This week’s theme: Part one of a two-part celebration of my father’s 100th birthday. Also a reminder to read Song For My Father from the Jazz Collector archives. Featured artists include Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sarah Vaughan, Tal Farlow, Buddy DeFranco, Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, Red Garland, Bobby Timmons, Cannonball Adderley, Nat Adderley, Wes Montgomery, Wynton Kelly, Modern Jazz Quartet, Jimmy Smith, Richie Cole, Kenny Burrell, and many, many more.

Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section, Contemporary 3532. This was an original deep groove promo copy. The listing talks about a rare original reverse-frame cover and I’m not sure what that exactly means, but I think I have the same cover, so whatever it is I’m OK with it. This one looked to be in M- condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. The final vinyl was $765.

Jimmy Smith at the Organ, Volume 2, Blue Note 1552. This was an original deep groove pressing with the New York 23 label. The record and cover both looked to be in M- condition. The final price was $744, which is up there for a Jimmy Smith date session. Also, Jimmy Smith at the Organ, Volume 1, Blue Note 1551. This is a deep groove pressing with the West 63^rd Street labels. It also looked to be in M- condition for the record and cover. The final price was $180.39. I guess there must be some extra value in that New York 23 label. Amazing, isn’t it, for basically the same music, the premium that the label has in our collector’s world?

Clark Terry, Serenade to a Bus Seat, Riverside 237. This was an original white label pressing, in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $261. Speaking of Riverside, I have two Riverside podcasts on the Jazz Collector site now,  Riverside Part 1 and Riverside Part 2. If you get a chance to listen, please let me know whaat you think. This coming week’s show, live on WTBR-FM Pittsfield on Sunday at 8, features John Coltrane on the Impulse label.

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.

The post InBox: Una Mas, New OJCs, Autographs and A Rare J.R. first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]> https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/inbox-una-mas-new-ojcs-autographs-and-a-rare-j-r/feed/ 7 9142 https://jazzcollector.com/riverside/another-visit-to-a-record-store-pandemic-edition/ https://jazzcollector.com/riverside/another-visit-to-a-record-store-pandemic-edition/#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2020 13:00:18 +0000 https://jazzcollector.com/?p=8601 One of the things I have missed during the pandemic has been going to record stores. I love going to record stores. It’s a life-long [...]

One of the things I have missed during the pandemic has been going to record stores. I love going to record stores. It’s a life-long habit, and pleasure, one which I have never wanted to give up, even in the dark days of the recent past when vinyl was an endangered species and brick-and-mortar record stores seemed to be going the way of the 8-track. Even then, I would regularly visit the surviving stores and always buy something, it seemed, because, fundamentally, I like buying records. Anyway, I couldn’t remember the last time I physically walked into a record store, even though there are several decent, recently opened stores in a reasonable driving distance from my home in The Berkshires, where The Lovely Mrs. JC and I have permanently relocated since the pandemic began. I decided this was an itch that just had to be scratched and the other day I grabbed my son’s dog, Gordon, who is visiting for a few weeks, and got in the car and took a ride over to Catskill, New York, a little more than an hour away, to visit my favorite of the record stores in the area, Spike’s Record Rack, of which I have written several times in the past. Spike and I have gotten to be quite friendly during our brief interactions, so I sent him a heads-up in advance that I would be making a visit.

He has always had a decent stock of  jazz records at fair prices, so I was curious what might strike my eye. I have also recently set my sights on upgrading my Beatles collection. A couple of years ago, I purchased reissues of some of the U.K. Parlophone records, which I did not own growing up in Bayside, NY. Some of the later pressings were issued as “audiophile” issues and they sound fine, but the reissues of the earlier Parlophones sound like crap and I have decided I want to have original pressings. I know I diverge from the theme at Jazz Collector and, for those of you who didn’t realize that I am also an avid Beatles fan, now you know. Also, for the record, James Taylor.

