Vinyl Coverings, by Bill Schweitzer

The Blue Note Original Record Guide

Some mention of Blue Note Records appears in almost every column I’ve written for the IAJRC,. It is the single most discussed, collectible, and expensive LP label in jazz. There are Web sites and books dedicated to the music, packaging variations, photography and history. The nature of an “original” issue, with seemingly unending anomalies, has been debated in minute detail. Not without cause. An “original” can fetch astronomical prices on Ebay and elsewhere. So, if you’rebuying or selling, it’s important to know what is or isn’t a true “original.” Help has arrived.

Fred Cohen, long time IAJRC member, has just published  “Blue Note Records: A Guide For Identifying Original Pressings”, a Jazz Record Center Publication. At $45 it’s available at Jazz Record Center, 236 west 26 Street, #804, NY, NY 10001, or on the Web at jazzrecordcenter@verizon.net.

It’s been a long time coming and worth the wait. The objective of the book is to be a guide for determining original pre-Liberty issue Blue Notes (to BST 84252). With much acknowledged help, Fred has succeeded admirably. For 90 percent of the catalog, we now have a definitive model of what is an original issue. This is a great tool for sellers and buyers alike. However, it may also bring tears to the eyes of some folks who paid big bucks for a record only to find

it’s not an original. As for the other 10 percent of the catalog, mystery remains. Like the nature of the universe, some things are unknowable. More on that later.

The heart of the book is 30 or so pages dedicated to a numerical listing of the 1500-4000 series in both mono and stereo with column listings for the reader to see the nine or so variations in vinyl, dead wax notation, label, cover and back that must be present in an original issue. Here are two  typical listings for the 1500 mono series

All Records are dg, P.

1543 – Lex, RVGe, fr / W63, f, bs, nl

1568 – W63-s1 NY23-s2, RVGs, br / W63, bs, lam

What?

Here’s the translation. All records have a deep groove label (dg) and a P mark in the dead wax (P) also known as the “ear”, indicating manufacture by the Plastylite company.

Blue Note 1543 = Kenny Burrell Volume 2 (one of the Andy Warhol covers – not indicated). An original issue must have a 767 Lexington Ave. NYC address on the record label (Lex). It must have Rudy Van Gelder’s initials etched in the dead wax (RVGe) and a flat edge or rim (fr). The cover must have a 47 west 63rd St., New York 23 address on the lower back (W63), a frame cover (f), a blank spine (bs) with no lamination (nl).

Quite a checklist. But if you’re paying hundreds of dollars for a copy of this rare piece, you’d like to know you’re getting the real thing. Now you can..

Blue Note 1568 = Hank Mobley Sextet, is one of the most expensive records in the Blue Note oeuvre. We’ll return to it later.

All the indicators are explained with clear photo examples (except for the flat edge which is achallenge to illustrate and is unclear). There is much ground to cover and many variations and permutations as the chronology of the label unfolds. For example, there are five variations in the label and six for the back cover addresses for original pre-Liberty Blue Notes. The column listings show which is the proper one at a glance. One drawback to this system is there is no attempt to put a name with the number as I just did. You cannot reference a title without a catalog number. I use the illustrated Japanese Blue Note book. Another IAJRC member, upon receiving his copy, proceeded to pencil in all the appropriate titles by hand. There are “work arounds”, but it would have been nice to have it already done. Then again, what is a bible without notes in the margins.

Two other minor points. Fred states on page 49 “All mono pressings use a BLP prefix on the cover and labels.” Not so. Labels yes but covers no. And then, why put a reissue label on the cover of a guide to identify original issues?

The biggest surprise for me was the elevated status of the stereo issues. Long considered secondary mixes and re-issues at best, Fred, with the help of Rudy Van Gelder’s cogent contribution, shows the early stereos as true originals, recorded in stereo and mixed from an original 2 track tape. The problem was the inconsistent release of these titles. Lots were never released pre-Liberty and some released months or years after the mono. Fred’s careful plotting of their history clears up much of this confusion.

Now to the mysterious 10 percent of the catalog. The questions revolve around the manufacturing process. They are in two distinct categories. First there are the label anomalies during the many transition periods. As Fred points out in his preface: “Like so many record producers…(Blue Note was) frugal, wasting nothing in the manufacturing process”. This led to many mismatched details.

If we return to Blue Note 1568 this problem may become clearer. An original issue has a 47 West 63rd st. address on side 1 and the earlier 47 West 63rd St. New York 23 address on side 2. RVG stamped in the dead wax and a beaded rim. The cover has the West 63rd St. address on the lower edge, a blank spine and laminated cover. The problem is with the label. It is generally thought that the total manufactured run of this title was a very small, 600 pieces. Hence the high collector’s price. However, there are many copies that turn up with both sides as W63. Since the press run was not big and there were no reprints, it stands to reason that this too is an original issue and the frugal boys at Blue Note put both labels randomly into the hopper. Most collectors agree with this analysis.

