Ernie Henry | jazzcollector.com

Grails, Holy Grails and Actual Jazz Records

April 24, 2019 Al 8 comments

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.

Rare Jazz Vinyl, But Not For Me

January 23, 2017 Al 2 comments

Back in business with a few items we’ve been watching on eBay. We haven’t been buying records for a white but we decided to try to win a couple of items recently, using our sniping software. Here’s what happened, starting with: Lester Young and Teddy Wilson, Pres and Teddy, Verve 8205. This was an original pressing with the trumpeter logo that was in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. I was perusing eBay and noticed this with a start price of $99 and no bidders, quite close to the end of the auction. I do own a copy of this record, but it is a bit of a mess, VG- cover and VG record. I have had a clean copy of this record in the past and, quite honestly, I don’t recall what happened to it. I can’t imagine I sold it or traded it, as it is one of my favorite Pres records. In any case, the idea of upgrading my copy was quite compelling, and it seemed as if there might not be any action on this record so I tried to sneak in a bid in the range of about $11.50. The final price was $113.50, so someone else had the same idea, but decided to go with a higher bid. How how, we’ll never know, but I will keep on the lookout for a clean copy of this record and would have no problem paying in the low hundreds for one.

I tried a similar tactic with this record, also to no avail:

Vinyl Treasures from the U.S. and U.K.

May 24, 2016 Al 15 comments

Here’s one I’d consider if I didn’t already own a copy: Presenting Ernie Henry, Riverside 222. This is an original pressing with the white label and deep grooves. Wonderful record featuring Kenny Dorham and Kenny Drew, and, of course, Henry, who had a really unique voice that was silenced when he died tragically of a heroin overdose at the age of 31. You don’t see too many white-label versions of this record pop up on eBay. This one is in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The start price is in the $250 range and the auction closes later today. So far, there are no bidders. Here’s another great record that may or may not sell when the auction closes later today: Elmo Hope, Informal Jazz, Prestige 7034. This is an original yellow label New York pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding has already exceeded $600 but that doesn’t mean it has exceeded the seller’s reserve price, which it hasn’t.

Welcome to The New, Improved Jazz Collector

September 21, 2015 Al 12 comments

Oh my goodness, I woke up this morning and, like many of you perhaps, I was surprised to see a whole new Jazz Collector site. Well, probably not as surprised as most of you, because I knew this was in the works, but I wasn’t expecting it to happen quite so soon and before I even had a chance to discuss it on the site. Anyway, here’s what happened. Tom Stier, the guy who handles all of my Web stuff (since I’m a techno-phobe at heart), informed me a few months ago that the site was going to suffer in Google rankings unless we updated the theme and made it more mobile-friendly. I put off making the move for awhile, just because I didn’t want to be bothered and, since this has never been a money-making proposition, slipping in Google rankings didn’t really have an impact on me. At the same time, we had been talking about adding a real Forum to the site, rather than the cobbled-together effort I had made in the past. Finally, for some reason last week,

DG or Not DG; That Is The Question

July 19, 2014 Al 17 comments

Found a little time this morning to peruse eBay and these are some of the items I noticed, starting with Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane, New Jazz 8276. This is listed as an original purple label pressing, but I’m not so sure. I zoomed in on those labels and they didn’t look to me like they had deep grooves. One of our regular readers asked me about this record the other day, so here it is if you want to take a chance. I’d be a little careful. The record is probably VG++ and the cover either VG+ or VG++. The start price is in the $150 range and so far there are no bidders. Perhaps I’m not the only one looking for deep grooves. One other question: To those of you who own this record and organize their records alphabetically, where do you put this one: Under Burrell or Coltrane? I used to keep it under Coltrane, but it would get lost among all of the other Prestiges, so now I keep it under Burrell and I actually notice it. Lovely record too.

