OK. The auction records are here, in a newly created bin on the floor of my music room/office. It’s fun looking through the records, of course, encountering pleasant surprises, but what I am most looking forward to is listening to them. That’s the best thing about getting new records, or even getting new copies of old records: Exploring and discovering (or rediscovering) the music. As I type this I’m listening to Wes Montgomery Full House and it’s probably the first time I’ve listened to this LP in 10 years or more. With 10,000 records a lot of great LPs wind up sitting on the shelf. I remember the first time I heard this record. I was in a car with my friend Dan and we had the radio on and we heard a Wes solo and we knew immediately it was Wes and then the tenor player starting playing and we were both blown away because he was really cooking and we couldn’t figure out who it was. It was, of course, Johnny Griffin. And now I am listening to this beautiful near mint copy of this record again and, ah, what a nice way to start a gorgeous Sunday morning. Anyway, back to the auction items:

The next one I purchased was listed as: Stan Getz, Three Verve LPS with Trumpeter labels. Price $40.95. These turned out to be For Musicians Only with Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Stitt;

Stan Getz Plays (yes, the Verve version of the Norgran LP I was talking about last week); plus Stan Getz at the Shrine, a double LP with Bob Brookemeyer. They are all, like the others, in near mint condition. I have all of these records, but I bid because they were so cheap. Am I happy I bid? Duh, yeah! I’m telling you, these records are in beautiful shape and they cost me $13.65 each.

Three Prestige Red Garland LPs with Bergenfield NJ labels. Price: $152.10. All three of these records feature John Coltrane, so there is real potential for value. Traneing In is a second pressing of Prestige 7123, but it’s in nice shape. All Mornin’ Long is also not an original, but it’s also in near mint condition. High Pressure was listed in VG condition, but it’s closer to VG++ and it is an original pressing and it’s a great record and the last time I tracked it in the Jazz Collector Price Guide it sold for $275, so I’m pleased with this batch as well. There’s some risk, but if these records end up on eBay I should more than get my money back and make some other collectors quite happy.

Oliver Nelson, One New Jazz and Two Prestige With Yellow Bergenfield NJ Label. Price: $46.80 Not sure why I purchased this one, except for that the price was right. I have all of the records and the market for Oliver Nelson on eBay is not all that great. However . . . Meet Oliver Nelson is an original New Jazz and it features Kenny Dorham and it is in near mint condition and it is definitely an improvement over the copy in my collection. Could I go wrong with three original Prestige and New Jazz LPs for an average price of $15.60 each? I think not.

OK, now we come to the first, and probably the only real glitch in the purchase. This was a set of four John Coltrane LPs. Price: $187.20. The big appeal in this batch was a copy of Giant Steps listed as “Atlantic 1311 black fan label.” I wasn’t quite sure about the “fan” part of the description, but the “black” part was what intrigued me. Certainly a black label copy of Giant Steps in near mint condition would more than cover the price of this entire lot. Unfortunately, however, the record that arrived in the mail does not have a black label: The label is a routine purple and red. Not quite sure how this happened. My next step is to contact the auction house and see what they do about this obvious mistake. We’ll see. I have confidence they’ll be fair and reasonable. As for the rest of the set: There’s a blue label copy of Standard Coltrane on Prestige. Eh. There’s an original mono orange label Jazzland Thelonious Monk with John Coltane. Nod bad. There’s also an original A Love Supreme, which looked good at first but turns out to be slightly damaged. Not good. We’ll definitely be seeking some restitution for this batch.

Coming up next: What happened with some of the blind bids we made on collections that had meager descriptions and were pure shot-in-the-dark gambles? Stay tuned.

Well, we are Jazz Collector, aren’t we, so the answer is that we are keeping the original and selling the reissue on eBay. There was a thought to keeping both, but the liner notes are the same and it really doesn’t make sense since we also have this record on CD and on our Ipod as well. So, The Modern Touch stays here, and Reunion on Jazzland will, hopefully, find a nice home where it will be treasured and appreciated for the great music that it provides.

