Tag: Miles Davis

Potpourri From the 10-Inch and UK Vinyl Vaults

14 comments

Random stuff in our watch list. Let’s start with some original 10-inch vinyl, none of which seems to be getting much action: Howard McGhee Volume 2, Blue Note 4024. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing listed in VG or VG- condition for the record, and VG+ for the cover. I could actually be in the mix for this one. I have a nice copy of the vinyl with no cover at all. The starting price is about $80 and the auction closes later today with no bidders yet. Seems like a no-brainer, at least to put in some kind of bid. Here’s another 10-inch Blue Note that has more in common than just the label: Gil Melle Quintet, Blue Note 5033. This is also an original Lexington Avenue pressing, from the same seller, listed in VG condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. No bids yet, with a start price of $100. The common element: Both records feature the great Tal Farlow on guitar. Read more

One Record

31 comments

I was driving in the car the other day and listening to a playlist on my phone. A usual car playlist will have a variety of music, from the Beatles to Ella, James Taylor, 60s rock and, of course, some jazz. I was listening for about a half hour, singing along a little, but nothing that necessarily put a smile on my face. But then came this: Paul’s Pal, by Sonny Rollins. As soon as it came on, my face lit up. For me, it’s one of those songs that always puts a smile on my face. Maybe it reminds me of the first time I heard it, or perhaps because it always seemed to me like Sonny was smiling while he played it. Anyway, I started thinking about the record, Tenor Madness, and the thought popped into my head: If I could keep only one record, Tenor Madness would be one of the contenders. Now, I realize this is silly because there is so much music available everywhere in digital formats, so I could listen to pretty much anything I would want at any time. But it’s my game, and here’s how I played it out. Read more

Another Mini Adventure At the Central Berkshire Record Show

4 comments

Speaking of buying records . . . there was a record show in my neck of the woods this weekend. It was advertised as the first ever Central Berkshire Record Show and it was in a little town called Dalton in Western Massachusetts. I arrived early and paid the additional VIP fee to get first crack at the records, just in case there were any rare Blue Notes to be had. But I was not among the first to arrive and I was pleased to see that the show was pretty crowded. There were more than 20 dealers and the aisles and tables were pretty full during the whole time I was there. I kept a low profile, as is my natural tendency. I found a few decent records at fair prices, as you can see in the photo. The Jaki Byard was a pretty pleasant find because (1) I don’t have a copy of the record and (2) it was an original pressing and (3) the price was about $50 and (4) the seller had it marked as VG which was extremely conservative. To me, record looks M- and the cover is VG+. Checking Popsike, I see that the record, Jaki Byard, Here’s Jaki, New Jazz 8256,  has sold for more than $200 several times, so I feel like I got a good deal. Hey, that’s what it’s all about. Read more

Jazz Collectors’ Items

4 comments

My eBay watch list is filled with Blue Notes and Prestiges today. Gee, what a surprise. Let’s start with Miles Davis, Collectors’ Items, Prestige 7044. This looks to be an original New York yellow label pressing, listed as M- for the record and EX for the cover. The auction closes in about a day and the bidding is in the $320 range. From the same seller is Miles Davis and Milt Jackson, Quintet/Sextet, Prestige 7034. I never really noticed that Milt Jackson was listed as a co-leader until I started typing this post. Miles in big letters and the cover picture, Bags not quite as prominent. I wonder why Jackson was even mentioned on the front cover in that it is clearly a Miles section. Perhaps this was a time when the Modern Jazz Quartet was getting some buzz in the market? Anyway, this is another one listed in M- condition for the record. The cover also looks M-. Bidding is in the $135 range and the auction closes in about a day. Read more

Variations on a Vinyl Theme

10 comments

Here’s some random jazz vinyl we’re watching on eBay, starting with Miles Davis, The New Miles Davis Quintet, Prestige 7014. This looks to be an original New York yellow label pressing with the original green cover. Coltrane’s first LP with Miles. The record and cover are both listed in VG+ condition. The bidding is at $56 with five days left on the auction. From the same seller, and also under $100 (for now) is Lou Donaldson, Lou Takes Off, Blue Note 1591. This looks to be an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record is listed in VG condition and the cover is VG++. Bidding is at $51 with five days left. Read more