Anyway, Spike and I were both wearing masks, although Gordon, being a canine, was spared. No original Beatles Parlophones in Catskill, NY, but I found a vinyl copy of the Beatles Anthology 3, which I don’t own, so that made the pile. In jazz, I pulled out a VG++ copy of Cannonball Adderley and the Poll Winners to upgrade the condition of my record, but somehow I left it behind. I did take a few jazz records, including an original Buddy Rich on Norgran because the copy was really clean, the personnel was strong including Sonny Criss and Ben Webster, and, frankly, the sight of the yellow label Norgran was just too compelling to pass up for $15. I also grabbed a couple of Riversides, Paul Serrano and Don Friedman, because the condition was strong and the price was right and I don’t own these records and because, fundamentally I like buying records and I want to support stores I like. Will I ever listen to the Buddy Rich, Don Friedman or Paul Serrano records? I am going to make a concerted effort to do so.

I did pass up some decent collectibles, mostly because I already own them and I already have more duplicates than I would like. There was a Gene Ammons on Prestige, as well as one of the early James Moody yellow label Prestiges. There was Jimmy Smith House Party, a couple of nice Monk records, a couple by Roland Kirk. There were more, but they all didn’t register because I didn’t buy them. And, of course, Cannonball Adderley and the Poll Winners, which I expected to see in my pile when I got home but somehow had left behind in the store. I want to blame Gordon the dog, but he insists he had no role and was locked in a traveling bag the whole time. I guess it means I’ll have to make a return appearance to visit Spike in the near future.

The post Another Visit to A Record Store, Pandemic Edition first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]>

As for current listings, there is a new auction from the Jazz Record Center, including this heavyweight from my want list: Cliff Jordan, Blue Note 1565. This is an original New York 23 pressing that looks to be in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover, although the JRC typically does not assign grades on its listings. The start price is $250 with about four days left. So far there are no bidders, but we expect that condition to change well before the auction closes. From the same auction is The Incredible Jimmy Smith at the Club “Baby Grand” Wilmington Delaware, Blue Note 1629. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing that looks to be in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The start price is $150, which is somewhat surprising given the general lack of interest — relatively, of course — in Jimmy Smith records, even the Blue Notes, and even the Blue Notes with horn players. But the folks at the Jazz Record Center have a great handle on the market, so I imagine this one will eventually wind up selling. I just noticed, in looking at their listings, that they entire auction is Blue Note, as is my entire post today, so I’m sure many of you will be interested in that.

“Top jazz artist’s

Cotrane , gerald wilson ,st you’d, ray brown, jimmy smith, felonious monk, Eddie Harris , carmen macrae, jazz laboratorylaboratory, gene Simmons, Dexter gordon , stan gets ext.

Give me good price I’ll sell.

‘Miles Davis,chico hamilton about 80 or more.”

I wrote back, asking for more detail and perhaps some pictures. The first photo came back and it didn’t show much at all. No valuable Coltrane, Stan Gets, or Felonious Monk in the picture. Instead there were a lot of records by Gloria Lynne. I wrote back asking for more details and pictures of the Coltrane or Dexter Gordon or Miles Davis. A few more pictures came back. This was the first one:

Obviously, my correspondent had done a little homework between the first few emails and this one. So, of course it is Jackie McLean, The New Tradition on Ad Lib, and yes my interest was piqued. Who would have thought, one of the rarest of the rare jazz LPs among a collection previously highlighted by titles such as Gloria Lynne Intimate Moments and Miss Lorraine Ellison Heart And Soul?

And then there was also the Miles record and additional pictures that showed Dexter Blows Hot and Cool on Dootone and Frank Morgan on GNP. So I wrote back and my first question was: “Where are the records located?” The answer: “The Bronx.” Ahh, very convenient for an Upper West Sider like me. So I placed a phone call on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 7, and found myself chatting with a very nice, friendly woman – who also happened to be in church. I asked a few more questions about the records. She said they were all in excellent condition and she was hoping to sell them all at once, for a fair price. I offered to come over that day, but she said later in the week would be better. So I adjusted my work schedule and arranged to go out and see the records in the Bronx on Friday, Feb. 12. I took a bunch of cash out of the bank, put a couple of record boxes in the car, and headed up the West Side Highway towards the Cross Bronx Expressway and the Grand Concourse by Yankee Stadium.

