Tag: Curtis Fuller

Four for Jazz Vinyl

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Back to the grind of watching rare jazz vinyl on eBay. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it. Here are items sitting in my current watch list, starting with Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing listed in EX condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding starts at $500 and there is already one bidder with more than two days left on the auction. In the past, this record has made it into the $3,000 bin one time and into the $2,000 bin twice, according to Popsike. In this condition, we wouldn’t expect it to reach those lofty heights. As for my own copy, I just reorganized my records the other day and re-affirmed that I do not have an original pressing of The Opener, but rather a United Artists pressing that I purchased more than 40 years ago and probably haven’t listened to since I first brought it into my home. Perhaps I will listen today or tomorrow, if I have the opportunity. I have been doing that recently, pulling random records out of the collection and putting them on the turntable. I am preparing posts both on the reorganizations efforts as well as these random listening sessions, so stay tuned. Read more

New Newk, New Guest Columnist

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I suppose many of you have already seen that a new Sonny Rollins album came out last week, Rollins in Holland. Unfortunately, Sonny is no longer playing the sax. The music and interviews are from radio and concert appearances from May 1967, a time when Sonny was taking a hiatus from studio recordings in the States, so this is an interesting addition to the catalogue from a time period where there isn’t much Newk on record. I have to admit, I haven’t ordered the record yet, nor have I heard the music, but I will order it as soon as I finish writing this post. I was planning to wait until getting the record to write about it, and I will probably still do that, but in the meantime our loyal reader from Amsterdam, Maarten Kools, sent me an email last week with some insights on the album and I wanted to share them here. Maarten also sent me a separate email a few weeks ago about some of the great jazz artists who are still alive, so I henceforth shall be turning this post over to Maarten as an improvised guest column of sorts. Read more

Blue Notes Galore

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Lots of Blue Notes caught my eye as I was perusing eBay this afternoon, so let’s dig right in, starting with Sonny Red, Out of the Blue, Blue Note 4032. This looks to be an original deep-groove, West 63rd Street pressing. The record and cover are both listed in VG+ condition. The start price is about $500 and so far there are no takers. This would be a major gap sealer in my collection, since once owned a mint copy that I bought for five dollars and subsequently traded away before I even had a chance to even listen to it. Just the thought makes me shudder. I’m sure I’m not the only one here who has, at times, reached that level of stupidity. Read more

Collectible Jazz Vinyl and Not Vinyl

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Yeah, that Bill Evans New Jazz Conceptions LP with the original cover sold for $1,725, as someone pointed out in comments. With a VG cover and VG record. I guess not even a global pandemic can halt the market for original jazz collectibles. A few more from the same seller: Gil Melle, Patterns in Jazz, Blue Note 1517. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing in VG MINUS condition with a VG cover. Despite the condition it sold for $910. Curtis Fuller, Bone & Bari, Blue Note 1572. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing in VG MINUS condition for the record and VG for the cover. It sold for $706. Read more

Vinyl Classics From Riverside and Prestige

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Let’s look at the Jazz Collector watchlist on eBay for an update, starting with Bill Evans, New Jazz Conceptions, Riverside 223. This is an original white label pressing. The record is in VG condition and the cover is also VG. The bidding is in the $294 range with two days left on the auction. As of now there have been 12 bidders and 46 bids. Such a great cover – you wonder what Riverside was thinking when they replace it for the second pressing. The seller for this one is Carolina Soul, which often has nice jazz vinyl on eBay, this week being no exception. Here’s one more: Curtis Fuller, New Trombone, Prestige 7107. This is an original yellow label pressing with the New York address. The record is in VG+ condition and the cover is VG. The bidding is in the $60 range with two days left. The seller mentions a “slight storage warp,” on both of these records, so that may be effecting the bidding, particularly on the Fuller. But , looking closer at the Fuller, the real gating factor is probably the huge writing in black marker on the back cover. When I first started buying jazz records, it was always about the music, but when I became a “collector” my values changed, perhaps not for the better, and the condition of the cover became almost-but-not-quite-as-important as the music. I imagine I am not the only one here was a similar experience. Read more

