Tag: Miles Davis

And Starting 2013 With Jazz Vinyl

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Happy New Year, all. Hope you get all the vinyl of your dreams this year. We start the year watching eBay, as we are wont to do. It actually seems kind of slow to us, probably not unexpected at this time of year. We’re not seeing a lot of action on the auction from the Jazz Record Center and there’s not the usual frenzy over some items you would expect. But there’s still plenty to watch, starting with: Duke Pearson, Profile, Blue Note 4022. This record looks to be in M- condition for the record and the cover,  and it has already been bid up to $273 with 14 bids. Quite impressive with five days left in the auction. More impressive still when you look at the questions below and realize it has neither deep grooves nor the ear in the deadwax.

Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. This is an original pressing that looks to be in VG++ condition for the vinyl and VG or VG+ for the cover. This one has the ear, has the deep grooves, yet, unlike the Pearson LP, it doesn’t have any bids. Start price is around $300. There are five days left. It will sell.

This one is closing soon at it has a lot of bids: Read more

Back in Business Watching Collectible Jazz Vinyl

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Bet you’re wondering if I’m OK. I am. Just been a busy period before the holidays. It’s been so long since I’ve posted on Jazz Collector or even been on eBay that all of the items I was watching are now closed. Which gives me a nice opportunity to give a big review, starting with:

Horace Parlan, Us Three, Blue Note 4037. This was an original West 63rd pressing in what was described as VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It also had the original shrink wrap, if that means anything to anyone. I guess it means the cover was well protected for all of these years. The top bid on this was a very nice one, $1,136. But guess what? It didn’t meet the seller’s reserve price, so it didn’t sell. We’ve seen this one sell for as much as $1,725 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so I guess the seller had certain expectations. I had a copy of this record in very nice condition, mentioned it on Jazz Collector and was offered $1,500 to sell it. I did. Haven’t missed it since, to be perfectly honest.

Similar situation with this one from the same seller: Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. This was an original West 63rd pressing. The record was in VG++ condition and the cover looked to be VG. The top bid was $717 but, again, it failed to sell because it didn’t meet the seller’s reserve price.

This one did sell and I thought it might fetch a higher price: Sonny Clark, Sonny’s Crib, Blue Note 1576. This one was in VG++ condition for the record and probably similar condition for the cover. It was offered by one of the top eBay sellers and sold for $1,405. A nice price, but we’ve seen this one sell for more than $3,000 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

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Jazz Vinyl That’s New To Jazz Collector

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Just browsing eBay and came upon a few items I’ve never seen before. I’m always impressed, after more than 40 years of collecting jazz records, that there are still records that are new to me, for example:

Perhaps I’ve seen this before, but I dont’ recall it: Miles Davis, Porgy and Bess, Fontana 662.036. This is a French pressing and the seller says it is a 10-inch record, which makes sense if you look at the number of tracks per side. Why were the French issuing 10-inch LPs in the late 1950s, when those wars had already been fought and the 12-inch format had won? And look at the cover — it’s the same picture that’s on the American Milestones. I have to say, this looks like a pretty cool item to me. It has a start price of about $100 and is listed in M- unplayed condition.

Speaking of French pressings: Pierre Michelot and his Orchestra, Round About Bass, Mercury 125 500. This is an original French mono pressing and is listed in EX+ condition for the record (VG+++ in our terms?), and EX for the cover. This is from the same seller as the Miles LP and is also in the $100 range with no bids yet.

This an American record, and I assume it’s jazz because it is listed under jazz on eBay and because it is right in the midst of the Atlantic jazz series, but I’ve never seen it:

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Jazz For A Friday Afternoon: Miles, Cannon, Newk

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Here’s a few more jazz vinyl items we’ve been watching or are watching on eBay, starting with: Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, Columbia 1355. This one is listed as sealed, although it seems it is not the outside cover that is sealed but the inner plastic sleeve. If that is the case, it is pretty cool, better than the cover being sealed because you can actually see the label and the record. The cover is listed in VG++ condition and the record, of course, is listed in mint, unplayed condition. There are a couple of days left and the bidding has topped $300. Seller also took a nice, clear picture, which always helps to secure a top price.

Speaking of Miles, this one got a nice price: Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else, Blue Note 1595. I say speaking of Miles, because after all of these years I still tend to think of this as more of a Miles record, than a Cannonball record. It’s got much more of the Miles vibe than the Cannon vibe. This one was in M- condition for both the record and the cover and it sold for $1,475.

One more Blue Note while we’re at it:

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A Day For Rare Blue Notes

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Here are a few rare jazz records we’re watching this week on eBay. Today’s version will focus on Blue Notes, starting with: Kenny Drew, Undercurrent, Blue Note 4059. This has the West 63rd address but no deep grooves. This one is always confusing and I don’t have the Fred Cohen book in front of me. It’s an original with either one side DG or no sides DG, right? Anyway, this one is in excellent minus condition, which is, what, VG+ in our terms. The price is nearly $300 and there are still four days to go.

Wayne Shorter, JuJu, Blue Note 4182. This looks like an original mono pressing with the New York USA address, as well as the ear and Van Gelder in the dead wax. The record is listed in VG+ condition and the cover is VG++. The record closes within a day and so far there are no bidders at a $189 start price.