The woman was very nice and friendly. She had an accent, perhaps West Indian, but I am pretty much clueless when it comes to things like that. About jazz records I am much better informed. I took off my coat and she started handing me records in small piles. I could see that the overall condition of the records was not as promised. Quite a few of them had water damage on the covers. I began putting them into two piles: One pile was records that I would have some interest in; the other pile was records of no interest. I went through all of the records she handed me, just waiting for the Jackie McLean. But it never came out. Neither did the Dexter Gordon or the Frank Morgan.

So I asked, very casually: “There was a picture of a Jackie McLean record that you sent me. Do you still have that?” “Oh yes,” she said. “That’s in the other room.” She had pulled the Jackie record out and wasn’t going to show it to me. I asked about the Dexter and Frank Morgan records. They were also in the other room. I asked to see them. She went to get them. The Jackie was one of the records that had water damage, unfortunately. The Dexter was also not in great shape and the vinyl was black and not red, so it wasn’t an original pressing. I put them on top of the pile of records that I would be interested in, which was now about 50 records total.

In addition to the Jackie, Dexter and Morgan records, there was a copy of Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else; a couple of Jimmy Smiths on Blue Note; Horace Silver Further Explorations, and Kenny Drew Walkin’ and Talkin’ on Jazz West. Unfortunately, they all had some kind of cover damage. As for the vinyl, very few of them had sleeves, they were all pretty dirty and the lighting in the apartment wasn’t all that great. I couldn’t really tell how bad they were — or how good — but I could tell that they weren’t clean and none of them would be approaching mint minus or even VG++ condition. Clearly, this was not the score that I had hoped for, but there it was, the Jackie McLean record on Ad Lib and it was within my grasp and it was a record that would fill one of the biggest holes in my collection.

Was it in perfect shape? No. Was it in decent shape? I wasn’t sure. By this point I was looking at the record through rose-tinted glasses and all I knew at the time was this: It was Jackie McLean The New Tradition on Ad-Lib. I had a copy once many years ago and sold it. Now was my chance to get another copy and fill the gap in my collection. Condition be damned, I wanted this record.

What happened next? Stay tuned for Part Two tomorrow.

“Honey, how much money do we have in our bank account? I want to buy some jazz records.” That was what I asked my wife, the darling Mrs. JC-A, two weeks ago.

There was a rumor circulating around town that there was a pretty nice collection of records up for sale by a private seller. Seems he had spoken to all the record stores in the area. A few of them had been out to his house to inspect the collection, but no one was willing to either commit to what he was looking to get for the records or had turned him off. Imagine that. A record store employee with an attitude. A friend of a friend who worked at a local record store finally squeezed a phone number for the seller out of his boss at the store, when they also decided to pass. Over a thousand records in the collection, but no way for a record store to quickly get in and out of the transaction was the explanation. Atlanta is a mediocre jazz record town, with rock and southern blues (think the Allman Brothers) being the local taste. People like you and me are certainly the exception.

My jazz record buddy went out to look at the records and quickly called me with an update. Yes, the rumors were true. Some highly collectible items, some nice mid-range pieces, and a whole lot of just stuff. I asked him what he thought the seller wanted. He said he had offers of up to $7,500, but we might be able to get it for less than that. He called the seller back and said we were interested. He said to let him think about. Then the days started passing with no word back. We assumed he was shopping the collection one more time and we missed out. A week later, the seller called back and said could we do $6,700? I told my friend to tell him yes, provided it checked out for me. My friend was short of cash at the moment as he was starting a restaurant business, but he was happy to let me have the full collection. After I offered up a Finder’s Fee payable in either cash or duplicate records, we were on the road.

The seller was a 40-year-old guy who explained that his father, Sid Woods, was an R&B, Soul and Jazz disc jockey in the 60s at Indianapolis, Indiana’s only African American radio station—WGEE. The records made their way to Georgia when the family moved here and have been in storage for a long time. He wanted the records to go to another collector and not a record store that was just in it for the money. I asked the seller if his father knew Wes Montgomery, an Indianapolis resident at the same time. He said they were actually good friends.

