Tag: Jazz Record Center

Guest Column: The Blue Note Guide, One More Time

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With apologies to the author for my tardiness, here is an excellent guest column looking once again at Fred Cohen’s guide to Blue Note records. A version of this was previously published by the International Association of Jazz Record Collectors and Bill was gracious enough to do a new version for us here at Jazz Collector. I’m sure this will provoke much food for thought.

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

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Jazz Record Center Auction: Blakey, Clifford, et al

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Our friends at the Jazz Record Center have a new auction going this week and it’s always fun to watch their items to get a good gauge on the market. So far, it looks like a little bit of slow going. Here are some of the items:

Art Blakey, The Jazz Messengers at the Cafe Bohemia, Volume 1, Blue Note 1507. This is an original Lexington AVenue pressing with the deep grooves, frame cover, flat rim. It looks to be in M- condition for the record and probably around VG+ for the cover. The start price on this is $100 and as of now there are no bids at all. No bids on this one yet either: Clifford Brown Quartet, Blue Note 5047. This is an original 10-inch pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The start price is $250. This one, no surprise, is getting some action: Tommy Flanagan Overseas, Prestige 7134. This is an original pressing that looks to be in M- condition for the record and at least VG+ for the cover, but more likely VG++ to M-, depending upon how you look at things. This one is already more than $1,000 and I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t make the $2,000 bin, but I won’t be shocked, since this seems like a bit of a soft time in the market.

Updating the $1,000 Bin, Plus a Few More

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Let’s catch up on some of the high-end jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:

Here are a few from the Jazz Record Center auction: Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This one was in beautiful condition, M- all the way around. It sold for $2,380.99. Sonny Clark, Dial S For Sonny, Blue Note 1570. This was another beauty that was M- for the record and probably VG++ for the cover, depending upon how you view things such as small splits and slight wear. It sold for $2,039. Kenny Dorham, Afro-Cuban, Blue Note 1535. This was in M- condition for the record and somewhat less for the cover. The price was $1,613.88. And the big one: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This was an original pressing in M- condition for the record and between VG++ and M- for the cover, depending upon how you grade such things. The price was $3,618.

Here’s a $1,000 record that was not sold by the Jazz Record Center:

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Some Top Collectibles, Some Top Prices

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We could be looking at some record prices for jazz vinyl this week. The Jazz Record Center has a significant auction of some very high-end collectibles in beautiful condition. With two days to go several of these are more than $1,000 and $2,000 and at least one will certainly surpass $3,000 and perhaps $4,000. Here are a few to watch:

Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This is one of the rarest of the rare, and it already owns the top price in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. This copy is in beautiful condition, M- for the record and the cover. The current price is $2,981.

Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. Here’s another one that looks to be in beautiful condition, with a little bit of issues with the cover. This one is priced at $1,575 as of this writing.

Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550. This is another original pressing. The condition looks great, perhaps not M-, however. This one is currently at $2,036.

Guest Column: All Sales Are Vinyl

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We seem to be inspiring our readers these days. We have Nick’s Tales of the Hunt in some of the comments, and now Dan Forté, who wrote a guest column last week on Ed Beach, is back with a new column on buying records in New York when vinyl was king. This one brings back a lot of nice memories for me. Here’s Dan:

All Sales Are Vinyl – On the Hunt for Jazz LPs During the 1970s in NYC, by Dan Forté

Before the invention of the CD player in 1982 and prior to the major jazz record labels beginning their exhaustive reissue programs in earnest, there was little else one could do but search the dusty bins of the friendly, neighborhood record stores for those coveted out-of-print jazz LPs to add to their collection.  For jazz vinyl lovers in New York City on the prowl for “cut-outs” of out-of-print (hereafter referred to simply as OOP) releases during the early 1970s (way before Fred Cohen’s Jazz Record Center and eBay), there was a wide range of record emporiums sure to strike a responsive chord in the memory banks of those old enough – and fortunate enough – to remember them. Here are a few:

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A Visit to the Jazz Record Center

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Thanks to everyone for the kind birthday wishes. For all of you hoping to experience the pursuit of a rare jazz record vicariously through my adventure yesterday . . . I have to disappoint, unfortunately. After a lovely lunch with with the young JCs — who treated, by the way — the lovely Mrs. JC and I headed to the Jazz Record Center with great hope and enthusiasm. We got there, I said a quick hello to Fred and then started perusing the bins. In the background I could hear Fred and Mrs. JC engaged in lively conversation. I worried briefly that she might be making a deal to sell my entire collection, but it was only a fleeting concern. I started with the new arrivals and was a bit disappointed when there was nothing there of interest to me. There was a nice original Bud Powell on Norgran, but I already own a copy. An Art Farmer on New Jazz, but it was a reissue. There were a couple of other decent records, but nothing that would really add to my collection. I then went around the store, bin after bin, in search of that one record that would commemorate the day. I went through the Mobleys, Morgans, McLeans . . . and Getz . . . Dexter . . . Blakey . . . Bird . . . Fats . . . maybe a nice 10-incher on Savoy, or even a Bird 78 on Dial? Alas, I didn’t find anything. But I had one last hope.

