and thankful he was here on this planet. – Scott Wenzel

“Jazz is still, for me, the greatest music ever – it just ate its way into my soul, and it became a part of every fabric of my body… I remember once I was doing a record with Dexter Gordon at 30th Street called Gotham City, and Art Blakey was on drums. During the session Art looked at me and said, ‘Man, you remind me of [Blue Note Records co-founder] Alfred Lion.’ That was the greatest line I ever heard, you know?” –Michael Cuscuna, JerryJazzMusician.com =============================================== Funeral arrangements are in process and will be held at the Bozak Funeral Home https://www.bosakfuneralhome.com/ in Stamford, CT. Please check their site at end of day Monday when information should be available. There will also be a web page on their site where you can post on their tribute wall.

The post Rare Records; The Loss of Michael Cuscuna first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]> https://jazzcollector.com/uncategorized/rare-records-the-loss-of-michael-cuscuna/feed/ 9 9418 https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/lexingon-avenue-to-west-63rd-to-st-louis/ https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/lexingon-avenue-to-west-63rd-to-st-louis/#comments Sun, 28 Nov 2021 14:07:01 +0000 https://jazzcollector.com/?p=8861 Let’s look at various items sitting in my watch list for various reasons, starting with The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson Volume One, Blue Note 1505. [...]

Let’s look at various items sitting in my watch list for various reasons, starting with The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson Volume One, Blue Note 1505. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record was probably in VG+ condition and the cover was probably VG+ as well, based on the pictures. The final price was $610. I flagged this one because my recollection was that this record wasn’t among the Blue Notes you would expect to see in the $1,000 bin, being a pre Van Gelder Blue Note that was a compilation of music originally issued on 78-RPM or on 10-inch vinyl. I wasn’t surprised to see the $600 price tag because nothing would surprise me these days and because, hey, it’s an original Lexington Avenue Blue Note, and just holding one of these in your hands is a thrill. Not to mention the presence of Clifford Brown and Charles Mingus, among others, on the record. I did check in with Popsike and discovered that The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson Volume One has, indeed, had a presence in the $1,000 bin, selling for more than $1,500 back in 2010, well before the most recent market spike.

From the same era was Herbie Nichols Trio, Blue Note 1519. This was also an original Lexington Avenue deep groove pressing. The record was listed in VG+ condition and the cover was VG. The final price was $393. Staying on Lexington Avenue, there was J.R. Monterose, Blue Note 1538. This was an original deep groove pressing, listed in VG+ condition for the record and VG for the cover. The final price was $1,180.55.

Moving from Lexington Avenue to West 63^rd Street we head in the direction of the $2,000 bin, starting with Paul Chambers Quintet with Donald Byrd, Clifford Jordan, Tommy Flanagan and Elvin Jones, Blue Note 1564, This was an original deep groove West 63^rd Street pressing, listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $2,205. From the same seller was Lee Morgan Volume 3, Blue Note 1557. This was another original pressing listed in just VG condition for the record and the cover. The final price was $2,146.21. These latter two were among the ones that apparently were purchased for $3 each by Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis, as described by our friend Japhy in comments on the previous post.

I personally don’t have a huge issue with the buyer paying $3 each for the records. If the seller was happy with that price, so be it. It just surprises me to find someone in the Internet era who was completely ignorant about the potential value of the records. There’s a lot of information out there now. Being Jazz Collector and coming up on a lot of searches, my experience is that most people have done a little research and tend to over-value what they have. I had someone recently contact me about some Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday 78s. She was looking for $10,000 apiece, but said she would negotiate.

Pretty hard to negotiate with someone on another planet. Over the past few years I’ve been generous in sharing information with potential sellers and, if I have bid on a collection, I have tended to make offers that are more reflective of the current market. But, frankly, if someone wanted to sell me a collection with Paul Chambers Quintet and Lee Morgan Volume 3 and the average price was $3 each, I’d whip out my wallet in a nanosecond.

The post Lexingon Avenue, to West 63rd, To St. Louis first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]>

I was thinking about this record just yesterday. All of my work calls now are on Zoom, which means my clients can see my records in the background when I do these calls. Yesterday one of the clients was asking me about the records and I mentioned Jazz Collector. She asked me what was the most valuable record in my collection. I had to stop and think for a bit, but the answer I came back with was Cool Struttin’. Of course, she had never heard of Sonny Clark, but, beyond this site and our relatively small coterie, who has? I don’t own an original pressing of Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568, and I sold my copy of Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, many years ago. Plus, my copy was only VG anyway. Beyond those, I couldn’t think of a record that has consistently sold for a higher price than Cool Struttin’. And I do have a very clean copy. Am I missing something obvious? Maybe Blue Train has surpassed Cool Struttin’ in the pantheon? Perhaps one of the early Lee Morgan Blue Notes? Anything else in those nether regions?

The shrink wrap and out-of-date inner sleeve give me some pause, but the seller does mention the ear as well as the deep grooves, which seem visible in the photos. Anyway, this one has been on my want list for a while and I am a little flush with cash having just finished writing the book and not having been to a restaurant in seven months. The bidding now is in the $400 range, so there may be room to go up without having to cross over into the $1,000 bin. The auction closes in about five hours from this writing. I’m setting my alarm as I type.

