This week’s theme: Exploring recent vinyl reissues from Blue Note, Prestige, and Riverside. Featured artists include Dexter Gordon, Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones, Dave Burns, Ron Carter, Hank Mobley, Freddie Hubbard, Wynton Kelly, Art Blakey, Donald Byrd, Frank Foster, Lew Tabackin, Julian Priester, Joe Chambers, Jimmy Ponder, Horace Silver, Stanley Turrentine, Bob Cranshaw, Mickey Roker, Miles Davis, Oscar Pettiford, Sonny Red, Sam Jones, Roy Brooks.

John Jenkins, Cliff Jordan and Bobby Timmons, Jenkins, Jordan and Timmons, Prestige New Jazz 8232. This was an original purple label preview copy, that looked to be in M- condition for the record and VG++ or M- for the cover. The final price was $1,713.88 and, yes, that is a new record price for that particular record, according to the records kept by Popsike.

Freddie Hubbard, The Artistry of Freddie Hubbard, Impulse A-27. This was an original mono pressing with the white promo labels. The record and cover both looked to be in M- condition. The final price was $520, another record high.

Many of you may have seen that Michael Cuscuna passed away the other day at the age of 75. Michael was co-founder of Mosaic Records and one of the icons of the record collecting community, unearthing hundreds (thousands?) of treasures from the Blue Note and other catalogues.  I did not know him personally, but I offer sincere condolences to his family and many friends. If you do a Google search you can find more information about his life and contributions to the jazz world. I copied the following from an email message I received.

Michael Cuscuna 1948 – 2024 Michael Cuscuna, a titan in the world of jazz, passed away on April 20, 2024, leaving behind a legacy that will resonate for generations. Michael is survived by his wife Lisa, his children, Max and his wife Jackie, and Lauren, and two grandchildren, Nicolas and Penelope Cuscuna. His passing leaves a void in the hearts of all who knew him. May he rest in peace, and forever be remembered as he will be deeply missed. Throughout his career, Michael possessed a curiosity for unearthing unissued jazz recordings, delving into the vaults of record labels looking for hidden gems. In 1975 his search led him to the great Blue Note vaults – unlocking a treasure of unissued material by the great jazz legends. This experience would later be the impetus for co-founding Mosaic Records Inc, a boutique label specializing in complete sets of some of the most influential jazz artists. Mosaic Records, co-founded with Charles Lourie, produced hundreds of editions including works by Thelonious Monk, Sidney Bechet, Hank Mobley, John Coltrane, Lee Morgan, Dexter Gordon, Art Blakey, Tina Brooks, The Nat King Cole Trio and Miles Davis. Michael recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Downbeat and here is an excerpt of one of Michael’s last interviews this past January. (full interview here). Born in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1948, Cuscuna first got into music at the age of 9 or 10. “It was contemporary R&B on the radio at first,” he recalled recently. “But I played drums on a little starter kit and got into drum records like Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich on Verve, then Max Roach and Art Blakey. When I started to hear the music around the drums, that’s when I got completely hooked. I went through Benny Goodman, Dave Brubeck and the MJQ, until I caught up to what was going on around me around 1960. “By age 14, I was going to Birdland, which had a peanut gallery. That’s when I heard Blakey and the Messengers, the Coltrane Quartet and Miles. They became my passion and still are. It’s the stuff that gets to you between about 12 and 25 that stays with you for life. You never absorb music in quite the same way after that.” Many years ago, Woody Shaw said of Cuscuna, “No matter what you produce or do in your life, the thing you’ll be remembered for is rescuing all that Blue Note material.” “Looking back all these years,” Cuscuna says today, “I’m content with that.”