Hank Mobley, Jazz Message #2, Savoy 12092. This is an original red label pressing that looks to be in nice VG++ condition, both record and cover. The current price is about $160. 

John Lewis and Bill Perkins, Grand Encounter, Pacific Jazz 1217. This is a nice record and it’s in VG++ condition, both vinyl and cover. The current price is about $80. 

The Resurgence of Dexter Gordon, Jazzland 29. This is an original mono pressing in M- condition and the current price is $61. Amazingly, two weeks  ago we put a nice stereo copy of this LP on Jazz Collector for sale at $25 — the first time we’ve ever tried to sell anything directly off the site — and no one has purchased it yet. We thought the $25 was a really great price for an original stereo pressing, and we expected someone to jump all over it. But no sale yet. Perhaps when this mono version sells for close to $100, that will inspire someone to come back here. We’ll see. 

Stay tuned. We have a few more items for you to watch and we’ll be posting again fairly soon.

We’ll start with some nice jazz guitar records. Atomic Records has a pair of nice Tal Farlow records on Norgran: The Artistry of Tal Farlow, Norgran 1014. This is in nice shape and in the $100 range as of this post. Also, Interpretations, Norgran 1027. This seems to be in a bit better condition and is in the same price range. My good friend Dan Axelrod is loaded with personal anecdotes about Tal, and at some point I’m going to prevail upon him to share them on this site. Dan, are you out there?

The seller 59Whitefalcon, who often sells nice jazz guitar LPs on eBay, is on today with a bunch of Sal Salvador records, including my personal favorite, which is: Shades of Sal Salvador, Bethlehem 39.  This one features Phil Woods and Eddie Costa and is being offered at a start price of around $50. After you click it, you can view seller’s other items to check out the other Sal Salvador records. Back to Dan, I know there’s a very funny story involving Tal and Jimmy Raney and Sal Salvador. So, Dan, anytime you’re ready.

A day without a collectible Blue Note on eBay would be like a day without sunshine, so no sense depriving us of the pleasure. How about: Lee Morgan, Indeed, Blue Note 1538. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing in very nice condition. This is already near $750. 

And here, in no particular order, are a bunch of others:

Barbara Lea, Lea in Love, Prestige 7100. This is a New York pressing in nice shape.

Horace Silver Quintet, Blue Note 5058. This is a 10-inch LP in VG condition. Seller has a start price of $299. Somehow I think it’s not going to sell. 

Lockjaw Davis and Johnny Griffin, Lookin’ At Monk, Jazzland 39. What’s this doing here? It’s not a real collectible. Perhaps not, but not every collectible is a good record, and not every good record is a collectible and this is a darn good record, fantastic music and well recorded. It has no bids and it’s $8, so, at this point, it’s not much risk.

Here’s another one that fits the same mold, nice record, reasonable price: Kenny Dorham and Jackie McLean, Inta Somethin’, Pacific Jazz 41. This one is also under $10 at this point.

Finally, here’s one you don’t see too often: Charles Mingus at the Bohemia, Debut 123. This looks to be in nice shape. We’ll see if it meets the dealer’s reserve price.

Art Farmer, Art, Argo 678. A few weeks ago a copy in near mint condition sold for more than $120. This copy, in nice condition but not near mint, sold for $24. Is this indicative of a summer slump in prices, or lack of trust in the dealer’s grading?

Louis Smith, Here Comes, Blue Note 1584. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street label in VG+/VG+ condition. Price: $417

Here’s a real rare one that we’ve never seen before: Albert Ayler, Ghosts, Debut 144. This was the original Danish pressing in nice condition, not mint. Price: $317

Here’s a New Jersey pressing of John Coltrane, Soultrane, Prestige 7142. This was originally issued with the New York label, so this one is not original. Price: $138.50

Here’s one that sold for less than expected: I should have bid. Cliff Jordan and Sonny Red, A Story Tale, Jazzland 40. This was in M-/VG+ condition and sold for $46.51

Back from another weekend away, so it’s time to see what happened on eBay the past few days. We were watching auctions from a group of dealers that had some amazing records. Here are some of the dealers and their wares. You can do a general eBay search on completed items for any of these dealers to see more.

