Tag: Dexter Gordon

A Wailin’ Session (And More)

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Art Taylor copyI was piling a bunch of very nice records into my Watch List folder and noticed that many were from the same seller, including Art Taylor, Taylor’s Wailers, Prestige 7117. This is an original New York yellow label pressing that looks to be in at least VG++ condition for both the record and the cover, and perhaps even better. The auction closes in three days and the bidding is close to $500. Interesting coincidence: Just a couple of days before noticing this listing I put this record on the turntable and gave it a close listen. I don’t think I’d ever listened to it and I was expecting one of those Prestige jam sessions. It’s not. It’s a well arranged, carefully conceived album with tremendous playing all around. The main group has Donald Byrd, Charlie Rouse, Jackie McLean, Ray Bryant and Wendell Marshall, in addition to AT. I have no idea why Prestige threw in another track by a separate group with John Coltrane, Red Garland and Paul Chambers, but of course it’s wonderful that they did. Coltrane is in nice form, but it’s the rest of the album that is also quite impressive. I highly recommend giving it a listen for those of you lucky enough to own a copy.

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Another Adventure, Part 7

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Untitled copyIt wasn’t until early January that the second batch of records arrived. As I did with the first batch, I recorded the unveiling for posterity. This is what I wrote:

The final batch of records has arrived. The guy from the shipping department in the building just brought them up on a hand truck. Three boxes – those banker’s box file boxes, the brown and white ones you get in Stapes. They’ve never been good for storing or transporting records, but hopefully this batch made it through safely. Opening the first box. There’s a sheath of what looks to be sheepskin or some kind of cotton on top. Nice. The records seem safe. On top, an Errol Garner record. No big deal. Going through the records. Each has the same type of soft plastic cover: I have a feeling these were the original covers on the records. In the 1950s and 1960s they didn’t use what we have come to know as shrink wrap, but they used a cover and it fit loosely over the records, just like these. They certainly seem old enough, and dirty enough, and covered with enough dust to have been original covers from the 1950s. No matter. Getting through the box, one by one, record by record.

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Another Adventure, Part 6

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Zemanta Related Posts ThumbnailSo we are now in late December 2011 and I am going through the box of records that was delivered to my apartment in New York City and I am recording my discovery in real time for posterity. Here goes:

Let’s keep digging.
Another beauty. Donald Byrd, Byrd in Flight, Blue Note 4048. This is another one I’ve never owned, certainly never an original pressing which .  .  . this is! Sweet again. I just did a post on this record on Jazz Collector, just a week ago. A copy in near mint condition sold for more than $1,700 on eBay. This one is also in near mint condition, at least it is for the record. The cover is at least VG++, perhaps even M-. Perhaps this won’t top the market, but it’s got to be worth at least $1,200 in today’s market. Will I sell it? Will I sell the Griffin? Not a fucking chance. I’ve been waiting more than 40 years to get original copies of these records for my collection. And now .  .  .  finally. They are mine.
There’s more.
Let’s keep digging.
A bunch of Blue Notes all in a row: Read more

Another Blue Note Tuesday

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Walter Davis Jr.I spent some time on eBay the other day and wound up putting a bunch of Blue Notes into my watch list, starting with Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This looks to be an original West 63rd Street pressing in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The auction closes later today and the bidding is already more than $1,000.

Walter Davis Jr., Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. This looks to be an original pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The auction closes later today and so far there are no bidders at a start price of about $750. I would expect this one to sell, wouldn’t you?

This seller has a lot of nice items on eBay this week, including Art Blakey, A Night at Birdland Volume 2, Blue Note 1522. This looks to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The start price is $350 with no bidders so far. There is also a buy-it-now price of $700.

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Prices Rising, Regardless of Condition, It Seems

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clifford copyLet’s catch up on some of the jazz records were were watching on eBay before we were so rudely interrupted by life.

Clifford Brown and Max Roach, Study in Brown, Emarcy 36037. This is, of course, one of the classic records of the era. I haven’t noticed it selling for big prices in recent years, but perhaps that’s just me not noticing. Looking in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, I see we have several instances of the record selling for between $400 and $700. This looked to be an original pressing in just VG condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. I was surprised to see that it sold for $280.55, which is why I was watching it. I thought it would sell for less.

I thought this would sell for less as well: Thelonious Monk Plays, Prestige 189. This was an original 10-inch LP in VG+ condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $504.99. That seller did well not just with the Monk and Clifford records, but also with the Sun Ra records he had and some of his other 10-inch LPs, including Dexter Gordon Quintet, Dial 204. This was an original pressing listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $333.

