Here we go. A record with a bid. Three bids, in fact: Duke Jordan, Flight to Jordan, Blue Note 4046. This is an original West 63^rd Street pressing offered for auction by the Jazz Record Center. The record and cover both look to be in M- condition. The auction closes in a little more than four days and the bidding is at $1,600. If there’s one high-priced item from the Jazz Record Center, I would expect more to come. Let’s keep searching.

And here’s another: The Magnificent Thad Jones, Blue Note 1527. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record and cover are described as being in “excellent condition,” which I would take to be VG++ in the language that we normally use here at Jazz Collector. There are five bids and the price is $880. This one seems destined for the $1,000 bin, at least.

As I’m searching I’m passing some of the ones I saw last week and didn’t get bids, including Gil Melle, Gil’s Guests; and Sonny Red, Out of the Blue.   Don’t think they’ll do any better this week.

Finally, here’s a Blue Note you don’t see very often: Sabu, Palo Congo, Blue Note 1561.This is an original New York 23 pressing listed in VG condition for both the record and the cover. Bidding is in the $575 range with about three days left on the auction. I’ve never owned this record, never seen a copy other than in pictures, and never listed to the music. But, then again, I’ve only been collecting jazz for about 53 years.

I’m kind of enjoying this process of doing live eBay searches and  posting in real time. I may make a habit of posting this way.

Let’s do this in real time. So far, I’m finding a lot of records with really high start prices and zero bids, starting with: Miles Davis Volume 2, Blue Note 1502, original Lexington Avenue pressing. Great looking cover, as you can see. Record and cover are graded in Excellent condition, which the seller describes as “VERY” nice, although not quite mint minus. Start price is close to $1,900 and the buy it now price is close to $2,900.

How about Gil Melle, Gil’s Guests, Prestige 7063? This is an original New York yellow label listed in VG+ condition for the record and what I would call an “iffy” VG cover. How about $900 to start? And here’s a record I once owned but traded away in a very bad deal for me: Sonny Red, Out of the Blue Note 4032. The record and cover are graded VG+, with some surface noise on the vinyl. The start price is about $800.

Doing this in real time, I have completed the first page of 60 listings of jazz records sorted by highest prices on eBay. I kid you not – there is not a single record that has even one bid. Astrud Gilberto, The Shadow of Your Smile, $2,000. No? Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely, $400. No?

To be fair, there are some records that will likely be sold and perhaps well into the $1,000 bin. I’m looking at Freddie Hubbard Hub Cap, Blue Note 4073, and . . . . not much more. Let’s move on to page 2. I’m determined to find a record that has at least one bid.

Nothing yet. Passing Chet Baker, It Could Happen to You, Sonny Rollins, Rollins Plays For Bird, both in the $300 range, passing Freddie Redd, The Connection at $250, Miles Davis, Relaxin’ at $250. OK. Now I’m starting to worry that something is wrong with my internet connection or eBay. Nothing? Let’s keep going.

Ding, ding, ding. Nearly 100 records down, our first record that has any bids, and, I must admit, it’s a good one: Cliff Jordan, Blue Note 1565. This looks to be an original pressing with the New York 23 labels. The record is graded M- and the cover is graded EX. There are actually 10 bids and the price is currently at about $230 with less than two days left on the auction.

Well, that was fun. Clearly, my absence from posting, has had a dramatic impact on the market.

Here’s a 10-inch Blue Note, with the auction also closing later today: Gil Melle Quintet Volume 2, Blue Note 5033. This is notable, among other reasons, for the presence of the great guitar player Tal Farlow. The record is listed in VG+ condition and the cover is VG. The start price is about $400 and so far there are no bids (and not a lot of watchers). I have a copy of this record, but I can’t recall the last time I listened to it, if ever, even though I am a big fan of Mr. Farlow, who, believe it or not, showed up at my sister’s wedding and played some guitar for the crowd. True story and I have the picture to prove it, but that story will have to wait for another day when I am back in The Berkshires.

Chet Baker, It Could Happen to You, Riverside 278. The record and cover are listed in M- condition. The start price is about $300, the seller has a low rating score, there is only one picture, and there is room to question whether the cover is a real M- based on that picture. The record has sold for more than $300 at times according to Popsike. One of the reasons I’m writing about this record is that I played a track on my radio show/podcast last week, where I focused on the Riverside label. Part 2 of the Riverside show should air this evening at 8 p.m. If you want to listen live you can go to WTBR-FM Pittsfield. Just go to “Listen.” If you can’t listen live, I should be able to post the new podcast in the next few days.

Here’s another interesting set: Miles Davis, Miles His New Quintet, Esquire 32-021. This is an original UK pressing listed in M- condition for the record and Ex for the cover. Bidding is in the range of $55 with nearly three days left on the auction. From the same seller: Elmo Hope, Informal Jazz, Esquire 32-039. This is another original UK pressing listed in EX+ condition for the record and the cover. Bidding is also in the $55 range with nearly three days left. And one more: Benny Golson, Gone with Golson, Esquire 32-125. This one is somewhat of an aberration compared to the others, in that it uses a similar cover design as the U.S. original. The record is listed as EX+ and the cover is EX. Bidding is in the $90 range.

