We had pointed out the other day that there was a copy of Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588 that could be had for a buy-it-now price of $3,750. Shortly after that post, someone bought it for that price. We never realized we had such power. 

Here’s an interesting item that raises a question: Dexter Gordon, Daddy Plays the Horn, Bethlehem 36. This was a promo copy with the record in M- condition and the cover VG. It sold for $291.56. What’s interesting is that the seller notes that many of the available copies of this record have the promo stamp. Sure enough, I looked at my copy and there it was. Does anyone out there have any idea why this would be the case? If you do, please post it as a comment.

I did a post the other day on the market for Dave Brubeck collectibles. Here’s one that went for a higher price than expected: Dave Brubeck, Jazz At Oberlin, Fantasy 3-11. This was an original 10-inch LP with red vinyl in nice condition. Price: $50

Another one we were watching: Charlie Parker, Dial 203. This was an original 10-inch LP in what seemed like VG+ condition. Price: $393.80

We’ll be posting again later today, and we’ll be putting some of our own stuff on eBay this week. Nice stuff, indeed.

We all appreciate knowledgeable dealers who understand what they’re selling and can provide us with insight about the collectibles market. Here’s an example: I was recently looking through eBay and saw a Charles Mingus record I had never seen before. The title is “Music Written For Monterey, 1965. Not Heard … Played In Its Entirety at UCLA,” East Coasting 12.001.

 The dealer offering this LP was Stereojacks, which I happen to know through my many travels to Boston.  Stereojacks is based in Cambridge and is one of the more reputable and knowledgeable dealers in the country. This is their explanation of the record:

 “In 1966 Charles Mingus offered four privately released LPs on his Charles Mingus label through mail order. Three of them were subsequently re-released nationally by Fantasy, but this one never was. Reportedly only a few hundred of the UCLA album were sold. In the early 1980’s, East Coasting’s Fred Cohen collaborated with the Mingus estate to make this album available once again, albeit very briefly. In addition to reproducing the original cover art (and a gatefold cover not on the original), a 7″ EP of “They Trepass the Land of the Sacred Sioux,” recorded at Monterey 9/18/65, and never released elsewhere, was included. The performance features Mingus rehearsing the ensemble and performing the pieces “Meditations On Inner Peace,” “Once Upon a Time There Was a Holding Corporation Called Old America,” “Ode To Bird and Dizzy,” “They Trespass the Land of the Sacred Sioux,” “The Arts of Tatum and Freddie Webster,” “Don’t Be Afraid The Clown’s Afraid Too,” and “Don’t Let It Happen Here.” The band includes Lonnie Hillyer, Hobart Dotson, Jimmy Owens (trumpets), Howard Johnson (tuba), Julius Watkins (French horn), Charles McPherson (alto sax), Charles Mingus (bass & piano), Dannie Richmond (drums). This is a fascinating and essential document of the true original that was Charles Mingus.”

 The record sold for a price of $92. Here’s the original listing and our thanks to Stereojacks for the insight.

 In the same spirit, we were listing some records yesterday and ran into gaps in our knowledge. One was a simple fix. The record was Billie Holiday, Stay With Me, Verve 8302. As sometimes happens with the Verves, the musicians were not listed. We consulted with The Jazz Discography by Tom Lord for the answer. Accompanying Billie on this date are Charlie Shavers, Tony Scott, Budd Johnson, Billy Taylor, Billy Bauer, Leonard Gaskin and Cozy Cole. Here’s the listing.

 The other record that tested our knowledge was called The Blues, Mamie Webster Sings W.C. Handy, Cub 8002.  Not only had we never heard of Mamie Webster, we’d never even seen a record on the Cub label. We did a few searches on the Internet for answers.

 Mamie Webster, it turns out, was a pseudonym for the blues singer Big Maybelle. Big Maybelle’s real name was Mabel Louise Smith, so how she because Mamie Webster is anybody’s guess. But, apparently, it’s a name she used more than once. The Cub label, from what we can tell, was a subsidiary label to MGM. We could only find a list of nine LPs, plus 78s and 45s, mostly early rock and R&B. We tried to find other copies of the record on eBay, but there weren’t any. We were able to locate one copy on GEMM, which was being offered for $150. We put a start price of $30 on our copy, with no reserve. Here it is if you want to see what a Cub record looks like.

 That’s it for today. See you tomorrow with a newsletter and our weekly give-away. — Al

Today we answer a couple of questions from readers and keep our ongoing eye on eBay.

 Q. It always drives me crazy when records don’t list all the musicians. I was recently listening to a copy of The Touch of Tony Scott on the RCA label. The pianist sounded like Bill Evans, but I wasn’t sure. Can you please tell me who is on this album?

A. Good ears. The pianist is Bill Evans, very early in his career. You can hear him very effectively on “Round Midnight.” The album was recorded by three different bands on three dates in 1956. First was the orchestra on July 3. It consisted of Jimmy Maxwell, Jimmy Nottingham, Idrees Sulieman and Joe Wilder on trumpets; Jimmy Cleveland, Urbie Green, Rex Peer and Bart Varsala on trombones; Gigi Gryce, Sam Marowitz, Seldon Powell, Zoot Sims and Danny Bank on reeds; Evans on piano; Mundell Lowe on guitar; Milt Hinton on bass and Osie Johnson on drums. Scott played clarinet. The tentette was recorded on July 5, 1956 (they took a holiday on July 4). It consisted of Scott plus John Carisi and Joe Wilder on trumpets; Cleveland and Green on trombones; Bank on sax; Evans on piano; Barry Galbraith on guitar; Hinton and Johnson. The quartet was recorded July 6, 1956. It consisted of Scott on clarinet; Evans on piano; Les Grinage on bass and Lennie McBrowne on drums.

 Q. I own the LP Georgie Auld in the Land of Hi Fi on the Emarcy label. The liner notes don’t list the musicians. Could you please tell me who plays on this album?

 A. Yes. The trumpet players are Maynard Ferguson, Conrad Gozzo, Mannie Klein and Ray Linn; the sax players are Willie Schwartz, Ted Nash, Babe Russin and Chuck Genry; the trombone players are Tommy Pederson, Frank Rosolino and Si Zentner; the pianist is Arnold Ross; the guitarists are Al Hendrickson and Barney Kessel; the bassists are Joe Mondragon and JoeComfort; the drummer is Alvin Stoller. The source for both of these questions is The Jazz Discography by Tom Lord, Version 3.3. If you’re a serious collector, the CD-ROM version is definitely a worthwhile tool.

 A lot of interesting 10-inch LPs were sold on eBay the past couple of days. One dealer, Jazz Record Revival, had a group of records that were from the collection of the pianist Roger Kellaway. They looked to be in very nice condition and sold for pretty high prices. Here’s a sampling:

 Charlie Mariano, Fantasy 3-10, in M- condition. Price: $99.99

Miles Davis with Sonny Rollins, Prestige 187, in M- condition. Price: $157.50

Clifford Brown with Art Farmer, Prestige 167, in M- condition. Price: $115.49

Russ Freeman Trio, Pacific Jazz PJ-8, in M- condition. Price: $160.50

 That’s it for today. Tomorrow we’ll do another update on the Website. See you then. — Al