I’ve known Michael for 25+ years since having the privilege of joining Mosaic Records. While many are aware of the legacy of riches he has catalogued for one of the greatest art forms, all of us who work or have worked at Mosaic also know him as a hard worker, generous and dedicated to his family. Michael possessed an energetic spirit and drive that was infectious. When I look at the list of 200 sets for Mosaic plus all the Blue Note, Impulse and other recordings that Michael was instrumental in bringing to the public, it’s clear his passion for music drove his life-long ambitions. He was proud of his achievements while at the same time being very appreciative and grateful that he was working with many of the greatest jazz musicians and their body of work. It’s very hard for me to convey my feelings about someone I worked closely with every day, had many lunches with and was treated to innumerable special musical memories. I’ll miss a partner, a lunch-mate, and a special friend. – Fred Pustay ====================================================== I can’t think of any better way to describe Michael than as my mentor. His guidance was immeasurable – filled with direction, leadership, knowledge, understanding, and of course, toss in some of that incredibly sarcastic wit and sense of humor. Michael knew, like his partner and close friend Charlie Lourie, how to run the business of a jazz re-issue label when there were few and far between such companies. He also was a true family man. I saw and heard the love he unconditionally gave to his family. It was not uncommon to hear a heartfelt “I love you” at the end of a conversation to his wife Lisa, or to see and hear the love and dedication to his children, and then, in the past few years, the stories of his grandchildren who gave him immeasurable pleasure. Michael embraced my passion for jazz record collecting and after about a dozen years of managing the Mosaic warehouse he and Charlie gave me a job of producer, expanding the Mosaic catalog to include more pre-tape era boxed sets. I am ever in debt to the both of them. And there are so many other Mosaic journeys in the past 36 years that I could impart to you, as I’m sure there are many others who knew him even better than I that could spin countless tales of this unique man.  Seek them out. Keep Michael in your heart and on your turntables, CD players or however else you listen to the music. And be grateful and thankful he was here on this planet. – Scott Wenzel

“Jazz is still, for me, the greatest music ever – it just ate its way into my soul, and it became a part of every fabric of my body… I remember once I was doing a record with Dexter Gordon at 30th Street called Gotham City, and Art Blakey was on drums. During the session Art looked at me and said, ‘Man, you remind me of [Blue Note Records co-founder] Alfred Lion.’ That was the greatest line I ever heard, you know?” –Michael Cuscuna, JerryJazzMusician.com =============================================== Funeral arrangements are in process and will be held at the Bozak Funeral Home https://www.bosakfuneralhome.com/ in Stamford, CT. Please check their site at end of day Monday when information should be available. There will also be a web page on their site where you can post on their tribute wall.

The post Rare Records; The Loss of Michael Cuscuna first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]> https://jazzcollector.com/uncategorized/rare-records-the-loss-of-michael-cuscuna/feed/ 9 9418 https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/patterns-icons-and-socks/ https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/patterns-icons-and-socks/#comments Wed, 09 Jun 2021 13:37:48 +0000 https://jazzcollector.com/?p=8748 Here are some of the items in our eBay watch list, starting with Gil Melle, Patterns in Jazz, Blue Note 1517. This looked to be [...]

Here are some of the items in our eBay watch list, starting with Gil Melle, Patterns in Jazz, Blue Note 1517. This looked to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing in M- condition for the records and VG++ for the cover. The final price was $2,716. That is the highest price ever recorded for this album, according to Popsike. I own a Japanese pressing of this LP and, frankly, I’ve never listened to it, but somehow I get the sense that it is the label and not the music or the artists that makes this record so coveted among collectors. Maybe next time I get a chance, I’ll put it on the turntable. FYI, the highest price for any of the Melle Prestige records was $544 – and that wasn’t even the one with Kenny Dorham, Gil’s Guests. That one has had a top price of $381.

Here’s one I don’t recall seeing: Frank Foster, Wail Frank Wail, Prestige 7021. This is an early reissue of Hope Meets Foster, with the New York address Why Prestige did these early reissues is a mystery to me and probably to most of us out there, unless our friend Rudolf has a theory. This one is listed in G+ condition and the cover is listed as excellent. The start price is nearly $200 and there are no bidders.

Here’s an original (?) copy of one of the most iconic records in history: Billie Holiday, Strange Fruit, Commodore 526. This is a 78 RPM pressing with Fine and Mellow on the flip side. It is listed in E+ condition. The bidding is at about $225 with seven bidders and 17 bids.

