Tag: Donald Byrd

This is New; And So Is That

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Pardon the interruption. Since I last posted, I’ve driven back and forth to Chapel Hill, written about a dozen papers for work and even tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies. It’s been busy here and I haven’t been able to spend a lot of time on my records or on Jazz Collector. Having said that, I plugged back into eBay this morning and pulled a few records to share with you, starting with Kenny Drew, This is New, Riverside 236. This is an original white label pressing and it looks to be in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. This is a nice quartet/quintet record featuring Donald Byrd and Hank Mobley. Put it on Blue Note with this personnel from this era and you have a record that would be a regular in the $1,000 bin. On Riverside, the bidding is in the $275 range with the auction closing later today. Read more

Another Sides

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Here are a couple more sides I’ve had recently on my turntable, starting with Donald Byrd, Fancy Free. We don’t typically review records here at Jazz Collector, primarily because it is not a personal interest of mine. I started my journalism career reviewing jazz records and concerts, but stopped fairly early on because, as a non-musician, I didn’t feel qualified or comfortable criticizing the work of real musicians. I’m not criticizing other reviewers, just explaining how a personal decision set me on a different, and ultimately more rewarding career path, IMHO. If any of you out there feel like doing reviews, I’d be open to posting them on Jazz Collector; I just don’t like writing them myself. Because of this posture, I rarely get any promotional records, even on re-issues of records from the Jazz Collector Era, and even though I have written some reviews focused on the quality of the reissue and the packaging. Mosaic was kind enough once to send me a promotional copy of The Rosemary Clooney CBS Radio Recordings 1955-61 at my request. I gave it a lukewarm review and Mosaic never replied to another email I sent them. C’est la vie. All of which is to say that the copy of Fancy Free I had on my turntable the other night is, indeed, a reissue and was, indeed, sent to me as a promo by the record company, in this case Vinyl Me, Please, Classics. I don’t closely follow today’s market and was unfamiliar with their work. They reached out to me, asked if I wanted a sample copy and I said “sure.” Read more

Original Blue Notes? $1.57 Each? I’m a Dreamer, Aren’t We All?

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Back on eBay. This seller has a lot of nice records closing today, including: Paul Chambers, Whims of Chambers, Blue Note 1534. This is a West 63rd Street second pressing that looks to be in VG++ condition for the record and probably VG+ for the cover. The bidding is in the $465 range, fairly steep for a non-first pressing. One of the things that caught my eye was the shrink wrap still on the cover. A first pressing wouldn’t have had the shrink, but what struck me was the sticker on the shrink, which said “SPECIAL PRICE $1.57.” Imagine being able to buy this for $1.57. On further examination, the seller has a bunch of other original pressings with the same SPECIAL PRICE $1.57 sticker, including Dexter Gordon. A Swingin’ Affair, Blue Note 4133; Duke Pearson, Wahoo!, Blue Note 4191; and Donald Byrd, A New Perspective, Blue Note 4124, among others. I have a dream where I go back in time and walk into a record store and all of these records are sitting there at $1.57, sealed, and I buy them all, every last one. Read more

Ornette, Intrigue, Esquire and More

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Today we will get back to the normal business of watching and commenting on jazz vinyl for sale and we will also pose some reader questions and comments. Let’s start with Ornette Coleman, The Shape of Jazz To Come, Atlantic 1317. This is a deep groove pressing, unplayed, still with its original loose sleeve. The start price is around $200 and the auction closes today with no bidders. This record caught my eye because in my other room just down the hall I have a copy of this record still with its original seal unopened. Oh, yes, and the record happened to be owned by Ornette himself. Oh, yes, and it is part of a collection that I recently purchased and am looking to sell in toto. Intrigued? I will be providing more details soon, because, as always, there was an adventure and a story that goes with it. In the meantime, if anyone is interested you know where to find me, alatjazzcollectordotcom. Read more

Grails, Holy Grails and Actual Jazz Records

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Nice discussion on the previous post. Here are a bunch of rare jazz records on my eBay watch list as I prepare to take a brief holiday. Let’s start with Donald Byrd, Byrd Blows on Beacon Hill, Transition 17. The seller uses one of our least favorite terms, “Holy Grail,” which wouldn’t apply to this record even if it was suitable language, if you get my drift. Anyway, this looks to be an original pressing with the booklet. The record is listed in Ex condition and the cover looks to be a fairly generous VG. The bidding is in the $1,300 range with more than four days left on the auction, so you could see this in the $2,000 bin when all is said and done. The top price for this record, according to Popsike, has been about $3,840. I was fortunate when I purchased the collection in Baltimore to get a beautiful clean original copy of this record.