Here’s a 10-inch Blue Note with a very cool insert:

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A Tale of Five Blue Notes

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Another day, another batch of rare jazz vinyl to watch on eBay.

Miles Davis Volume 1, Blue Note 1501. This looks to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing, the first of the 1500 series. It is listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The start price is around $200 and so far there are no bidders with just a couple of days to go. This seller has a bunch of nice items up for sale this week, including: Miles Davis Volume 2, Blue Note 1502. This also looks to be an original pressing in similar condition to Volume 1, M- for the record and VG++ for the cover. This one also has a start price of around $200 and has one bidder, so far. One more Blue Note: Paul Chambers Quintet, Blue Note 1564. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The bidding is in the $250 so far for this LP.

May as well stick with Blue Notes this morning:

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Check It Out: Satchmo At The Waldorf

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I saw a terrific new play last night called Satchmo at the Waldorf. The play is by the Wall Street Journal critic Terry Teachout, who has been cited before at Jazz Collector for an article he wrote several years ago called “Can Jazz Be Saved?”  This is Teachout’s first play and he’s done a remarkable job of piercing through the public persona of Armstrong and giving us a portrait of the man and musician. Teachout’s writing is aided considerably by the performance of John Douglas Thompson in a dynamic solo effort in which he plays Armstrong as well as his long-time manager Joe Glaser and Miles Davis. The play takes place backstage at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York just several months before Armstrong’s death in 1971. I would hope and expect that most of the readers here at Jazz Collector recognize the genius of Armstrong and his seminal contributions to jazz even though we don’t write about him very often. Indeed, he is not part of the “Jazz Collector Era” we talk about and his records are not often among the collectible Blue Notes and Prestiges that make up the bulk of our postings. But none of the music we love and cherish here happens without him coming first, right?

In Satchmo at the Waldorf Teachout takes us backstage after a performance. He uses the device of Armstrong dictating his life story into a tape recorder, but Armstrong realizes he is in the more comfortable setting of talking directly to an audience. A lot of the play covers the complex relationship between Armstrong and Glaser, which provides some of the dramatic tension that brings good theater to life. There are more than passing references to Armstrong’s relationship to the boppers, particularly Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, and the deep pain and injustice he felt at being called an Uncle Tom.

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The Cats, Bird, Miles and Trane

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I said I’d post a few more from the Jazz Record Center auction last week, so here ’tis:

Tommy Flanagan, The Cats, New Jazz 8217. This was an original pressing in M- condition for the record and cover. It was also a review copy. It sold for $535. I’ve had this record for a while. I traded it for it years ago: I had a broken leg at the time and was stuck in my friend’s basement with all of his records, Blue Notes, Prestiges, the whole works. I was very good and just looked. In my collection I have this one with my Flanagans, although the temptation is to put it with the Coltranes. I’m often reorganizing, so maybe I’ll move it around some day.

This is one of my favorite jazz collectibles, although it’s not jazz vinyl: To Bird With Love, by Francis Paudras. This is a book from 1981, about the most loving tribute to Bird you could find this side of Irving Kalus’ Ornithology. As noted by Fred in his listing, which you should take a look at, the book was printed once with no more than 1,000 copies, probably 500. I bought this when it first came out, from Fred, and I’ve treasured it ever since. It now has a prominent shelf on my new shelves in The Berkshires.  This one sold for $887.79.

The Miles Davis Columbia records with Coltrane, and even the next generation, are becoming more collectible it seems. The music is certainly uniformly great. Here are a few from the Jazz Record Center auction:

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Watching Rare Jazz Vinyl In Tip-Top Condition

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We’re watching the latest auction of jazz vinyl from the Jazz Record Center, which closes in a few days. Here are some of the highlights:

Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This is an original New York pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. This one is in the $900 range. I am happy to say, I recently purchased a near mint New York copy of Colossus in the Irving Kalus collection, which I will be writing about as soon as I get a chance.

Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550. This is an original pressing in beautiful M- condition for both the record and the cover. This price is already more than $1,800 and at the rate it is going you would expect that it may even top $3,000.

Kenny Burrell, Blue Notes Volume 1, Blue Note 1596. This is an original pressing and of course it has the Andy Warhol cover. This one is also in beautiful condition and is currently at $500. I’d expect this do break into the $1,000 bin, wouldn’t you?

A couple more:

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Tracking Some Original Prestige Jazz Vinyl

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Here’s some more jazz vinyl we’re watching on eBay: Miles Davis, Relaxin’, Prestige 7129. This is an original New York deep groove pressing in M- condition for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. The auction closes tomorrow and the price is in the $230 range. I mentioned in passing that I recently purchased a collection and an M- original pressing of this record was included, so I’m interested in seeing the price. I am just about ready to start writing about my latest adventure in pursuing and purchasing this collection, so stay tuned.

It would have been nice if there were a copy of this record in the collection but, alas, there was not: Hank Mobley, Mobley’s Message, Prestige 7061. This is an original New York pressing in VG++ condition for the vinyl and VG+ for the cover. The price is hovering in the $170 range with three days to go, but it has not yet reached the seller’s reserve.

This one is on the verge of closing as I write this post:

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