Back on eBay: Vintage Blue Notes and a Coltrane Autograph

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I just spent a little time on eBay. There are a lot of nice rare vintage records from the Jazz Collector Era and I’m not noticing much of a drop in demand or prices since the pandemic. Here are some of the items I put into my watch list, starting with a few vintage Blue Notes: Lee Morgan, The Cooker, Blue Note 1578. This looks to be an original West 63rdStreet pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The auction closes in three days and there are already 37 bids and 13 bidders. The price is in the $500 range. This record is a regular in the $1,000 bin, with a top price of about $1,600, according to Popsike. Under normal circumstances I would expect to see this record easily top $1,000 and perhaps set a new standard, given the condition of the record and cover. Let’s see what happens. Read more

Jazz Vinyl, Highs, Lows and In-Betweens

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Let’s clear out some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been tracking on our eBay watch list, starting with a few from the Jazz Record Center auction that ended earlier this week, including Curtis Fuller, Bone and Bari, Blue Note 1572. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing that looked to be in M- (or close) condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $1,136. I thought that might be approaching a high point for this record, but it’s not even close. According to Popsike, the top price for this record was $2,550, and there have been at least four other copies that have sold for more than $1,500. It is possible to think that the buyer got a “bargain” at $1,136?

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Blue Notes Galore, For a Price

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Catching up on a recent interesting Blue Note auction from the Jazz Record Center. Lots of items for the $1,000, $2,000 and even the $3,000 bin, starting with Lee Morgan Volume 3, Blue Note 1557. This was an original New York 23 pressing that looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $3,248. This was not the highest price ever for this record, but it’s close. A couple of years ago a similar copy sold for $4,177, according to Popsike. We’ll keep going on these for a bit, continuing with Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. This was an original West 63rdStreet pressing that was listed in Mint condition for the record and “virtually new: condition for the cover. This one sold for $2,638, also close to a record high, but not quite reaching the $3,051 for a copy in 2015.

Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. Original West 63rdStreet pressing, Mint condition for the record and the cover, $2,425.

Walter Davis Jr., Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. Original West 63rdStreet pressing. Mint condition for the record and the cover, $2,413.

Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. Original West 63rdStreet pressing, Mint condition, $2,137.

Sabu Martinez, Palo Congo, Blue Note 1561. Original West 63rdStreet pressing, promo copy, Mint condition, $1,580.

Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights Volume 1, Blue Note 1596. Original West 63rdStreet pressing with the Andy Warhol cover. Mint condition for the record, perhaps slightly less for the cover, $1,221.

Lou Donaldson, Wailing With Lou, Blue Note 1545. Original New York 23 pressing, probably VG++ condition for both the record and the cover, $1,225.

That’s it for now. I could go on, but my fingers have gotten sore from typing in all of those numbers.

 

 

 

 

Jazz Vinyl to Ring in 2019: Happy New Year

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Happy New Year jazz lovers. Of course we will ring in 2019 with some rare jazz vinyl on eBay, starting with Thelonious Monk Plays the Music of Duke Ellington, Riverside 201. This was an original white label pressing with the original cover. When we first looked at this a couple of weeks ago it was sitting in the $250 range. It wound up selling for $1,730.55, which is the highest price, by far, yet recorded by Popsike for this record.

Curtis Fuller, Blues-ette, Savoy 12141. This is an original red label pressing. The record is listed in VG++ condition and the cover is VG. The auction closes in a couple of days and the bidding is in the $380 range. I had a sealed copy of this record in perfect condition. I opened the seal and, surprise, it was an original pressing. For some reason I sold it and the price was less than the $380 that’s already bid on this copy.

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Great Jazz on Video and Vinyl

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Rather than listening to records last night, I did some random searches through YouTube and found a few really cool clips to share. It’s a fun thing to do, plug in an artist’s name and see what comes up, but before you know it three or four hours could pass by. Anyway, there’s this clip of the Horace Silver Quintet doing Song for My Father. This is nearly 19 minutes, with great long solos by Horace, Bill Hardman and Bennie Maupin. Horace was one creative, brilliant musician and Hardman is a revelation. Interesting how “outside” the playing gets during Maupin’s solo, and how comfortable Horace and the rest of the band are in that style. Here are two more to enjoy. No need to comment from me, they speak for themselves: Read more

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