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Another Adventure in Jazz Collecting?

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Last week I was driving along the Cross Island Parkway in Queens with the lovely Mrs. JC when she turned to me seriously and said that it was time to discuss what I wanted for my birthday, which happens to be today. I couldn’t think of anything and, in her always infinite wisdom, she asked what I loved to do. “I love to buy records.” What else? Of course, she said, that’s what we’ll do. So today the lovely Mrs. JC and I are heading into Manhattan to have lunch with our two junior JCs and then we are going downtown to the Jazz Record Center on 26th Street where I have carte blanche to purchase any record(s) of my choosing (plus the new Blue Note Guide). I must say that through the years I have never been much of a customer  Read more

Watching eBay: Wes, Sonny Clark, Dex & More

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Here is some interesting jazz vinyl we’re watching on eBay:

The latest auction from the Jazz Record Center is closing today, with some interesting items, such as: The Wes Montgomery Trio, Riverside 310. This is an original pressing in near mint condition for both the record and the cover. We haven’t seen this record sell for high prices very often, but this one will: It is already close to $175. Sonny Clark, Leapin’ and Lopin’, Blue Note 4091. This is an original pressing with the New York USA labels. It is in M- condition and is priced at more than $300 with a few hours to go. Did you see the Sonny Clark articles referred to by Mike in the Reader Forum? They are terrific. Go to the Reader Forum for the links. Here’s one more: Dexter Gordon, One Flight Up, Blue Note 4176. This is also an original pressing in beautiful condition.  It is currently in the $180 price range.

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Jazz Vinyl From The Jazz Record Center

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The folks at Jazz Record Center have a new eBay auction up now. It’s always interesting to watch their stuff because their strong brand name ensures top market value. Here are a few of the records we’ll be watching from this auction:

Art Pepper, Modern Art, Intro 606. This is an original deep groove pressing that is in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It has a start price of $750 and already has a bidder, so you can expect that this one may be headed for the $1,000 bin.

Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers, Blue Note 1518. This is a West 63rd Street pressing, whereas the original first pressing would have been Lexington Avenue. I’m curious about this second press Blue Notes, which many of our readers think of as originals, because their prices have gone up quite a bit recently. I just bought a West 63rd copy of the first Miles Davis Blue Note, which I’ll be selling at some point, either on eBay or from my basement. This one is in “near-new” condition and already has a bidder at $100.

I’ve always liked this record and I do, fortunately, have an original pressing: Lou Donaldson, Swing and Soul, Blue Note 1566. This one is also in very nice M- condition and has a bidder at a $350 start price.

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Guest Column: Reviewing The Blue Note Guide

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Mike Falcon has promised a review of the new Fred Cohen book, and here it is:
Blue Note Records A Guide to Indentifying Original Pressings
A Review By Mike Falcon
For as long as I have been collecting Blue Notes there has been a large chorus asking for a complete guide to navigate the complexities of what constitutes a first pressing.  And now they have it.  Frederick Cohen has given us “Blue Note Records, A Guide to Identifying Original Pressings” an authoritative manual on the Blue Note discography.  This includes the EPs, 10” LPs, and all of the pre-Liberty LPs in both Mono and Stereo.
I first went to the Jazz Record Center in 2002.  I had never seen a record store like it.  Everywhere I looked was something interesting and new to me.  I spent a long while thumbing through records looking at the photos and memorabilia on the wall, and thinking that if I ever win the Lotto I’ll be back here first.  I’ve never won the lotto but I’ve been back a few times, always with less money than I would have liked.  I had spoken to Fred a few times and was always impressed by how informative he was.  I would think, “This guy should write a book”.  Well he has.
“Blue Note Records, A Guide to Identifying Original Pressings” is a nicely bound 6 ½” x 9 ½” inch black book with the Blue Train label with red arrows pointing to the various identifying features on the cover.  It’s written more like a compendium or research paper and is not in the narrative form.  It starts with an introduction, preface, and acknowledgements, before getting to the list of illustrations and glossary.  The glossary and illustrations are necessary to understand what you are reading when sorting through the pressing guide.  The illustrations show what is meant by all of the famous Blue Note esotery.  This includes examples of the famous

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