Tag: J. R. Monterose

What’s Happening With Jazz Vinyl?

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So, I lost the auction for The Unique Thelonious Monk. No big deal. The bigger revelation was the prices on some of the other records on the Jazz  Record Center auction. Having been off eBay for a few months dealing with other things in life, I wasn’t prepared for what I considered to be a fairly drastic change in the market. Or perhaps this has been going on for a while and I hadn’t noticed? Or perhaps this is just an aberration based on the reputation of the Jazz Record Center? Or just one or two sellers with lots of money to spend?  Let me share with you some of the biggest surprises that I encountered, starting with The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery, Riverside 1169. This was an original stereo pressing that looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $787.22. Per Popsike, this is the highest price ever recorded for any copy of this record. But a stereo copy? Read more

Back in Action??????? Really????????

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Well, what do you know? I felt like going on eBay today. It’s kind of a bleak, rainy day here in the beautiful Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts, I’m caught up on my work, taped my radio show yesterday (Roy Haynes, Memorial, Part 2), and I’m sitting at my computer and thinking to myself, man, you haven’t been on eBay in a long, long time. Months, I would guess. If any of you regular readers are still out there, what have I been missing? Here’s what I’m seeing today

Not a good start as I pore through some of the higher priced jazz vinyl. The first is Walter Davis Jr., Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. This is an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address. Great record. I, for one, have never owned an original pressing of this record, but I did purchase a United Artists copy from my old friend Red Carraro for $10 back in the 1970s or 1980s. I still have it. This copy on eBay looks totally beat. The seller didn’t have the nerve to describe the condition. But he did have the nerve to put a price of $1,500 on the record. Read more

What is Happening to the Rare Jazz Vinyl Market?

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I first started doing Jazz Collector as a newsletter/web site back in 2004 and moved over to the blog format in 2008. Back then, I used to pore through eBay every single day, looking at the complete jazz listings for every 24 hours so I could not only spot the big-ticket items, but also to identify potential bargains. I was really into it then, because I was selling records and, more often, buying records. At some point, however, my real work started accumulating, I bought two major collections to fill out my own collection, the prices on eBay soared into the stratosphere, and the idea of looking at 24 hours of eBay all day and every day became more of a nuisance than a pleasure. It did change the dynamics of Jazz Collector a bit, because I still wanted to write about the market and identify rare records, but I started doing searches based on price, as in the highest priced records.

And that’s what I’ve been doing for many years now. I’m sure most of you noticed, particularly long-time readers such as Rudolf. Which is a long way of getting to this point: As I’ve been doing these searches recently, I’ve been finding that the sellers are asking for higher prices consistently, and the buyers are becoming less interested. I just went on to eBay for the first time in a few weeks and most of the records I looked at had high asking prices and zero bidders. It feels like the market is changing right before our eyes. In any case, rather than focus on records that are not getting bids, let’s start with a couple that are: Read more

InBox: Una Mas, New OJCs, Autographs and A Rare J.R.

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I know it’s been a long time between posts, but there is a reason, and, fortunately, it has nothing to do with health, at least physical health, but there may be some of you out there who will question my mental health once I get around to telling the whole story, which I will do in a few days. Sorry for the intrigue and mystery, but for a couple of days I want to just do regular, routine posts, looking at rare jazz records on eBay, so I can take a little more time to write about may latest adventure in Jazz Collecting. You’ve waited this long between posts, you can wait a few days more to hear the story. Meanwhile, our old friend CeeDee has gotten impatient, rightfully so, and sent me a link to this record: Kenny Dorham, Una Mas, Blue Note 4127. This looks to be an original New York USA pressing. The cover is pretty trashed and the record plays with slight noise throughout. It is on buy-it-now on eBay for $245. Something about this listing has perplexed Mr. CeeDee because this is the note that accompanied the link: “I don’t know whether to laugh, cry or scream. I’m sure there is something missing . . . isn’t there?” Is there?

Also in my inbox was a new press release from Craft Recordings announcing that they are relaunching the Original Jazz Classics series on vinyl. The press release mentions that the first OJC issues came out in 1982, which is more than 40 years ago, which seems quite amazing to me. I was never a huge fan of the original OJCs, with their soft cardboard covers and thin vinyl. I would use them to fill in gaps in my collection, but always with the idea that I would like to replace them with originals as soon as possible. These new OJCs are being pressed on 180-gram vinyl and “housed in a replica of the original tip-on jacket. I have no idea what the original tip-on jacket means, but I hope they are using thicker cardboard so they feel more like the original original pressings. If these are nicer copies that the first round of OJCs, do you think they will have any impact on the market for first pressings. Perhaps collectors will be content with a nice reissue, but if experience is any guide, it might make the originals even more in demand as collectors/listenters get hooked on the idea of having these great music on vinyl. The first two records to be issued are Workin’ With the Mildes Davis Quintet and the Monk/Coltrane record on Jazzland. Looks like the first of the products are shipping at the end of May. Perhaps I’ll be among the first to purchase, even though I have both records, just to report on it here at Jazz Collector.

While I’m here, I will clear out some of the other items in my mailbox. This one comes from a reader looking for a buyer: “I have a programme from a Jimmy Smith gig in Birmingham, England. It is signed by Jimmy and his guitarist Nathan Page when I met him at the stage door. Would it be of any interest to anyone as I am willing to sell it?” If you are interested send me an email at alatjazzcollectordotcom and I will pass on your name and email address.

