Tag: Dizzy Gillespie

A 10-Inch Potpourri

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Back in business with some more random rare jazz vinyl, focusing today on records in the 10-inch pile, starting with Charlie Parker All Stars, Dial 202. This is an original pressing that looks to be in VG+ condition for the record and probably VG or VG+ for the cover. Front cover looks nice; back cover has some writing and stains. This one is closing tomorrow at a start price of about $350 and so far there are no bids. It may seem amazing to most of you but, after all of these years, I still don’t have any of the original 10-inch Birds on Dial. It’s not for lack of interest or lack of trying. I’ve just never seen them at a price/condition I felt comfortable paying. Here’s a record that looks quite nice: Horace Silver Trio, Blue Note 5034. This looks to be an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. Not only a rare record, but extra rare to see one in this condition. This auction closes in two days and there is a single bid in the $400 range.

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Top Prices for Jazz Vinyl Rarities

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Back to the real world after a lovely Thanksgiving break, which means it’s time to look at auctions of rare jazz vinyl on eBay, starting with Jerome Richardson, Roamin’ With Richardson, New Jazz 8226. This was an original deep-groove purple label pressing listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,575, in what looked like a bidding war between two buyers who must have really wanted this record. Taking a quick look at Popsike, the previous high price for this record was in the $640 range. I owned a copy  for about two weeks after I purchased a small collection back in 2009, which I wrote about here at Jazz Collector. I wanted to sell a few of the records in order to make my money back quickly, and this was one of the ones I sold, probably for about $250 or so, back when I was still selling records on eBay and trying to get traffic to the Jazz Collector web site. There are very few records with Richardson as the leader, so I guess it has some cachet for that and for the fact that it is an original New Jazz. But nearly $1,600 for a VG+ copy seems like a bit of a stretch.

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Jazz Vinyl From Some of Our Favorite Cats

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The Cats New Jazz VinylI’m cleaning out my eBay watch list so here are various odds and ends from the past six weeks or so, starting with Tommy Flanagan, The Cats, New Jazz 8217. This was an original pressing with the deep grooves and the purple labels. The record and cover both looked to be in M- condition, very nice indeed. Of course, one of the attractions of this record is that it  features John Coltrane. When I acquired this record I filed it with my Coltranes because I was just building my Trane collection and every collectible record with Coltrane was a treasure to me. I hate to tell you when this was, but it was more than 40 years ago. I can’t believe I’m that old. Anyway, now that my Coltrane collection is more robust, this is properly filed with the Flanagans. This copy sold for a very nice $600. Nice for the seller and I’m sure very nice for the buyer, who will have a lovely record for his turntable and collection.

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Catching Up on A Couple of Jazz Vinyl Rarities

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Sonny Rollins Plays Jazz VinylHey, everyone. Checking in from vacation. Just spent three lovely days in Creede, Colorado, and I’m now in sunny San Diego, where, apparently, there is an excellent record store I should be checking out. And perhaps I will. In the meanwhile, I’m sneaking in some time to take a look at my eBay watch list and see what I’ve been missing. BTW, I am not here for the Comic-Con convention. One crazy obsession is enough for one lifetime.

Sonny Rollins Plays, Period 1204. This was an original  deep-groove pressing listed in M- condition for the record and the cover, although the cover seemed slightly less to me. I’d love to own this record someday. Hard to imagine that it’s eluded me for more than 40 years, but that’s part of the joy of collecting, isn’t it: To always have something to look forward to. This one sold for $1,136.11.

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Ruminations on Trane and Dizzy

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Coltrane JAzzThere’s a new auction from the Jazz Record Center on eBay. I like to watch their auctions, not just because of their sterling reputation as sellers, but also because I often learn something new, or at least recall something I’ve forgotten. For example, John Coltrane, Coltrane Jazz, Atlantic 1354. I have a hard time keeping track of the Atlantic original pressings once they stopped with the black labels, and this is a nice reminder that the original pressing of this record has the red and purple labels. This is the mono pressing, which is always nice to have, although in the case of this record, I typically prefer the stereo pressing. In any case, this one is in M- condition for the record and the cover and has a start price of $75 with no bidders, so far. I’m getting some new equipment this week. I’m thinking about the first record to play and this would be on the list if I had a stereo copy, but I don’t so I’m taking if off the list. Right now I’m thinking perhaps Way Out West or Sonny Rollins Plus Four or perhaps Blue Train.

This one I find really interesting:

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Some Surprises From Jazz Record Center Auction

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gerry mulligan jazz vinylOur friends at the Jazz Record Center had an auction last week and here are some of the results:

Gerry Mulligan Meets Johnny Hodges, Verve 8367. This was an original pressing with the trumpeter logo and it was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. I was surprised to see this one sell for $148.37. Neither Hodges nor Mulligan is typically all that collectible, and this is one of the later Verves among those with the trumpeter logo. Any theories as to why this would sell for nearly $150? Is the market shifting back to Verves a little?