Here are items sold by the dealer Jazz5060. This dealer also has a bunch of great records for auction now.

Charlie Persip, Jazz Statesman, Bethlehem 6046, in M-/M- condition. Price: $157.50

 Walter Benton Quintet, Out of this World, Jazzland 28, in M-/M- condition. Price: $449

 Zoot Sims, Stretchin’ Out, United Artists 4023. This was a promo copy in M-/VG++ condition. Price: $460

 Freddie Hubbard, Goin’ Up, Blue Note 4056, in M-/VG++ condition. Price: $349.95

 The Return of Howard McGhee, Bethlehem 42 in M-/M- condition. Price: $676

Here are some items sold by the seller Recordsfever:

Kenny Drew, Undercurrent, Blue Note 4059, in M-/M- condition. Price: $388.30

Lee Morgan, The Cooker, Blue Note 1578, in M-/VG++ condition. Price: $310

Lou Donaldson, LD&3, Blue Note 4012, in M-/M- condition. Price: $210.50

Freddie Hubbard, Hub Cap, Blue Note 4073, in M-/M- condition. Price: $240.50

Here are some items from the seller Dirtcup.

Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington, Riverside 201. This was with the original cover and the original white label in M- condition. You rarely see it with this cover and hardly ever in this type of condition. Price: $420

Kenny Burrell and Frank Foster, All Day Long, Prestige 7081 in M-/M- condition. Price: $400.50

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, A Night at Birdland Volume One, Blue Note 1521, with the original cover in M-/M- condition. Price:  $414

Freddie Hubbard, Open Sesame, Blue Note 4040, in M-/M- condition. Price: $1,065

Miles Davis Volume Two, Blue Note 1502 in M-/M- condition. Price: $356

Here are some from the seller AnthonyPearson:

Clifford Brown and Max Roach, A Study in Brown, Emarcy 36037, in M-/VG++ condition. Price: $503

Art Farmer Quintet with Gigi Gryce, Prestige 7017, in VG++/VG++ condition. Price: $139.50

The Dual Role of Bob Brookmeyer, Prestige 7066, in M-/VG++ condition. Price: $71.26

Dexter Gordon, Dexter Blows Hot and Cool, Dootone 207 in VG++/VG++ condition. Price: $960

These are from the seller Hithere757:

Hank Mobley, Hank, Blue Note 1560, in VG+/VG++ condition. Price: $374

Cliff Jordan, Blue Note 1565, in VG++/VG++ condition. Price: $975

Duke Jordan, Flight To Jordan, Blue Note 4046, in VG++/VG++ condition. Price: $666

Louis Smith, Here Comes Louis Smith, Blue Note 1584 in M-/VG++ condition. Price: $533

Here are a couple of more nice ones for relatively reasonable prices:

Sonny Red, Out of the Blue, Blue Note 4032, in M-/VG+ condition. Price: $141.49

Jackie McLean, Jackie’s Pal, Prestige 7068, in VG+/VG++ condition. Price: $256.50

We’ll spend some time today looking ahead on eBay for some interesting items this week. Check out Jazzcollector.com tomorrow for an update. See you then. — Al

Another day, another thousand or so records on eBay. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to go through them all and it may as well be me. Here are some of the items we’re watching over the next couple of days: Don Sleet, All Members, Jazzland 45

After you click this item do yourself a favor and click “View Seller’s Other Items.” You will see some great records in great condition that will sell for high prices.

This is another dealer with some good items this week. Art Taylor, Taylor’s Wailers, Prestige 7117

One of these days we will get this record, but not this week. The price tag of $450 is already a little too steep. This is the dealer JBLD44000 again. He has many, many, many rare collectibles at high prices the next two days. After you look at Taylor’s Wailers take a look at his other items.