I spent about an hour looking over the records and handed over the cash. What was great was that maybe half of the records were promos or DJ releases and looked barely played. The boxes of records barely fit in my SUV, but we got them all in and I headed home.

So what was there? Unlike Al, I don’t have the sense of timing and drama to make this a three-part episode.   Some of the highlights (First Pressings) of the contents were as follows:

• Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’
• Kenny Dorham, Jazz Prophets on ABC
• Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights
• Dizzy Reece Blues in Trinity and Star Bright
• Milt Jackson w/ Monk
• JR Monterose
• Kenny Dorham, Whistle stop
• Lee Morgan, Lee Way
• Duke Pearson, Profile
• Face to face, Willette
• Bud Powell, Time Waits
• Several Horace Silvers and Jimmy Smiths
• John Jenkins, Cliff Jordan on New Jazz
• Earthy, Kenny Burrell, and Three Trumpets, Art Farmer on Prestige 50^th street
• Thelonious with Sonny on Prestige 50th
• Most of the Candids, including Booker Little Out Front
• Dave Bailey on Epic
• Dave Bailey, Walter Bishop and Rocky Boyd, all 3 on Jazz Time
• 5 Ten inchers including “Strings and Keys” Debut #1 and “Jazz at Massey Hall Volume 3”
• 35 Blue Note NY USA Monos with Ears including Grant Green Horace Silver, George Braith, Freddie Roach, Lou Donaldson, John Patton, Stanley Turrentine. I had most of these, but not always in Mono, and not in this condition.
• Lots of Impulse, especially Coltrane
• Lots of Cannonball and Monk on Riverside still in their original cellophane wrapper
• Lots of Miles on Prestige
• Lots of Miles on Columbia, white label promos
• Jazz in the Space Age by George Russell with Bill Evans (I just like the cover)
• Shirley Scott on Impulse, autographed by all the members on the band (kinda cool)

In addition to the above titles which I recognized, there were a few other items I researched and found were collectible that I will probably throw up on eBay:

• George Wallington, Prestidigitator on East – West
• Vito Price, Swinging the Loop on Argo
• Paul Gonsalves, Cookin’ on Argo
• 6 Mode Records: Harry Babisin, Paul Togawa, Stan Levey, Clora Bryant, Frank Rosolino, Conte Candoli
• Some random Doo Wop and Blues records

So what is next? I promised Mrs. JC-A that I would get our money back and I am now in the process of culling the herd and getting ready for the Atlanta Record Show in a couple of weeks. I have about 300 non-keeper records that I have priced anywhere between $10-$75, plus another 500 that I will let go for $3-5. Hopefully I can entice some of the locals to avoid buying another copy of Live at the Fillmore or Lynard Skynard or Johnny Winter and visit my booth.   Or better yet, a rich Japanese collector or buyer from Disk-Union swings by and offers to take the whole lot for $10,000.

And I almost forgot. Did I mention that the seller’s father knew Wes? Well I found in a random blank jacket a hand-written, vinyl coated metal acetate of Full House on Riverside (test pressing perhaps?). I am not sure what to do with this record, but I prefer to just think of Wes and Sid kicking back with a bottle of Cutty Sark scotch and a 6 pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon grooving to the sounds of those double octaves on a big fat Gibson guitar.

Remember I had this idea of writing a Jazz Collector book and this was going to be one of the stories? At the time I thought the book might be imminent, so, fortunately, I wrote down precisely what happened next, in real time. I even took pictures, although I certainly could have done a better job with that, as you can see. Now the story gets fun. I will let myself take it from here, from mid-December 2011.

They’re here. The first batch of records from Canada. The service desk in the basement just called. I have to bring down $36 to pay UPS for delivery. On my way down now. . .
Back already.  No records. They don’t take cash. Have to bring a check.
Now I’m really back. One box, about 15 by 18 inches. Not well packed at all. In fact, there’s a big hole in the box. Not big enough for any records to slip through, thank goodness. . . . opening the box . . . very nervous, very excited. First record on top. Errol Garner on Atlantic. Worth about a nickel. No one said they would all be gems .  .  . Let’s dig in .  .  . here it is, the first Blue Note: Jimmy Smith, the Sermon, Blue Note 4011. Eh. Not an original pressing – no deep grooves, one side is West 63^rd, the other side is New York USA. There’s some writing on the back. Also, a sticker on the back:

Barry Gordon’s Bop Shop
225 A Brees St.
Johannesburg
Phone 23-8033

Pretty cool actually. Will have to do a Google search. My guess is the stamp was on the record when the record was first in the store, sometime in the 1960s? Coolness aside, this is not a very collectible record. At least it’s in very nice condition, VG++ for the record on first glance. Also, it has the original Blue Note inner sleeve, always a good sign.
Let’s keep digging.
Here it is . . . Johnny Griffin, A Blowing Session, Blue Note 1559. Oh, how I’ve longed for an original pressing of this record. Not just that it’s Johnny Griffin and a Blue Note – it’s a record with John Coltrane as a sideman. Mmmmm. I’ve had a United Artists pressing since the early 1980s, purchased from my old friend Red Carraro. But I’ve never even held an original in my hand .  .  . until .  .  . until . . . until now! Yes, it is an original. Deep grooves, West 63^rd address, New York 23, RVG in the deadwax, plastylite ear. It’s got them all, all the right markings, all the right characteristics. It also has an original Blue Note inner sleeve. Oh, how sweet. And the condition. Sweet indeed! The record is very nice, perhaps never played, M- condition for sure. The cover is VG++, with some small writing on the back. Ahh. What a relief.

Let’s keep digging.

What happened next? Sorry, you’re going to have to wait for Part 6.

Dizzy Reece, Soundin’ Off, Blue Note 4033. This one looked quite promising with original shrink wrap. The record was in Ex or Ex+ condition and the cover VG+. But on close inspection, there were no deep grooves and no mention of an ear in the deadwax, so that probably wasn’t there either. Still, the record sold for $166.50. Would you think this was a Liberty issue with old labels, or would it be pre-Liberty? Is there any real way of knowing? It so happens there is a second copy of Soundin’ Off that looks to be an original pressing, ears and all. This one is in VG+ condition for the record and the cover and is currently priced at about $120 with well more than two days left on the auction.

This listing struck me because it seems pretty clear that the seller did not use a picture of the actual record cover and showed no pictures at all of the labels or vinyl:

The Unique Thelonious Monk, Riverside 209. The seller describes it as an original white label pressing with the deep grooves, but it would certainly be in both his and any potential buyer’s interest to actually see what he is selling. The start price for this is in the $100 range and there is a single bid, which means it will sell. Whether it is a legitimate buyer, who knows.

Here’s a listing of two records that seem to have nothing in common other than the seller probably bought them together and didn’t want to list them separately on eBay: Sonny Rollins, The Sound of Sonny, Riverside 241, and Jimmy Smith, Groovin/ at Small’s Paradise, Blue Note 1585. Both records look to be original pressings in nice condition. The bidding for the pair starts at $225. So far there are no takers. I bet if the Rollins record were listed alone, it would have a bid buy now.

I love this one: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This is an original pressing. The record is in G condition. To me, G means the record is pretty trashed. The cover is VG. Why do I love it? Because, in the day, you would be happy to get anything at all for a trashed record. Who would want to even put it on a turntable. Nowadays, there are 11 bids on this record, the price is in the $150 and, ta da, the seller actually has a reserve price on it and the bidding hasn’t even reached the reserve.

Only on eBay kids, only on eBay.

SUBJECT: who is paying this kind of bread for these readily found LPs?

BODY TEXT: Al, I give up. I thought I could figure out “what sells and what doesn’t” but I’m finding I have no freakin’ idea!

RECORD IN QUESTION: Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith, Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes, Verve 8766.

CONDITION: Sealed

PRICE: $455

So, for today’s quickie quiz: Which sale is more ridiculous, the Jimmy and Wes one above or the other one cited in the earlier post, namely John Coltrane, The Other Village Vanguard Tapes? This was also sealed and sold for $237.50. Or is there perhaps another that we missed? I vote for Jimmy and Wes being more ridiculous, although it was a close call. At least the Coltrane is a double record and sold for a price that was more than $200 lower than the Jimmy/Wes record.