The post Potpourri From the 10-Inch and UK Vinyl Vaults first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]> https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/potpourri-from-the-10-inch-and-uk-vinyl-vaults/feed/ 14 8999 https://jazzcollector.com/prestige/prestiges-and-transitions-and-booklets-and-speculation/ https://jazzcollector.com/prestige/prestiges-and-transitions-and-booklets-and-speculation/#comments Fri, 20 May 2022 11:15:17 +0000 https://jazzcollector.com/?p=8966 Perusing eBay and came upon this record: Wardell Gray Memorial Album, Volume One, Prestige 7008. This is an early New York yellow label pressing with [...]

Perusing eBay and came upon this record: Wardell Gray Memorial Album, Volume One, Prestige 7008. This is an early New York yellow label pressing with the second cover. The cover has a cutout hole in the center. The record is listed in M- condition and the cover is VG+. Start price is $350 with no bidders and plenty of time left on the auction. What strikes me about this is why Prestige changed covers so early and often in the early years. Off the top of my head, I can think of a bunch of similar situations: Sonny Rollins Plus Four,  John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio, All Day Long, all come to mind. I know the cynical answer is they did it to make money, but how? Were they also experimenting to see what would sell better? Perhaps covers with innocuous photos such as this Wardell record, versus a picture of a black artist? Perhaps a careless buyer would buy both copies? Perhaps they envisioned a time in the far off future when they could drive collectors crazy with questions like this? I have raised this question before and Rudolf has been helpful in sharing his insight. Any other thoughts?

I mentioned that the seller Carolinasoul has a lot of nice jazz records for sale now (and seemingly always), including a couple from the Transition label: Doug Watkins at Large, Transition 20. This is an original pressing with the booklet. The record and cover are both listed in VG condition and the bidding is in the $300 range with more than three days left on the auction. Donald Byrd, Byrd’s Eye View, Transition 4. This is also an original pressing with the booklet. Gotta love those original collectors who kept the booklets. This one is graded VG+ for the record and VG for the cover. Bidding is also in the $300 range. One more non-Blue Note from the same seller: Gil Melle Plays Primitive Modern, Prestige 7040. This is an original New York yellow label pressing listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. Bidding is in the $200 range with more than three days left.

The post Prestiges and Transitions and Booklets and Speculation first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]>

Here’s one we mentioned on our previous post: Gil Melle, Gil’s Guests, Prestige 7063. This is an original New York yellow label pressing in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. Seller claims the record has never been played. No comment. In any case, the bidding is in the $130 range and the auction closes later today. Wonder if it will beat the previous top price of $381. After all, it’s never been played. What do you do if you win it? Do you never play it so that you can say it’s never been played? Quite a conundrum, IMHO.

I still keep an eye out for Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045 and here’s a beautiful near mint copy being offered by our old friend Rudolf. This one is already in the range of $1,350 with about a day left on the auction. As of now, Shades of Redd has not cracked the $2,000 barrier, according to Popsike, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were to happen tomorrow. On eBay now there is also a copy of Freddie Redd, The Connection, Blue Note 4027. This looks to be an original deep groove West 63^rd Street pressing, listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding is in the $90 range with more than two days left on the auction and we would expect the final price to be quite a bid higher.

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?

I will stick with this seller for the remainder of the post because, in looking at recent completed listings, I noticed a bunch of 78-RPM records. As loyal readers will note, I do have a nice collection of 78s, and I love having them, although I don’t seek them out in the same way as LPs. So I typically don’t look at eBay listings and I’m not on top of market prices and trends as I am with LPs. Having said that, I was quite surprised at the prices of these records, to wit:

Thelonious Monk Sextet, Let’s Cool One/Skippy — $154.72

Thelonious Monk Sextet, Hornin’ In/Carolina Moon — $164.01

Sonny Rollins Quartet, Mambo Bounce/This Love of Mine — $46

Miles Davis Sextet, Ray’s Idea/I Waited For You — $142.49

Miles Davis, Yesterdays/Chance It — $219.18

There are plenty more to review. Check them out at completed listings here. These prices are flooring me. Honestly, even with the Blue Notes, I had no idea there was such a strong interest from collectors.

Certainly, there was enough in that picture to pique my interest. Gil Melle 10-inch Blue Note, Bill Evans Sunday at the Village Vanguard, Art Pepper on Tampa, Jimmy Raney, Bird, and that weird “Let’s Have a Session” 10-inch LP on Ad Lib, which is perhaps the first “Music-Minus-One” record ever, featuring, among others, Billy Bauer on guitar, with whom I had a one-degree-of-separation personal relationship. More on that later.

Digging deeper, there was a lot more. Bill Evans Waltz for Debby; the Kenny Drew 10-inch Blue Note; an Art Farmer 10-inch Prestige; The Tal Farlow 10-inch Norgran. And here is what I thought: This is a local auction, no one probably knows about it. These records are all going to sell significantly below market value. I also thought that I better not write about this on Jazz Collector. But any of you would have probably done the same if you were in my shoes. At least, it eases my conscience to think that way.