Wow, look at this next item: A copy of Charlie Parker, The Bird Blows The Blues, Dial 901. According to the seller, there were only 300 of these pressed and they were distributed directly by Dial’s owner Ross Russell through an ad in Downbeat. The price on this was around $150 when we posted this. We’ll be curious to see how high it goes and whether it cracks the reserve price. Kenny Dorham, Jazz Contrasts, Riverside 239

This one has us a bit baffled. The price is already over $220 and it’s not an original pressing: The original pressing of this LP has a white label. The high price must be related to condition, right?

That’s what we’re watching. Now here are some of the items we were watching the past few days. Paul Chambers, Bass on Top, Blue Note 1569. This was an original pressing in approximately VG+/VG+ condition. Price: $202.5. Chet Baker, Chet, Riverside 299. Condition of this looked very nice and was graded M-/M-. Price: $212.49

Tubby Hayes, Down in the Village, Fontana 680 998. This also was in very nice condition, graded M-/M-. Price: $795

Then there were the two gorgeous looking Bird on Dial 10-inch LPs. You rarely see records this rare in this condition. I expected them to go for high prices and they did, each one fetching the same $705.50. Here they are: Charlie Parker, Dial 203; Charlie Parker, Dial 201

And here’s a rare New York pressing of Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079.  The dealer graded this VG++/VG++, but the picture didn’t seem to reflect that grading. The price was $609, which is actually kind of low for a clean New York pressing of this LP. Here it is:

Finally, there were several auctions we were watching from the dealer Dirtcup. He had an amazing group of Thelonious Monk LPs, plus a few others, that seemed to be in pristine condition. We bid on several items and fell short on every single one.  Below are some of the items we were watching. Keep an eye on this dealer’s auctions over the next few days as well: He has some great records in great condition.

Oliver Nelson, Sreamin’ The Blues, New Jazz 8243. Price: $135

Thelonious in Action, Riverside 262. Price $51.01

That’s it for today. Tomorrow we’ll be back at Jazzcollector.com with reader comments and Friday is our next newsletter. See you soon. — Al

My friend Dan called the other day. He’d just bought a copy of “Slim’s Jam”, the original 78 on the Bel-Tone label, featuring one of Charlie Parker’s early recorded solos recorded in December 1945 when he was in Los Angeles. Dan paid 40 bucks on eBay for the 78. I don’t have a copy of the 78, but I do have the cut on the original Savoy 12-inch LP, The Genius of Charlie Parker, Savoy MG-12014, so I put it on. This is a classic, of course, featuring Slim Gaillard introducing each of the musicians in his own inimitable style: “Here comes Zutty in the door with his brushes . . . This is a fun, Jack McVouty and his tenor.” And, inevitably, “Charlie Yardbirdaroonee,” who, as we soon learn, was “ havin’ a little reed trouble.”

 You’ll never know there was any trouble when you listen to Bird’s solo. It’s very soulful and almost out of context, it’s so far ahead of its time. Click here to enjoy and, remember, this was 1945.

            A few interesting items coming up in the next few days. While we can’t vouch for the dealers, here are some collectibles you might be interested in:

            Sal Nistico, Heavyweights, Jazzland 966. Closes Thursday, March 5 at 5:29 p.m. PST.  Nistico was an underrated tenor player and this LP has a great supporting cast, including Nat Adderley, Barry Harris, Sam Jones and Walter Perkins. Last we looked there were no bidders and the starting price was $9.99. This dealer has a lot of good stuff up now.

            Horace Silver, Finger Poppin’, Blue Note 4008. Closes Thursday, March 5 at 7:45 p.m. PST.  This is an original pressing that looks pretty clean, rated VG+. Price was up to $86 last time we looked, so it’s already pretty high.

            Tina Brooks, The Complete Blue Note on Mosaic. Closes Saturday, March 6 at 8:40 a.m. PST. Start price is $100 and there were no bidders when we looked. This is long out of print and, as we’ve seen with the Mosaics, they only seem to go up in value — not to mention that the music is pretty terrific as well.