Celebrating Riverside Records

September 25, 2013 Al 23 comments

Somebody recently sent me this great clip celebrating the 60th anniversary of Riverside Records. It features an interview with Riverside co-founder Orrin Keepnews, still quite articulate and interesting at 90 years old. I find it interesting that he considers Thelonious Monk to be the patron saint of the label, and that signing Monk was what gave the label credibility among other jazz artists. I’m a huge fan of Riverside, and so are most of the readers here at Jazz Collector, I’m sure. So this morning, laying in bed, I start putting together a list of my favorite Riverside albums. These are my personal favorites, not the ones I would call the “best” or the most influential. Just the ones that through the years I’ve listened to most often and enjoyed the most: Here goes:

Riverside

Collectibility in the Eye of the Beholder

June 13, 2013 Al 23 comments

I imagine this is a great record, but someone needs to refresh my memory as to why it is so highly coveted by collectors that the price for this is now nearly $400 and will likely exceed $500 or much more when all is said and done: Wynton Kelly, Kelly at Midnight, Vee Jay 3001. This is a stereo pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. Is it the stereo pressing and the “stereophonic” lettering on the cover? Vee Jays usually don’t have this type of cachet, nor do Wynton Kelly trio records.

Think this one will sell? Presenting Ernie Henry, Riverside 222. This is a blue label pressing so it is not an original, which would have the white label. The record and cover are in VG+ condition. The seller has set an opening bid of about $200 and so far there are no bids at all, with the auction closing later today. My take: If it was in M- condition as a blue-label second press it might sell for $200, but in VG+ condition, I have my doubts.

While we’re not on Blue notes, here’s another:

& a Few More For the Jazz Collector Price Guide

October 11, 2012 Al 9 comments

You’ll be happy to note — or at least I’m happy to note — that I actually did update the Jazz Collector Price Guide yesterday. The Guide was stuck for a long time at 4,971 records and is now at 5,240 records. There were a lot of interesting items that went into it yesterday, many for the $1,000 bin. I had forgotten about the Joe Henderson Page One that sold for $2,000 and the Donald Byrd Byrd in Hand that sold for more than $1,900. Well, they are now part of the permanent record, so to speak. Here are a few more that will eventually find their way.

Presenting Ernie Henry, Riverside 222. This was an original white label pressing. The record was in VG++ condition and the cove was similar. The price was $371.18. Those white label Riversides are a nice find, when you can find them.

Eric Dolphy in Europe, Debut 136. This was the original Danish pressing. The record and cover were both in M- condition. The price was $2,311.

And here’s one I’ve never seen before:

Riverside

One for the $3,000 Bin (And A Few More)

May 11, 2012 Al 10 comments

So how did some of those jazz vinyl auctions we were watching pan out? Thought you would never ask.

Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This was an original pressing of one of the rarest and most valuable of all jazz records and it was sold by the most reputable of all jazz sellers, the Jazz Record Center in New York. The record was in M- condition and the cover looked like VG++. We’ve seen this record sell for more than $5,000 in the past on the Jazz Collector Price Guide. Not this time. This one sold for a mere $3,362.

Presenting Ernie Henry, Riverside 222. This was also from the Jazz Record Center and it was an original white label pressing that looked to be in quite lovely condition, M- for both the record and the cover. This one sold for $510. Great cover, isn’t it? Perfection, really, with the great picture and his eyes closed and the scripted typeface with the finger pointing to Ernie. Love it. Great record too.

This seller had a few interesting records from the Prestige New Jazz label, including:

Real Original Originals (In Nice Shape, Too)

May 7, 2012 Al 5 comments

Here’s one that will sell for quite a lot of money this week: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This is an original original pressing and it is being offered by the Jazz Record Center, which describes it as a “the original hybrid deep-groove RVG-stamped ‘P’ pressing.” This is a lot to take in, but the key word is original. The record looks to be in M- condition and the cover probably around VG+. There are close to three days left in the auction and the bidding is in the range of $1,125. It will continue to rise. We’ve seen this record sell for as much as $5,600 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, the highest price we’ve ever recorded for any single record.

What are some of the other items we’re watching from the Jazz Record Center auction. Glad you asked:

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