Donald Byrd, RIP
You may have seen that Donald Byrd passed away earlier this week. Here’s how I’ll always remember him (as I’m sure will many others): Cristo Redentor
Tag: Donald Byrd
A Jazz Vinyl Christmas
Merry Christmas everyone. If any of these items are on you’re wish list, you can buy yourself a present now on eBay:
Sonny Rollins, Newk’s Time, Blue Note 4001. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing that looks to be in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It closes later today and the bidding is in the low $300 range.
Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. This is an original pressing in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It closes tomorrow and the bidding is still very low, just a little more than $100. It may be difficult to get at a bargain price, however, since the seller has a reserve price on it and the bidding has not yet reached the reserve. The seller is aware of market value for the records. How do I know: He has a link to the Jazz Collector Price Guide.
How about a Transition for the new year: Donald Byrd, Byrd Jazz, Transition TLP 5. This is an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It also has the booklet. The bidding closes tomorrow and is stuck at just a little bit more than $100. This one also fails to meet the seller’s reserve at the price. Perhaps Rudolf is right and this is not the best time to be placing records on eBay?
Pick A Pair of Blue Notes
Here are a few items we’re watching on eBay this week, starting with: Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. This one was sitting at a start price of about $100 for a long time and I thought maybe, just maybe, I might be able to sneak in and get it for a decent price, a decent price being under $300. No such luck. The record is in VG+ condition and the cover is VG and the price is already at $335. It closes later today. The seller did a nice job with the pictures, even (or perhaps especially) the pictures of the bruised corners. To me, the bruised corners make it even more attractive, in some way. It looks more its age and it shows that it has been enjoyed.
This one also has a nice picture to go with the listing: Hank Mobley with Donald Byrd and Lee Morgan, Blue Note 1540. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing and it looks to be in very nice condition, VG++ for both the record and the cover. The bidding is in the $250 range but it has yet to reach the seller’s reserve price. There are still a couple of days to go and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this one get into the $1,000 bin.
Various Vinyl Odds and Ends
Haven’t been on eBay in a few days. Here are the results of some of the jazz vinyl auctions we missed:
John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic 1311. This was an original black label pressing. It was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $510. It’s nice posting Giant Steps every once in a while so I can put a picture with the post and just take a look at it again — inspiring me to put the record on the turntable.
Perhaps I owe CeeDee an apology for this one: Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams, Out of this World, Warwick 2041. This was an original pressing in what looked to be VG+ condition for the vinyl and probably VG+ or VG++ for the cover. It sold for $159.99, higher than I would have expected. CeeDee and I made a trade involving this record and Dexter Calling a few months ago and at some point I may have made some kind of disparaging remark about the Byrd/Adams record. No doubt, it had more to do with the quality of the recording than the quality of the music. My copy just sounded very dull and flat, particularly compared to a Blue Note pressing from the same era.
A Jazz Vinyl Potpourri From Jazz Record Center
We always like to watch the auctions from the Jazz Record Center because they are a nice gauge of the overall market. Here are a few items from their latest auction, starting with: Sonny Rollins, The Sound of Sonny, Riverside 241. This is an original pressing with the white labels. It is listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The start price is $200 and so far there are no bidders, but we’d expect that to change. We’ve seen copies of this record sell for more than $500 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.
Bud Powell’s Moods, Norgran 1064. This is an original yellow label pressing. The record and the cover both look to be in M- condition. It has a cover design by David Stone Martin and has a start price of $100. We’d also expect this one to sell, right?
The bidding has already started on this one: Dizzy Reece, Star Bright, Blue Note 4023. This is an original pressing that also looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The auction closes in about five days and the bidding is now in the $260 range.
Setting Some New Highs For Jazz Vinyl Prices
Many of the jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay have ended, so here’s a bit of a summary, starting with some of the final prices on the recent auction from the seller bobdjukic:
Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago, Mercury 60134. This was an original stereo pressing in M- condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $410. I’m not going to comment on the prices of the records I’m listing here. They tend to speak for themselves, no?
John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic 1311. This was not an original pressing. It was a fairly common mono pressing with the red and purple labels and the white fan logo. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. It sold for $142.50.
Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto, Getz/Gilberto, Verve 8545. This was an original stereo pressing. The record and cover were probably in M- condition. The price was $361.
John Coltrane, Ballads, Impulse 32. This was an original orange label pressing. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. The price was $410. Our previous high price for this in the Jazz Collector Price Guide was $205.
Joe Henderson, Mode For Joe, Blue Note 4227. This was a Liberty pressing. Liberty Pressing. It was in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $154.02.
Jazz For A Sunday Morning: KD, Byrd, Blue Notes
Here’s some of the jazz vinyl we’ve missed while we were away:
The Arrival of Kenny Dorham, Jaro 5007. This was an original pressing that was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It was a bit of a strange auction — there were only two bids and the winning bid was an even $800. Anyway. There was a lot more interest in this one, with more than 20 bids: Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This was an original deep groove pressing in VG+ condition, which I’d say was questionable based on the description. It sold for $740.
This one nearly made the $3,000 bin: Donald Byrd, Byrd Blows on Beacon Hill, Transition 17. This was an original pressing with the booklet. The record looked to be in M- condition, minus the labels, of course, and the cover looked to be about VG++. The price was $2,926.54, which is still staggering to me.
And what would a day in Jazz Collector world be without a few Blue Notes to admire:
Some Jazz Vinyl For the $1,000 Bin
Yesterday we talked about some lower priced collectibles: Today, let’s go in the opposite direction.
Donald Byrd, Byrd Jazz, Transition 5. This was an original pressing that looked to be in M- condition, although the seller described it as being in very good condition. He seemed unfamiliar with the grading system most of us use. The record sold for $2,370.67, so others expected that it is in M- condition as well.
Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This was an original pressing in M- condition for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $1,915.
Sonny Clark, Sonny’s Crib, Blue Note 1576. This was an original pressing in VG+ condition for the record and VG++ condition for the cover. It sold for $1,650.
Sonny Rollins Plays, Period 1204. This one was in M- condition for the record and VG for the cover. It sold for $1,191.88. I think this is the only Rollins record from the 50s I don’t own in an original pressing. Hopefully one day we can correct that oversight. But not for $1,200.
Blue Note Jazz Vinyl For the $1,700 Bin
OK, so when did this become a $1,700 record: Donald Byrd, Byrd in Flight, Blue Note 4048? This was an original pressing and it was in M- condition. It was also a review copy. Who would have suspected it would get a top bid of $1,712? I certainly didn’t. Our previous high price for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide was more in the range of $300.
From the same seller came a batch of other nice collectibles, also at top prices, including: Rocky Boyd, Ease It, Jazz Time 001. This was an original pressing. The record looked to be M- and the cover was probably VG++. It sold for $668. I owned this record at one time but don’t recall that I ever listened to it. I wound up trading it for something not nearly as collectible. I know this record benefits from the presence of Kenny Dorham, for both musicality and collectibility. How is the record and what can we learn about Rocky Boyd?
Also:
Off To The Races, The Chase is On
We’ll start today’s jazz vinyl watch with a personal favorite that we don’t see that often on eBay: Charles Rouse and Paul Quinichette, The Chase is On, Bethlehem 6021. This is an original red label pressing with the deep grooves. The record is in near mint/ex-plus condition and the cover is VG+. The current price is nearly $300 and there are about 12 hours to go as of this writing. Great record.
Now we go to a conundrum we have mentioned before: How do you value a sealed record without knowing its provenance and then, once you have it, what do you do with it? In this case the record is: Donald Byrd, Off the the Races, Blue Note 4007. This is a mono pressing and the factory seal is still on it. There is no indication of Liberty on the back cover — it looks like an original back cover. The seller, Euclid Records, one of the most credible in our community, makes no claims about the record’s originality and offers no hype. We’ve seen records like this and they’ve been originals, we’ve seen records like this and they’ve been later pressings, New York USA or Liberty. So what would you bid on this record? And, I assume you would open it as soon as you got it, so is there a huge value in purchasing it sealed? This one is priced at more than $150 and there are still three days to go.