One of our readers bought a collection and sent this note: “Recently I bought a Jazz LP collection and found a sample copy. This record is a promotional press of J.R. Monterose recorded in 1963 live in Tender Trap at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I read in a Japanese website that it was a British Spotlight recording distributed as promotional records in Japan in only 20-30 copies, but for copyright problems never released. Later it was repressed in 1993 by Fresh Sound. The sample copy is: Spotlight SPJ 152 (C 556). Do you know something more about this sample copy and his grading of rarity? I suppose, as it was written in that Japanese Web site, it’s a very rare record.” I replied that I was ignorant about this particular record, but felt pretty sure that someone in the Jazz Collector audience will have the information. So, if that someone is out there, please comment.

Finally, our friend Clifford sent this link: My Name is Albert Ayler, Fontana 6888603 ZL. The record was graded VG and the cover was just good. But the cover had signatures from Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, Gary Peacock and Sunny Murray. Per Clifford: “I’ve seen one other Ayler autograph in my life, almost exactly the same, so it’s definitely legit – the Sunny Murray signature looks like the other ones I’ve seen.” There were four bids and the final price was $1,532.

Worktime for Jazz Vinyl

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Here’s another one of those cool original UK Esquire issues of a U.S. Prestige: Sonny Rollins Quartet, Worktime, Esquire 32-038. This is an original pressing that looks to be in VG++ condition for the cover and VG+ condition for the record. The bidding starts at $400 and so far there are no bidders with more than four days left on the auction. I kind of love this cover, but in looking at it closely, does it make sense? Doesn’t look like work time for Sonny, more like nap time. Or maybe it’s time to wake up and get to work. In any case, trying to look too deeply into covers is often a fruitless exercise, beauty being in the eye of the beholder and, to these eyes at least, this one is a beauty. Read more

Jazz Vinyl Alerts From The Field

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Let’s turn things over to a couple of readers for today’s post, starting with Andy, who sent the following:

“Hi Al, hope all is well. I’ve been doing some shopping over on Yahoo! Japan Auctions and found a couple interesting pieces I thought I’d share. First off is a sold listing: J.R. Monterose’s self-titled on Blue Note. According to the seller it only had the RVG and ear on side two. If I had to guess I’d assume it would be a later pressing because of this. It still fetched a nice sum though! Read more

The New Abnormal?

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Interesting article in The New York Times yesterday about how the pandemic has created a spike in the market for collectibles (Here’s How Bored Rich People Are Spending Their Extra Cash). While I think the headline is not quite accurate and designed to attract eyeballs rather than inform (hey, I am still a journalist/editor at heart), the premise of prices going up for collectibles certainly pertains to our jazz vinyl market here at Jazz Collector. Although records are not one of the collectibles mentioned in the article, a lot of our recent posts have been about skyrocketing prices. Perhaps it’s a phenomenon of the pandemic and will wither a bit when the world goes back to some kind of new normal, or maybe it’s indicative of a market that seems to know no ceiling. Whatever it is, it’s becoming more and more tempting to get back in the game and start selling records again. Let’s see why, starting with J. R. Monterose, Blue Note 1536. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing listed in Ex condition for the cover and record. Based on the pictures of the cover that Ex would translate into VG (at best) if I was looking to buy. The final price was $2,650. Read more

Pandemic, Prestige, Impulse, Blue Note

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How are you all doing out there in the midst of a global pandemic? I’m doing well, despite the fact that I haven’t posted here at Jazz Collector since August 3, which is one of  the longest inactive stretches for me since I started doing this as a blog site nearly 12 years ago. These are crazy times. I’m home more than ever, which would seem to be an opportunity to listen to my records more frequently. But that hasn’t been the case. I’m still working full time. My son was here for nine weeks. My wife, The Lovely Mrs. JC, is now working from home, so she is around all the time. My daughter and son-in-law just moved into a new house right near mine up here in The Berkshires. Frankly, while the music, the record collection and the blog have often served as an escape in the past, I haven’t turned to them as frequently as I would have expected throughout the course of this pandemic. Read more

Collectible Jazz Vinyl on a Summer’s Day

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Here’s a pretty cool jazz collectible that is closing today on eBay: J. R. Monterose, Blue Note 1536. This looks to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record is in VG+ condition, or perhaps even better. The cover has an autograph by J. R. that looks authentic to these eyes, but I am no expert. The cover is probably in VG or VG+ condition. This is a nice collectible with or without the autograph, which, to me, enhances the appeal, although some collectors differ on that account. Anyway, the bidding is in the $950 range with about 10 hours left on the auction. Read more

Classic Blue Notes from Jazz Record Center

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Our friends at the Jazz Record Center have quite an auction closing this week, including several of the rarest of the rare Blue Notes, starting with Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This is a deep-groove West 63rdStreet pressing, no New York 23 label, but it is still considered an original. This one looks to be in VG++ condition for the record and probably VG+ or VG++ for the cover, depending upon how the buyer might feel about a “professional restoration” and a “lightly audible scratch.” This bidding on this one has already surpassed $2,000 with three days of bidding to go.

Here’s another one already in the $2,000 bin: Read more

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