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Shades of Tommy Flanagan Overseas

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When I began collecting jazz vinyl as a serious (obsessive?) endeavor, sometime in the late 1970s or early 1980s, the record that was identified as the “rarest” or “most collectible” was Tommy Flanagan Overseas. There was no internet in those days and I had never even seen a copy of this record for years, and didn’t hold a copy in my hand until maybe 20 years later, when it was part of a collection that I did not buy. I never owned an original until the Bruce W. West collection back in 2013, so it was a long wait of more than 30 years for me. I’ve always kept an eye on this record on eBay because of its early mythological aura, at least as I experienced it. Over the years I’ve seen as this record has moved into the $3,000 price range on occasion, which is certainly quite a high price, but the aura of this record as the height of jazz collectibility has been eclipsed by other records, particularly Blue Notes, and most specifically Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. Yet Tommy Flanagan Overseas is still high up on the list of valuable and highly sought-after jazz collectibles. I mention all this as a prelude to this listing on eBay now: Tommy Flanagan Overseas, Prestige 7134. This auction for this copy

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Heavy Hitters, Day Two

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Let’s get right to it: The Hank Mobley Blue Note 1568 from the Jazz Record Center sold for $7,600. Is that a record for a jazz vinyl record? I think it is. There was an earlier copy of Blue Note 1568 that sold for $11,000, but we later ascertained that was a bogus bid and the sale didn’t actually go through as described. Unless I get better information from someone in the Jazz Collector universe, I’ll assume this is now our apex. Not a surprise, although I had the record pegged more in the $6,000 range. I actually placed a rare bid on the auction, not for the Mobley record, since I knew that would be WAY out of my price range, and it was. No, after seeing Joe L’s comment on the previous post I became somewhat enamored with the idea of owning that test pressing of Horace Silver, Finger Poppin’, Blue Note 4008. Test pressings have never been my thing, but

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Another UK Esquire and an Audiophile Question

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Back with another Esquire Prestige to start with, if you will all kindly indulge my new obsession: Donald Byrd, Kenny Dorham, Gene Quill, Phil Woods, Pairing Off, Esquire 32-026. This is an original UK pressing listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It’s a another cool cover, IMHO, illustrating the instruments of the two sets of pairs, the trumpeters and altoists. It’s quite a bit different than the U.S. version, which was released as a session led by Phil Woods. Bidding is in the $120 range with more than a day left on the auction.

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Mail: Byrd, Monk, Sun Ra

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Catching up on some email. Here’s the story of a fun score from a new reader:

“Hi, I am fairly new to jazz vinyl collecting and listening. I have been drawn to the 50’s and 60’s jazz and LOVE your site. Unfortunately so much of this vintage jazz is way out of my budget. I have been buying when and what I can afford. Wanted to share this: This past weekend I was in a vintage shop with my wife and wasn’t sure I would find anything. In the back was a small box with some records. I start flipping through them like I always do when I find records in vintage/antique shops. I run across a Donald Byrd – Royal Flush BLP 4101 original pressing. The vinyl itself is VG in appearance, plays somewhere between VG and VG+ and the cover is VG+. The price on the album was $10. I was elated and couldn’t get the money out of my wallet fast enough! Hope I didn’t bore you. Thanks for your site and keep the posts coming as it is helpful in my jazz education!” Read more

Full House: Two Byrds and Three Blue Notes

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Back on eBay again after yet another unexpected absence, which are becoming all to frequent, unfortunately. Anyway, here’s some of the jazz vinyl we’re watching, starting with a pair of Byrds: Donald Byrd, Byrd in Paris, Brunswick, 87 903. This is an original French pressing listed in VG+ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. Actually, the seller lists the record in VG++ for the record, but states that the audio quality is just VG+ with some background noise. Somehow, for me as a collector, I’d prefer that the record sound good as opposed to look good. Anyway, this one has a start bid of $349 and a buy-it-now price of $500, which is the top price we’ve seen for this particular pressing on Popsike. I don’t own this particular record, but I have a beautiful pressing of the other Byrd in Paris Brunswick record, the one with the picture of Byrd on the cover eating French Fries. That one has already broken the $1,100 bin. Not sure if it’s the music that is more enticing, or the cover.

The other Byrd is Byrd’s Eye View, Transition 4. The record looks to be in VG++ condition, based on the seller’s description, and the cover looks to be about VG+. There is also the booklet, which is described as being in “perfect” condition. Bidding is in the $525 range and, by the time most of you read this, the auction will probably be closed. This one is a regular visitor to the $1,000 bin, so I certainly won’t be surprised if this copy ends up there as well, considering the condition.

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