Here’s one for the $1,000 bin:

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What Was That About Condition?

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Lee MorganBeen way behind on my posting and even my eBay watching. Lots of stuff going on here. When I left off, these were some of the jazz records I was watching on eBay, starting with: Lee Morgan Sextet, Blue Note  1541. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record was in VG+ condition and the cover was only VG, with tape, writing, a sticker and shelf wear. The record sold for $2,324. Yes, that is not a typographical error. I was thinking of making a pithy comment, but I seem to be out of pith this morning. I will leave the pith to you, dear readers.

J.R. Monterose, Blue Note 1536. This looked to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing as well. The record and cover were in VG condition, and the seller mentioned the word “scratches” so that would definitely be a red flag. This one sold for $323.80, reasonable, I would say, but still $2,000 less than the Morgan record.

While we’re on Blue Notes, here’s another that fetched quite a nice price:

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A Delightful Trio of Jazz Vinyl

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ATHere are some other jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with Art Taylor, AT’s Delight, Blue Note 4047. This is an original West 63rd pressing with the deep grooves, Van Gelder, ear, etc. It is listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The bidding is in the $530 range and the auction closes later today.

Dexter Gordon, Doin’ Allright, Blue Note 4077. This was an original New York pressing. The seller listed it in VG+/VG++ condition for the record and the cover. In the description, he mentioned tape on the cover. To me this immediately marks the condition down to VG+, not VG++. So I would also question the condition of the vinyl, but that’s just me. This one sold for $222.50, which is what I would expect for a VG+ pressing of this record, so I guess others may have had the same sense on the grading.

Here’s one featuring a Johnny Hodges autograph:

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Not So Comical, but PRetty Expensive

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DexterAs I was writing yesterday’s post with some ruminations on the strength of the market for jazz collectibles, I got two notes from our friend CeeDee indicating with quite clarity that the demand for high-end collectibles is, indeed, continuing to rise. To wit:

There was this note under the subject “geez” with a link to: Dexter Gordon, Dexter Calling, Blue Note 4083. This looked to be an original New York USA pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,045. Welcome to the $1,000 bin, Dexter Calling. Wow, or, as CeeDee says, geez.

The second missive came under the subject “hmmm” with an accompanying note that said “big bucks for a listing with such a minimal description, don’t you think.” The listing in question was: Miles Davis, Kind of Blue. This looked to be an original 6-eye stereo pressing but, as CeeDee notes, the description was minimal, although the condition was listed as M- for both the record and the cover. The price was, ahem, $798.

 

Four for the Jazz Collector Price Guide

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monicaHere are the results of some jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay:

Monica Zetterlund and Bill Evans, Waltz for Debby, Phillips 08222. This was an original mono pressing listed in “pristine” condition for the record, which we translate to M-, and VG++ for the cover. Not a lot of description from the seller, but certainly a lot of interest from the buyers. This one had 13 bids and sold for $555.65.

Louis Smith, Smithville, Blue Note 1594. This looked to be an original West 63rd deep-groove pressing. The record was listed in VG+ condition, and the cover was listed as VG+, but somehow the seller made it sound as if it were actually better than that. The play-grading described the record as between VG+ and VG++, with the description of some surface noise. And the nice clear picture of the cover made it seem that the cover may also have been better than VG+. I have a feeling whoever purchased this record may be hoping that it is, indeed, better than VG+. Why? Well, the price was $960. As for me, I tend to believe the seller’s original grading of VG+, and that’s what I would expect.

This looked like a nice one:

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Oh Little Label of Bethlehem

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mal waldronThere’s so much nice jazz vinyl on eBay now my eyes are crossed just looking. This is the first one that caught my eye: Mal Waldron, Left Alone, Bethlehem 6045. This was an original pressing in M- condition for the record and probably VG+ for the cover. It just sold moments ago for $999.99. It’s funny, because I woke up this morning thinking about doing a post on the Bethlehem label, similar to the ones I did last week on Riverside and New Jazz. Then I realized I am not familiar enough with the entire Bethlehem catalogue to make a really strong list. Not only do I not own this Mal record, I also don’t own the Roland Kirk Third Dimension record, nor the Booker Ervin Book Cooks record, nor the Charlie Mariano Sextet record, nor, as earlier noted, the Jimmy Knepper record with Bill Evans. I am certainly Bethlehem-deprived in my collection. Of the ones that I know and like, my favorites are:

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