I’ve never seen this one before: Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, A Nite at Carnegie Hall, Black Deuce. This was the full set of 78s capturing the historic September 29, 1947 concert. As noted in the listing, this was a pirated record release, but it was the first of the issues in any form. The set looked to be in excellent, near mint condition. They sold for $688.

This one almost made it into the $2,000 bin:

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Check It Out: Satchmo At The Waldorf

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I saw a terrific new play last night called Satchmo at the Waldorf. The play is by the Wall Street Journal critic Terry Teachout, who has been cited before at Jazz Collector for an article he wrote several years ago called “Can Jazz Be Saved?”  This is Teachout’s first play and he’s done a remarkable job of piercing through the public persona of Armstrong and giving us a portrait of the man and musician. Teachout’s writing is aided considerably by the performance of John Douglas Thompson in a dynamic solo effort in which he plays Armstrong as well as his long-time manager Joe Glaser and Miles Davis. The play takes place backstage at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York just several months before Armstrong’s death in 1971. I would hope and expect that most of the readers here at Jazz Collector recognize the genius of Armstrong and his seminal contributions to jazz even though we don’t write about him very often. Indeed, he is not part of the “Jazz Collector Era” we talk about and his records are not often among the collectible Blue Notes and Prestiges that make up the bulk of our postings. But none of the music we love and cherish here happens without him coming first, right?

In Satchmo at the Waldorf Teachout takes us backstage after a performance. He uses the device of Armstrong dictating his life story into a tape recorder, but Armstrong realizes he is in the more comfortable setting of talking directly to an audience. A lot of the play covers the complex relationship between Armstrong and Glaser, which provides some of the dramatic tension that brings good theater to life. There are more than passing references to Armstrong’s relationship to the boppers, particularly Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, and the deep pain and injustice he felt at being called an Uncle Tom.

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Odds and Ends and eBay

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When I was buying and selling regularly on eBay a few years ago I would monitor the listings religiously. Every day I would go through all of the listings, one by one, page by page, and I pretty much never missed a thing. These days, I’m more likely to do occasional searches and focus on items I’m most interested in. Last night I had some time, so I went through my old routine of listing by listing, page by page. Here’s some of the jazz vinyl I watched.

Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz, Diz and Getz, Verve 8141. This was an original pressing with the trumpeter logo. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG+, although it seemed to have original shrink wrap. The start price was $29.95. There were no bidders. Really? When I started collecting this would have been a nice commodity, hard to find, great artists, great collectible label. And it’s got quite a nice cover to boot. Now it’s not worth thirty bucks? Wow. How about Stan Getz and Chet Baker, Stan Meets Chet, Verve 8263. This one says “trumpet logo” in the headline, but there’s no picture of the label so I actually have to wonder if it is original. The record was listed in VG++ condition, close to M-, and the cover was VG+. The price was $57.

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Updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide

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I’ve been spending time updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide. I hope you guys use it: It does take up a bit of time to keep it going. In any case, as I’ve been going through older watch lists on eBay, here are some of the odds and ends I’ve been seeing.

I would classify this as a bargain: Gene Ammons, The Big Sound, Prestige 7132. This was not an original pressing with the New York address, but it was an early yellow label with the New Jersey address. The record and cover were ion VG+ condition and the price was $32. What makes this record interesting, in my opinion, is the presence of John Coltrane as a sideman. I have to admit I haven’t listened to this record in years so perhaps that will be one of my chores for the day to report back to you on the quality of the music.

There was a seller a few seeks ago with a bunch of autographed records, including: Art Farmer, Modern Art. This was a reissue, worth about $3 without an autograph. With the autograph it sold for $47. There were also a couple of records signed by Dizzy Gillespie, including: Dizzy Gillespie, Perceptions, Verve 8411. This was listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. Without the autograph this would be maybe $10: With the autograph it sold for $60. Did I ever tell you about my copy of AT’s Delight signed by Art Taylor?

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Jazz Vinyl on eBay: Brilliant Brilliant Corners, et al

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Here’s some interesting jazz vinyl to watch on eBay as we head into the Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S.:

This seller has some nice items up now, including: Thelonious Monk, Brilliant Corners, Riverside 226. This is an original pressing with the white label, quite hard to find, and it is in M- condition for both the record and the cover. This one is a bit more than $300 and there’s another day to go and I wouldn’t be surprised if this one breaks into the $1,000 bin. This one is from the same seller: Dizzy Gillespie, Horn of Plenty, Blue Note 5017. This is an original Blue Note Lexington Avenue pressing. The record is in M- condition and the cover looks to be VG+. It hasn’t even hit the $100 mark yet. Correct me if I’m wrong — and I’m sure someone will — but I think this is the only Dizzy record on Blue Note, right?

This seller also has some beauties, including: Sonny Clark, Leapin’ and Lopin’, Blue Note 84091. This is an original stereo pressing, which means it doesn’t have the same cachet or value as a mono pressing, but it is still about $140, closing later today. It is in M- condition with the shrink wrap still on it.

Okay, I need some help figuring this one out:

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