But what about a transition album with a much higher pressing run, like 1577, John Coltrane Blue Train? That’s listed as NY23 on either side but not on both. Again we are confronted with a mixed bag of labels. Could it be that there was also an original pressing with W63 on both sides? Since the labels were mixed at the first run, it seems highly likely. As Fred points out “ In the pressing plant, the labels were applied at random”. Unfortunately, with a piece as popular as Blue Train, there were many re-pressings and while it is possible a 2 sided W63 is an original, it could also be a second edition. One cannot tell. I recently came across a shop selling a two- sided W63 issue for $450. They had previously sold a NY23 label issue, in comparable shape for $1,000. It’s quite possible that both are originals, but we cannot be certain about the $450 item.

The second question revolves around the deep groove. It is accepted as a definitive marker of all original issues up until 4058. Afterwards it is believed the Plastylite company bought new equipment which did not leave a deep groove in the center ring. We now have a situation that can only be resolved with a crystal ball. It stands to reason that Plastylite used their new equipment first, but why are there so many deep groove issues with later numbers? Many of these have a deep groove on only one side. Were there two presses used? Were there two press runs? Are the deep groove issues actually second pressings ? It seems there is no one at the old Plastylite factory who had any experience pressing records, so these questions must remain unanswered.

In his columns, Fred lists all of these deep groove variations as markers for original pressings. However, in his essay on Transition and Original Pressings he states “ After a certain point, it can never truly be known whether similar pressings for the same record, whose only difference is the presence or absence of a deep-groove on one, both or neither labels is actually the original first pressing.” Since most collectors gravitate to early markings, those single-sided deep groove pressings have enjoyed a not-so-well deserved reputation as original issues. Personally, I think the originals don’t have the deep groove (and most times are cheaper!). But now, this is for the buyer to decide.

Like most everyone who gets this guide, my first stop was my personal collection. There were some tears (actually, more than some) and at least one big surprise when a later issue (BLP 4193 Art Blakey Indestructible) I always thought was a re-issue (no P) turned out to be an original. I found myself replaying some of my second issues to see if I was still happy with the sound.

Unfortunately, this book added some unexpected items to my want list. On Ebay there are many Blue Note titles falsely claiming to be original issues. Whether from ignorance or perfidy is not important to the buyer. Now, you can check the pictures of the label or back cover for tell-tale markings of a 2nd press. You can ask the right questions. An informed buyer is a powerful buyer. Let’s hope this guide has the power to significantly reduce the price of later issues which claim to be original. Maybe someday this book will be so ubiquitous that Ebay listings will claim to be 100 percent Cohen Original!

So what do you do when you’re at a shop and you don’t have your trusty guide? There is a one page summary of important transitions. Try and remember as many as you can. But, if you’re like me and have trouble remembering anything, a few main points are:

1- deep groove to 4058.

2- Look for the P (ear) on every issue to 4193 and most thereafter to 4226.

3- Check to see the RVG in the early numbers (etched then stamped) or the Van Gelder in the later.

As we have seen, the labels can be inconsistent, but the dead wax should be true. In the end, we should all remember, it’s the music that must shine through. Lee Morgan’s trumpet should pop. Jackie McLean’s sinewy alto should mesmerize. If the music is clean and clear, and you’re happy with the sound of your copy, whether it’s an original, a New York Inc. labeled second, a UA issue, a Japanese King facsimile, or Mosaic re-issue, that’s what’s important. Happy Hunting.

Plastylite “P”, all the Rudy Van Gelder stamps (including pictures of Van Gelder’s actual stamping tools), all of the label addresses, laminated and non-laminated covers, frame covers (commonly referred to as Kakubuchi), and other identifying marks.
The meat of the text is the pressing guide, which goes through the catalog series by series and identifies what should constitute an original pressing.  An example would be something like this:

4059                        W63i, dg-s2, P, RVGs, br / NYC, lam

This indicates that the BLP 4059 original record has the West 63^rd Street address with INC after Blue Note Records, a deep-groove on Side 2 only, the Plastylite P and RVG stamped in the dead wax, and a beaded rim; the cover has the 43 West 61^st St. address on the back and is laminated.  All other characteristics of 4059 (in this instance just “PS”, i.e. printed spine) apply to its group, the 4000 mono series.”  It takes a few tries but is pretty intuitive after a few references.  The pressing guide is broken up by the different series and then by stereo or mono.  Once the abbreviations are understood, it takes a just a minute to reference a particular pressing.  Anything exotic about a particular record is denoted by an asterisk and explained at the bottom of the page.
There are quite a few details in here that will aid all but the most experienced collector in their searches.  There is more. There is a section on the mono vs. stereo question with Rudy Van Gelder, pictures of all the inner sleeves, a discussion about the history of Blue Note during the transitional periods, a chronology of release dates, a list of known stereo sessions, and a very interesting section on some of the most rare pressings (not 1538, 1568, or 1588, but rarer!).  Then Fred gives the closing word, which addresses some of the individual pressing details that are left to be explored further by the collectors.
This book may leave remaining questions about details but will be invaluable to almost all collectors to help organize their information and create more sophisticated collectors.  Much money can be spent chasing down pressings that are thought to be first, only later to find out that they are not and worth a fraction of what was paid.  This makes it invaluable to me.

Blue Note Records A Guide to Indentifying Original Pressings is available for $45 plus shipping and handling at the Jazz Record Center website.

Donald Byrd, Byrd Blows on Beacon Hill, Transition 17. This is an original pressing, labels unattached (of course) with the booklet in beautiful condition. The current price is $1,791. I’m saying the record sells for $3,300. Anyone want to take the over or the under?

There’s also this on Transition:

Donald Byrd, Byrd Jazz, Transition 5. This is also an original pressing and it also comes with the booklet and it is also in beautiful condition. The current price is $1,624.

There’s also this, among others: Thelonious Monk Plays the Music of Duke Ellington, Riverside 201. This is also an original pressing, with the white label and the first cover. It’s in M- condition and is currently priced at $450. I remember once seeing a copy of this record at the Jazz Record Center and Fred was quite generous in offering it to me for about $100, in very nice condition, but a bit less than M-. I was foolish enough to turn it down because, in those days, the idea of spending three figures on a record didn’t quite mesh with my sensibilities. And so I passed on this record, and many, many others.

“Hello Al, from Larry Cohn in NYC. Like you I have been collecting jazz LPs for decades and was surprised by the major rise in prices beginning in the 1980s, largely spurred by Japanese collectors. However, I don’t think we can take as seriously the recent eBay phenomenon.

You quote assidiously the latest realized prices for eBay auctions, but please bear in mind that in most cases the fight between two or three naive collectors is the reason for the result. This is proven out by your noticing that the same LP, sometimes even in better shape, will go for a significantly lower price in the next (or next after that) eBay auction, simply because one or more of the participants in the prior dogfight has already been satisfied and is no longer bidding.

The current eBay group of buyers is not reflective of the general population and it would be foolhardy to either appraise or even just assume that one’s collection was ‘worth’ these sometimes-astronomical figures. This explains the recent price for Song For My Father, which surprised you at north of $300, for a record that I assure you over the years has sold in the $75-or-less range because, like The Sidewinder, it was a hit and had many pressings in both mono and stereo. Even The Sidewinder gets high prices on eBay that are clearly artificial.

“Basically, not ALL copies of these hits were played and played and trashed — significant quantities still exist in great shape after 40 years, given the tens of thousands of originals pressed and sold or distributed to deejays/writers and others on the comp list (who often tucked a copy away unplayed/untouched. My point is simply this — just because an LP sells for a huge price perhaps once or twice is just meaningless.

In the case of all of these albums, including the rare $1,000-plus Jackie McLeans that keep popping up, there are significant, though perhaps no more than 200 or so, copies of each out there in collections around the world in near mint or even “mint”  (unplayed) condition. There have to be at least 100 serious Japanese collectors alone (add to this the many Europeans), who long ago filled these blank spaces with near mint copies.

The fact that newer and younger collectors using the current eBay technology are so antsy that they will pay upwards of triple to five times the value of a needed LP does not reflect the general market or population. Most collectors, and I include you and myself, were content to build our collections gradually over a period of years and not go nuts to have the immediate gratification of obtaining a mint rare LP overnight. I have found that “the hunt” is truly satisfying, both psychologically and obviously from a pocketbook standpoint. Of course, the hundreds of near mint/mint copies per title I am referring to are currently tightly “locked up” in collections.

But my point is this: If astronomical prices alone were enough to “unlock” all these goodies, then around 1983 virtually all the albums would have been dumped by their original owners, since the Japanese dealers and collectors were paying upwards of $500 to $2,000 for many titles which previously sold routinely in the $20-$40 range. This dwarfs the recent eBay price increases by a factor of ten. Yet copies, no many, but some in dribs and drabs, the majority of the desirable titles continue to pop up — the supply was not exhausted in 1983 before the Japanese economic downturn curtailed some of this nonsense for awhile. AND, those hundreds of copies per title hoarded away by Japanese collectors in the 1980s obviously still exist and perhaps someday will be made available as those same collectors age and tire of the hobby.”

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