            Introducing Joe Gordon on Emarcy. Closes Saturday, March 6 at 2:34 a.m. PST. This is an original Emarcy with the drummer label that looks to be in nice condition. Start price was $14.99 with no bids.

            Sarah Vaughan in the Land of Hi Fi, Emarcy 36058. Closes Saturday, March 6 at 5:30 a.m. PST. This is an original pressing that looks to be in great shape. Price is high at $39.99, but it’s not often you get a record this old and this clean. Plus it’s got some great soloing by Cannonball Adderley to back up Sarah. A great record if you don’t have it.

            Some recent prices of collectibles on eBay:

            Cannonball Adderley, Presenting Cannonball, Savoy. Original. VG++ Condition. Price: $89.88.

            Charlie Parker, Bird and Diz, 10-inch Clef MG C-512. Record and cover were VG+. Price: $100.

            Ken McIntyre with Eric Dolphy, Looking Ahead, Prestige New Jazz 8247. Cover was rated VG++, record was M-/VG++. Price was $37.51, but it did not meet the seller’s reserve.

            Horace Siler, Silver’s Blue, Epic 3326. This was a white promo label in VG+ condition. Price: $92.99.

            For Sale: The Jimmy Giuffre 3, Trav’lin’ Light, Atlantic 1282.

            This is a stereo LP with the red and purple label. Cover has a small cutout hole on the upper left. Record is in VG+ condition, has occasional light surface noise. Cover is VG++, with seams intact and a nice shine on the front.

            Unusual instrumentation on this LP with no bass and no drums, just Jim Hall on guitar, Bob Brookmeyer on trombone and Giuffre on clarinet, tenor sax or baritone sax. As you would expect, it’s a soft, thoughtful record, with a lot of interesting interplay among the musicians.  It was recorded in 1958 and features, among other tracks, the tune 42^nd Street, which was not done often as a jazz number. The album received four stars in the All Music Guide

            Here’s an interesting tidbit from the liner notes by Nat Hentoff, with Giuffre explaining why he chose to name the album after the song “Trave’lin’ Light.”

            “Because we’re traveling around the country in a light Volkswagen bus and we have a light trio (no drums, piano or bass).”

            This album is available on CD but, for some reason, was packaged with a set by Mabel Mercer, of all people. We, of course, prefer the original LP. Don’t know if the CD package includes the original liner notes. Maybe one of our readers can tell us.

            Anyway, this LP is offered for $10, plus shipping, to subscribers only. We have one copy so if you’re interested send an email to rhett@jazzcollector.com and we’ll make you eligible to buy it. We’ll conduct a drawing and announce the results in two days. Shipping for the LP is $3.50 in the U.S.; $12 to Europe and $15 to Asia.

Question For The Day

            Q: Which Duke Ellington classic made its debut under the title “Subtle Slough.”

            Answer tomorrow.

            Answer to yesterday’s question.

            Q. Which hard bop bassist went by the nickname “Home?”

A. Sam Jones, the long-time bassist with Cannonball Adderley.

Source: Liner notes to the Jones LP The Soul Society, Riverside 324. This from Cannonball, who wrote the notes:

            “’Home,’ as he is affectionately known to his friends, was tagged with that name in much the same way as Lester Young became known as ‘Pres’ – for Sam refers to everyone else as ‘Home!’”

Bonus: Here’s another interesting tidbit from those liner notes, this from Jones himself: “I never heard Jimmy Blanton in person, but his record of “Jack The Bear” with Duke Ellington influenced my direction more than any other bass performance.”

Last Chorus

That’s all for today, folks. We do this five days a week, offering new items for sale every single day exclusively to subscribers. For more information about what we do and how to subscribe, please come to Jazzcollector.com or send me a note at al@jazzcollector.com. Also, please remember that, like you, we are fans and collectors. We don’t purport to own all the knowledge and expertise about jazz and jazz collecting, so if you see mistakes, have suggestions or would like to contribute to our efforts, please let us know. Email is always the best way to stay in touch. See you tomorrow. — al