One more: Miles Davis, Relaxin’, Prestige 7129. This was an original New York yellow label. The record and cover were listed in M- condition. The final price was $529, assuming the socks were not included?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post Patterns, Icons and Socks first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]>

I had some time to actually listen over a period of a couple of weeks and, without a plan, I naturally settled into two modes: First, I pulled some classic records and non-classic records out of my collection that I hadn’t listened to in years (or ever), then I pulled out some of my all-time favorite records and listened with focused mindfulness. Both processes were enlightening and fun.

A few highlights from the hadn’t/never listened to list: Earl Anderza, Outa Sight, Pacific Jazz 65. I had gotten this record in the Bruce West Collection from Baltimore. Not only had I never listened to the record, I never heard of Earl Anderza. So I listened to the record and looked up Earl Anderza. The most complete info was on a site called Sax On the Web. He was a West Coast alto player who spent a lot of time in prison and recorded this album and several other tracks that were later issued on CD. It’s an interesting record. To me, he sounds very much influenced by Eric Dolphy. Jack Wilson is on piano and harpsichord. Piano is great, harpsichord is interesting. The record has sold for as much as $128, according to Popsike, and it’s certainly not one that comes up for auction very often.

Then I put on Elmo Hope and Frank Foster, Hope Meets Foster, Prestige 7021. Great record. Foster is quite underrated as a bebop and post-bop player, perhaps because he settled into the Basie band and didn’t do as much recording in this genre as other contemporaries. I saw him a bunch of times, with Elvin Jones, at Jazz Interactions in the Village, even at the Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island, which I wrote about last year (Another Sides). He could play and this album shows it. The other revelation: The trumpeter Freeman Lee could also play. I didn’t know much about Lee either, so I looked him up. He didn’t record much, which is too bad, but there is a biography about him called A Jazzman’s Tale. It sounded good, so I bought it. Haven’t read it yet, but will.

As for the all-time favorites. I started with John Coltrane, Soultrane, Prestige 7142. I have a really clean copy and it sounded so powerful on my system. As I was listening I was thinking this has to be on my all-time top five list. Then I put on Sonny Rollins Plus Four and Sonny Rollins Plays for Bird and Miles Davis Kind of Blue and Clifford Brown and Max Roach Study in Brown and Cannonball Adderley at the Lighthouse and suddenly there was no room anymore in the top five for the dozens of other records that should be there. So, I abandoned any idea of a top five and was simply thankful for the opportunity to go into my collection and pull out these amazing records and transport myself back in time to when these amazing artists were creating this amazing music. What a gift.

This one did sell:

Elmo Hope and Frank Foster, Hope Meets Foster, Prestige 7021. This was an original New York yellow label listed in M- condition for the record and Ex for the cover. The final price was about $494, which seems kind of low for this record in this condition, but actually isn’t, since the top price on Popsike is only $600. I have a nice copy of this one and I file mine under Foster as opposed to Hope, but I may adjust that next time I reorganize my records, which I seem to do every few months or so, just for the fun of it.

I was watching this record close as I was typing this post because it seemed as if it wasn’t going to sell: Sonny Rollins, Blue Note 1542. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing that looked to be in VG+ condition for the record and probably VG+ for the cover. The start price on this was around $750 and there were no bids until the final second, when one bidder came in and purchased it for the asking price. Seems like a pretty good deal to me. Just for the record, I file this record under Rollins. But most of you probably figured that one out already.

This one came from the same batch and I was quite surprised to see where the bidding ended up, since I’ve never viewed this one as particularly coveted by collectors:

The Jazz Messengers, Columbia 897. This was an original pressing with the red six-eye label. It was also listed in pristine condition, straight from storage. The final price was $255.  As they say, condition counts, right? Here’s one more: Johnny Griffin and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Tenor Scene, Prestige 7191. This was an original yellow label pressing with the New Jersey address. It was also in M- condition and sold for $172.50. I love the Griff and Lockjaw records, on Prestige, Riverside and Jazzland, but they typically don’t sell for collector’s prices. Then again, they are not typically in pristine condition.