Ramblings, Records and Rancor, Oh My

28 comments

In my real life I’ve been writing what we call an “eBook” for a client. Basically, it’s a long term paper of about 5,000 words. The topic is climate change and, if you want to get really depressed, read the latest report from the United Nations. Anyway, I share this because being buried in work has left little time for the important things in life, like Jazz Collector and, lo and behold, in my absence there are 55 comments, and counting, on the latest post. Surely, they can’t all be about getting happy with Freddie Redd and Jazz Collector, so I am curious about what is going on to inspire such interest and, perhaps, inspiration. So, pardon me while I catch up. Hmmm, now I see that there was a personal, and in my view entirely unfounded attack on Clifford from a new commenter named Gohoos81, who has since apologized and rambled to the point where I am having trouble deciphering whether this was a real diatribe or an attempt to spam the site. Whatever. I see there has been enough pushback without me having to waste more time worrying about it. But Gohoos81, if you are still here, you may find that there are other sites where the community is more welcoming of your rancor and bluster, but you don’t seem to have a very welcoming audience here, including your usually amenable host. Read more

Jazz Vinyl Alerts From The Field

7 comments

Let’s turn things over to a couple of readers for today’s post, starting with Andy, who sent the following:

“Hi Al, hope all is well. I’ve been doing some shopping over on Yahoo! Japan Auctions and found a couple interesting pieces I thought I’d share. First off is a sold listing: J.R. Monterose’s self-titled on Blue Note. According to the seller it only had the RVG and ear on side two. If I had to guess I’d assume it would be a later pressing because of this. It still fetched a nice sum though! Read more

Records and Record Setters

3 comments

To pick up here I left off yesterday, here is Freddie Redd Quartet with Jackie McLean, The Connection, Blue Note 4027. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing with the deep grooves, ears, etc. The record and cover were both listed in M- condition. The record sold for $1,525, which has to be a high for this record as I open a window to Popsike and . . . . it is, indeed, nearly doubling the previous high price for this record. Here’s another record that seems like it may have set a new record: Bennie Green, Soul Stirrin’, Blue Note 1599. This was listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $969. Indeed, according to Popsike, that is a new record high, quite a feat considering the condition. Surely, there have been M- copies of this record in the past. Read more

Patterns, Icons and Socks

30 comments

Here are some of the items in our eBay watch list, starting with Gil Melle, Patterns in Jazz, Blue Note 1517. This looked to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing in M- condition for the records and VG++ for the cover. The final price was $2,716. That is the highest price ever recorded for this album, according to Popsike. I own a Japanese pressing of this LP and, frankly, I’ve never listened to it, but somehow I get the sense that it is the label and not the music or the artists that makes this record so coveted among collectors. Maybe next time I get a chance, I’ll put it on the turntable. FYI, the highest price for any of the Melle Prestige records was $544 – and that wasn’t even the one with Kenny Dorham, Gil’s Guests. That one has had a top price of $381. Read more

Just Another Ho-Hum Day on eBay

17 comments

Here are some of the more interesting jazz vinyl collectibles we’ve been watching on eBay. Let’s start with Dexter Gordon, Dexter Calling, Blue Note 4083. This is a mono pressing with the New York USA labels and the RVG stamp in the dead wax. It does not have the Plastylite ear, which, to my knowledge, would probably make it a second press. The seller calls it an original first pressing and states clearly that he will never use any Blue Note guide to assess the generation of any Blue Note pressing. Fair enough. I should note that the seller is Bobdjukic, who, with all due respect, is a tremendously successful marketer on eBay who apparently has a coterie of devoted collectors who trust him and pay top dollar for many of his listings, including this one, which was listed in M- condition for the record and some version of VG++ for the cover. The final price was $1,913.90. According to Popsike that is a new high for Dexter Calling, nearly lapping the previous high price of $1,045. Read more

1 2 3 4 5 6 … 24