My first instinct was to see if I could just buy them all. So a sent out a blind note, asking if that was possible and ethical. Turns out it was ethical and possible, theoretically. So I asked what would be a reasonable price, from the seller’s standpoint. I was a bit surprised because it was probably pretty accurate in terms of the retail value. Which also meant that it was high. I figured I could probably get the records I wanted much cheaper on the auction, so I politely declined. I asked if it was possible to see the records and the woman running the auction replied that I wasn’t the first to make the request so she had set up a couple of viewing times. This was good news and bad: I would get to evaluate the condition, but it also proved that there were other interested parties locally. This was pre-pandemic and only about 30 minutes from my home here in The Berkshires, so at the proscribed date and time I knocked on the door.

There were two older women. Now I say “older” in a new context these days because they were probably of my generation or maybe just a little older. So I say that without judgment or prejudice. It just seemed by appearances that they wouldn’t have been jazz record enthusiasts. And they weren’t. But they were good researchers. They had discovered   Popsike and Discogs and had done their homework, looking at literally every record out of a collection of hundreds. They had a pretty good idea of what they had and what the retail value might be if they had chosen to sell the records on eBay. They also divided the records into different lots: Some consisted of three or four records; a few were much bigger; and several, such as Waltz for Debby, Sunday at the Village Vanguard, Kenny Drew, Gil Melle, Art Farmer, Billy Bauer and others were single lots.

They key, of course, was condition. And the condition for most of the records was excellent. Waltz for Debby, clean as a whistle; Kenny Drew, the same; Tal Farlow, which was part of a lot, very, very nice. Obviously the owner had taken good care of the records. I made a few notes for myself, chatted a bit with the ladies about their business, discussed the records, and told them I would definitely be bidding and I would hope to see them the following week when it would be time to pick up my winnings.

Between the time that I saw the records and the time that the auctions would actually close, I would go to the site periodically to monitor the bidding. My initial feeling that everything would be a bargain turned out to be a disillusion, to say the least. As the action kept getting closer, I was watching Waltz for Debby go from $100 to $200 to $300 and beyond. The day before the auction, Kenny Drew was over $200. I already crossed those off my list, sadly. No bargains there.

However, there were other lots where the bidding was low and/or stagnant. These were primarily the 10-inch records, aside from the Drew, Melle and the Farmer. There was also one lot of about a dozen records where they clearly missed and misplaced one of the gems in the collection: Among a group of routine records by Herbie Mann and Oscar Peterson there was what appeared to be a beautiful mint copy of the Art Farmer Quintet Featuring Gigi Gryce, Prestige 7017. You had to look carefully at the picture to even see this record and the bidding was pretty low, so I figured, hmmmm, I will definitely be able to steal this one.

The auctions were closing on a Monday evening starting around 7 p.m. and staggered over a two-hour period. I wanted to place my bids close to the ends of the auctions, but not so close that I couldn’t adjust if I was outbid on an item I really wanted. Unfortunately many of the auctions closed at the same time, or within minutes of one another, so there wasn’t that much time to adjust. I must admit, it was a lot of fun sitting at the computer waiting for the auctions to end and seeing if I would win anything and what that might be. I was really focused on the 10-inch records because they were getting limited action, as opposed to the Bill Evans, Art Pepper and other 12-inch LPs. I also had my eye on that lot with the misplaced Farmer on Prestige.

Yada, yada, yada, I ended up winning about 20 10-inch LPs for a total of about $150. This included the Tal Farlow, which I really wanted for personal reasons. It did not include the misplaced Farmer. I would have liked the Billy Bauer, but it had a start price of $50, which didn’t seem worth it so I didn’t bid. Turns out, many of these records that I won are duplicates of records I already own, but now that I am self-isolating here in The Berkshires I will probably have the time to go through them all and upgrade the conditions of my personal copies wherever I can.

Aside from the fun and the adrenaline rush, this latest adventure served another good purpose: It scratched the “I-need-action” itch. Since then, I’ve quelled the urge to just keep buying. I can’t say I have completely satisfied that urge –or that I ever will satisfy that urge—but now it is back to being suppressed rather an open sore.

I will have a coda to the story that will explain the Billy Bauer and Tal Farlow connections, and to follow up on some other info, such as the four-figure bid on Waltz for Debby and the fact that the Bauer record, in the end, is actually sitting here on my shelves. But that will have to wait until the next post. In the meantime, take a gander at the auctions I won:

And while we’re on the list of original records I don’t own, we can also find Lou Donaldson, Quartet, Quintet, Sextet, Blue Note 1537. This looks to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing in E- condition for both the record and the cover. E- might be acceptable to me, if I knew what it actually meant. This bidding is “only” around $200 with about one day left on the auction. We’ll close today with a Prestige, Gil Melle Plays Primitive Modern, Prestige 7040. This is an original New York yellow label pressing. The record is listed as VG+ and the cover is VG. The start price is $150. So far there are no bidders. This record has never been that highly sought-after as a collectible so in that condition at that price, I would be surprised if there is a lot of interest.