Tag: Jazz Record Center

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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JRC Auction: John Coltrane Autograph

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We’ve written off and on here at Jazz Collector about autographs.  Our favorite was the letter from Bill Evans to John Coltrane that was auctioned for $38,000 five years ago. If you want to check that out, click here. We were reminded of this when we received an email announcing the latest auction from the Jazz Record Center and we saw that they are selling a John Coltrane autograph. This one is not so enticing as the Evans letter, but it is a Coltrane autograph and there can’t be too many of those, can there? Anyway, it has a start price of $100 and there is already one bidder. This is one that I think will entice jazz collectors everywhere: A nice, small Coltrane autograph, easy to frame, easy to hang up on a wall, a very nice item to show your friends and family. Hmmmm, perhaps I’m talking myself into something here.

JRC Auction: Nice Vinyl, Rare DSM Book

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We always like to watch the listings from the Jazz Record Center because they generally get top prices and give us a sense of the current state of the market. They have a new auction this week and here are a few of the items:

Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore, Blowing  in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This is a West 63rd Street deep-groove pressing, which I would think we be an original, but perhaps not. The listing notes that it is an “early deep-groove” pressing, but doesn’t state that it is an original. Can anyone see anything in the listing or picture that would indicate that this is not a first pressing? Anyway, the record is listed in M- condition and has a start price of $1,000. So far there are no bidders.

Duke Jordan, Flight To Jordan, Blue Note 4046. This one is listed clearly as an “original” pressing and it looks to be in beautiful M- condition for both the record and the cover. The starting price is $750 and there are no bidders yet.

I saw this item and immediately thought of Rudolf:

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Mobley Sets New Top Vinyl Price For Jazz Collector

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Time to catch up on a few items. By now, most of you have probably seen what happened with those records we were watching from the Jazz Record Center. The Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568 sold for $5,101, which is the highest price we’ve ever recorded for a jazz record at Jazz Collector. The previous high was $4,036 for a copy of Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, on Ad Lib. A lot of people have already commented on this one, so I don’t have much to add other than what I’ve often said: The market is the market and eBay reflects what the market will bear. This is the going rate for this record in this condition at this point in time. I was wrong, barely on a couple of my predictions. (1) I had opined that two of the other records from this auction would sell for more than $2,000 and only one of them did: Hank Mobley, Hank, Blue Note 1560, which is the one pictured here. This one sold for $2,347. The one that did not break the $2,000 barrier was:

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A Veritable Cornucopia of 10-Inch Jazz Vinyl

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As is our usual custom, we were perusing the jazz vinyl listings on eBay this evening and we happened to notice an unusually large number of interesting 10-inch LPs for sale, some of which we shall share with you henceforth, including:

Kenny Dorham, Afro-Cuban, Blue Note 5065. A beauty, no? This one is in M- condition for the record and what looks to be VG+ for the cover. The current price is around $225 and there are three days to go.

Here’s the next one up in the 10-inch Blue Note catalogue: Hank Mobley Quartet, Blue Note 5066. This is an original pressing, of course,and the vinyl looks to be M- and the cover somewhat close to M-. The current price is $338 and there are also three days to go.

Another 10-inch Blue Note? Why not. Here’s The Amazing Bud Powell, Blue Note 5003. This is an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It is being offered by Euclid Records and is currently at about $115.

Here’s the one on the list that will probably sell for the highest price:

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