Here’s a personal favorite of mine that didn’t sell and is back on eBay for those who may be interested: Eddie Costa, Guys and Dolls Like Vibes, Coral 57230. This was an original promotional pressing. It was listed in VG+ condition for the vinyl and VG for the cover, but based on the seller’s experience and description, I would wager that the grading is very conservative. Anyway, this did not sell and is back with a start price of $122. Oh yes, it features some great Bill Evans in addition to Costa on vibes. A really nice record.

This is another nice one that doesn’t have any action yet: Sonny Criss, Go Man, Imperial 9020. This looks to be an original pressing. The seller lists in in VG++ condition, but based on the descriptions it looks more like VG+ to me. The start price is $200 with more than a day left on the auction.

This one has a lot of action and a real high price, yet it still may not sell: Lee Morgan, Indeed, Blue Note 1538. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing. According to the seller this copy is not only in M- condition, it has to be, and I quote, “the finest on planet earth.” The bidding is close to $1,700 with four days left, but it has not reached the seller’s reserve price, although it probably will get more action as it nears the end. Despite the platitudes, I will keep searching for another copy, even if I must travel to Mars.

John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This was an original pressing. The seller didn’t give it a grade, but from the description is sounded like the vinyl was probably M-. The cover was probably VG++, based on the pictures. It sold for a whopping $3,000. That’s far and away the highest price we’ve ever seen for Blue Train in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Thelonious Monk, Monk, With Sonny Rollins and Frank Foster, Prestige 7053. This was a New Jersey pressing, not an original. The cover also had the New Jersey address. This one has the Andy Warhol cover, which gives it some additional prestige, if you’ll pardon the play on words. The record was in VG++ condition and the cover looked to be VG++ as well. This one was listed by bobjdukic, and he has somehow figured a way to get prices that no one else can match. For this second pressing, he was able to get a top bid of $955.21.

Here’s another Warhol cover from the same seller:

Johnny Griffin, The Congregation, Blue Note 1580. This looks to be an original pressing. The record is listed in G+ or VG- condition, which means there is a lot of surface noise, acknowledged by the seller. The cover is listed in VG++ condition, although based on the pictures if I was selling it I would grade it no higher than VG+. This one sold for $475.99. A lot, but more reasonable than the Monk, wouldn’t you say?

I have a lot of 10-inch Prestiges, and you don’t often find them in M- condition, so this one is quite appealing: Stan Getz Volume 1, Prestige 102. The vinyl is M- and the cover is VG++. The seller is Atomic Records, which tends to be conservative on the grading, so this one must be really nice. It closes later today and the price is about $80.

One more Prestige:

Elmo Hope and Frank Foster, Hope Meets Foster, Prestige 7021. This looks to be an original New York yellow label with the deep grooves. The record looks to be in at least VG+ condition, maybe better, and the cover is listed as VG. The price is now in the $115 range, with more than two days left.

Let’s start with a couple more Prestiges. Frank Foster, Hope Meets Foster, Prestige 7021. This looks to be an original pressing with the New York address and the deep groove. It was listed in M- condition for the record and the cover looked to be VG+ or VG++. The price was $548.78, which is a nice price but in this market I would have thought it might have sold for even more. If that Prestige sold for less than expected, this one got top dollar, based on what we’ve previously seen for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide:

Booker Ervin, The Song Book, Prestige 7318. This was an original yellow-label pressing. Mike asks in a previous post if this is original and it is. He also asks when Prestige stopped using deep grooves, and I don’t know the answer. Anyone? I’ve seen yellow labels on Prestiges into the mid-7220s, so this was the tail end of the yellow label series. Anyway, this one was in M- condition for the record and cover and sold for $696. Some of our readers theorize that when we call attention to a record, it can inflate the price. Seeing this and seeing how the traffic to Jazz Collector has been growing so quickly, I’m tending to see the logic.

Finally, here’s another for the $1,000 bin: Lawrence Marable, Tenorman, Jazz West 8. A little surprising that this got such a high price, only because of the condition: The record was VG+, the cover was just VG. The price was $1,238.02.