Here’s another of those cool Esquires from England: Donald Byrd, Byrd’s Eye View, Esquire 32-103. This looks to be the original English pressing of one of Byrd’s Transition LPs. The vinyl is listed in Ex condition and the cover is Ex or Ex+. I still don’t know what that really means, but the pictures look really clean. Bidding is in the $150 range with about four days left in the auction. Here’s another from the same seller: Tommy Flanagan, The Cats, With John Coltrane, Esquire 32-156. This is a first pressing from the U.K. listed in Ex condition for the record and Ex or Ex+ for the cover. Bidding is in the $140 range with four days left. And, while we’re here, that 10-inch Sonny Rollins Quintet Esquire LP I wrote about last time is back on eBay. I had hoped that there would be a price drop from the $195 start but, alas, that is not to be. Perhaps the seller will find that eBay is lovelier the second time around.

That Hank Mobley, Soul Station, Blue Note 4031 record that we were watching sold for $1,154.89, which was quite a bit less than I expected. The record was M- and the cover was VG++. Interesting to see how many of you consider this to be one of Hank’s best efforts.

From the same auction:

Jackie McLean, Jackie’s Bag, Blue Note 4051. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record looked to be M- and the cover probably VG++. The final price was $1,225.

Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This was a New Jersey yellow label pressing that looked to be in M- condition for the record and the cover. The final price was $549. A few years ago I would have been surprised to see a second pressing get that high a price, but the market has changed a lot. No surprise at all.

Sonny Rollins, Tenor Madness, Prestige  7047. This was an original New York yellow label that looked to be in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The final price was $829. Interesting to see that there is still such a huge gap between Prestige and Blue Note. I know the Blue Notes were more slickly packaged and more carefully produced but, hell, this is Rollins and Coltrane recorded together for the only time and this particular copy in nice condition is still not in the $1,000 bin. If it had been released by Blue Note . . .?

Now for the two that are new to us:

Annie Ross, Annie by Candlelight, Nixa 504. This looks to be an original Canadian 10-inch pressing. Not only have I never seen this record, I’ve never heard of the Nixa label. Anyone want to help us out with some info? This record is listed in excellent condition and the cover is described as very good. The start price is about $220 and so far there are no bidders.

This is a French pressing we’ve never seen: Rene Thomas, Meeting Mister Thomas, Barclay 84091. This looks to be an original pressing from 1963. The record is listed in Ex minus condition and the cover looks to be excellent. The bidding is in the $130 range but it has not yet reached the seller’s reserve price.

Here’s a listing lacking in either knowledge or integrity: Hank Mobley, No Room For Squares, Blue Note 4149. This is listed as a “Blue Note Jazz LP Original Pressing,” while the listing clearly shows that this is a mere Liberty pressing. The seller has a start price of about $150 and so far there are no bids. We assume it will stay that way, but you never know. Look at the bidding on that Hank Mobley Blue Note 1568 reissue that got out of hand before the seller graciously decided to pull the listing. Not sure if he did that because he was expecting problems, or because he realized something wacky was going on. But, the listing did clearly state it was a reissue, so he didn’t need to do that. Or did he?

One of our regular readers pointed this one out to me, thinking the price was inordinately highly, but I’m not sure I agree. For original Blue Notes in M- condition, there seems to be no limit these days: Horace Parlan, Up and Down, Blue Note 4082. This one sold for $665.55.

This one was still sealed, but was it the original seal? If so, how would you be able to tell?

Booker Little, Out Front, Candid 8027. The seal was loose, which, I assume was how the records were packaged in 1961? When did the tight vacuum seal come into vogue? This one went for $365.

Some day, although not this day, I will add an original copy of this record to my collection: Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore, Blowing In From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This one was in VG++ condition for the record and the cover and it sold for $919.

Louis Smith, Here Comes Louis Smith, Blue Note 1584. This looks to be an original pressing with the vinyl in VG++ condition and the cover just VG-. The seller goes out of his way to provide some nice clear pictures of the cover, which we always appreciate. This one is only $58 with more than a day to go, but the seller has a reserve price and it has not yet been reached. I know many of you are not fans of auctions with reserve prices, which is something to consider when listing jazz vinyl.

Cliff Jordan, Blue Note 1565. This is also an original pressing and it looks to be in VG++ condition, at least, for both the vinyl and the cover. Actually, it’s probably closer to M- than VG++, based on the description. The current price is $315 and there’s more than a day to go with no reserve. I would

not be surprised to see this one sell for more than $1,000.

This is another one that comes with a reserve price: Introducing Johnny Griffin, Blue Note 1533. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record is listed as M- and the cover is listed as VG+. The current price is more than $550 and it still has not reached the seller’s reserve.

Here’s an interesting one: Sonny Rollins, Volume 1, Blue Note 1542. This is a West 63rd Street pressing. There are Lexington Avenue pressings of this LP, but it was right on the cusp of when Blue Note made the changeover. We’ve seen West 63rd street pressings sell for as much as $450 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. This one is in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover and the current price is only around $30. We expect it will sell for a bit more than that.

Among some of the nice items that just sold today are:

Bud Powell, Bud!, Blue Note 1571. This was an original pressing. The record was M-, the cover was VG++, the price was $271.

Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, Columbia  8163. This was an original stereo pressing that sold for $328. The vinyl was M- and the cover was VG+. 

John Jenkins, Clifford Jordan and Bobby Timmons, Jenkins, Jordan and Timmons, New Jazz 8232. This was an original purple label pressing in VG++ condition, both cover and vinyl. Price: $153.50

Milt Jackson and the Thelonious Monk Quintet, Blue Note 1509. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record and cover were both in VG++ condition and the price was $227.50.

Finally, this beauty: Thelonious Monk, Brilliant Corners, Riverside 226. This was an original white label pressing in M- condition. The price was $421