This week I indulge myself with a show for my very own birthday. In the past I’ve played tracks recorded on Feb. 4, including Miles Davis Milestones. But two years in, I’ve dipped into that well too often. So this year, the focus is on the year I was born, 1953. As I say on the Podcast, it was a very good year for jazz and boys from Queens. Also a great chance to focus on 10-inch records from the collection. Featured artists include Miles Davis, Horace Silver, Percy Heath, Max Roach, Art Blakey, Curley Russell, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Oscar Peterson, Charlie Shavers, Ray Brown, Herb Ellis, Gerry Mulligan, Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Joe Dodge, Ron Crotty, Jay Jay Johnson, Jimmy Heath, Gil Coggins, Tadd Dameron, Clifford Brown, Lou Donaldson, Gigi Gryce, Charlie Parker, Red Garland, Roy Haynes, Chet Baker, Russ Freeman, Carson Smith, Larry Bunker, Shelly Manne, Art Pepper, Bob Cooper, Jummy Giuffre, Bob Enevoldsen, Marty Paich, Curtis Counce, Phil Woods, Jon Eardley, George Syran, Teddy Kotick, Nick Stabulas.

Theme: Jazz instrumental and vocal versions of songs written by Frank Loesser. Featured artists include Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Red Garland, Philly Joe Jones, Paul Chambers, Bill Evans, Eddie Costa, Charles Rouse, Julius Watkins, Gildo Mahones, Teddy Charles, Phil Woods, Bob Brookmeyer, Zoot Sims, Herb Geller, Gene Quill, Hal McKusick, Al Cohn, Ray Charles, Betty Carter, Sammy Davis Jr., Carmen McRae, Hoagy Carmichael, Art Pepper, Rosemary Clooney, Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache, and many more.

This week’s theme: Jazz records recorded on Feb. 4. Featured artists include Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Billy Taylor, Hal McKusick, Art Farmer, Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Phil Woods, Jon Eardley, Paul Chambers, Red Garland, Philly Joe Jones, Louis Smith.

This week’s Theme: The BeBop Songbook

Here’s another relister: Lou Donaldson, Lou Takes off, Blue Note 1591. This looks to be an original pressing in VG condition for the record and probably VG+ for the cover. When I first spotted this record the start price was $399 and I was pretty sure it would sell. But it didn’t, and is now back on eBay at $229.

Whilst we’re on records that didn’t sell, there is this: Jim Chapin Ensemble Featuring Phil Woods, Prestige 213. This is an original yellow label 10-inch pressing. The record is listed as EX and the cover is VG. This was up for auction at $150 and there were no bidders. It is now on eBay as a buy-it-now with a price of $224. For those of you who don’t know, Jim Chapin was a drummer and was also the father of Harry Chapin. I knew this because they were Long Islanders and my friend Danny used to do club dates with Jim Chapin. There’s a good documentary about Harry Chapin on Amazon Prime Video, if anyone is interested. I, myself, am a sucker for almost any well done music doc.

Finally, we will let CeeDee weigh in with a couple of his typically barbed, relevant and fully missives. Here’s one note I got from him:

“Check out World’s Experience Orchestra – The Beginning of a New Birth LP – Rare Spiritual on eBay.” In case you don’t want to click the link, this was an original pressing from that Carolina Soul auction. It was in VG- for the record and VG- for the condition. It sold for $2,405. Back to CeeDee: “Not only Sun Ra. This must be a hell of an LP to get that kind of bread (in that condition). Call me a cynic but . . . HELL, NOOO! Is that what happens when states legalize marijuana. Buyer frenzy, all doped up on weed!! Say it ain’t so (Mary) Jane . . .”

Here’s the other note:

“Check out MIKE SELESIA: Flavor US OG ’76 Free Jazz OG Private Vinyl LP Hear on eBay!” The record was VG+, the cover was VG and the final price was $1,005. Back to CeeDee: “Once more once: WTF???? Who? What? And . . . Why? Befuddled I am.”

Anyone else befuddled out there, for this or any other reason?

The post Bewitched, Bothered and Befuddled first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]> https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/bewitched-bothered-and-befuddled/feed/ 6 9090 https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/in-the-mailbox-yikes-yowzas-george-bensons-collection/ https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/in-the-mailbox-yikes-yowzas-george-bensons-collection/#comments Mon, 23 Aug 2021 12:53:11 +0000 https://jazzcollector.com/?p=8802 Got a few emails from our friend CeeDee, starting with The Booker Ervin Quintette, Cookin’, Savoy 12154. This looks like a red label, but it’s [...]

Got a few emails from our friend CeeDee, starting with The Booker Ervin Quintette, Cookin’, Savoy 12154. This looks like a red label, but it’s not clear. Some of the photos look red, some look maroon. Not sure this record had deep grooves, but there are none in the picture. This copy was in Ex condition for the record and the cover and sold for about $558. The previous high for this record was $175, according to Popsike.

This one came with a “yikes!”: Lee Morgan, Search for the New Land, Blue Note 4169. This looked to be an original New York USA pressing. The record was listed in VG+ condition and the cover was VG. The final price was about $627.Finally, there was Lee Morgan, The Sidewinder, Blue Note 4157. This was also an original New York USA pressing. The record and cover were both in VG+ condition. The final price was $484.

This may sound hard to believe now, but when I first started collecting, back in 1970, you could pretty easily find The Sidewinder and Search for the New Land in the bargain bins at most of the Sam Goody locations in New York. I don’t recall if they were original pressings or Liberty pressings, but they were plentiful. My guess is that The Sidewinder was such a hit that they kept printing more copies and they figured Search for the New Land would be a hit too, so they printed extra copies of that as well. Not sure if CeeDee had the same experience/observation, but it is clear that these records are no longer in the bargain bins.

This one came in from our friend Japhy with the subject line “Pass the Roach!” and the following note and link: “I guess when you’re the Jazz Record Center you can get $1,300-plus for a Freddie Roach record! Yowza! That’s the highest book Roach record ever, as far as I can tell. In fact, JRC topped its own previous high of $710 for this same title a few years ago. The highest selling Roach drops to about $300 after that. Freddie Roach, Brown Sugar, Blue Note 4168. This was an original New York pressing with a “Review Copy” stamp. It looked to be in M- condition. The final price was $1,346. At the same time that the Lee Morgan records were pretty easy to get, so were the Freddie Roach records. Who knew that someday a Freddie Roach record would be more coveted than a Max Roach record? Do a Max Roach search on Popsike and the highest price that comes up is $300.

Looks like that copy of Thelonious Monk Plays the Music of Duke Ellington did not sell and is back on eBay at the same start price. If at first . . . The Phil Woods Warm Woods record also did not sell, with a start price of $200.

Finally, here’s an interesting video/story that came in over the transom. It’s pretty long, but I started watching it and got hooked and stayed until the end: I Bought GEORGE BENSON’S LP RECORD COLLECTION!!

 

 

 

 

The post In the Mailbox: Yikes, Yowzas & George Benson’s Collection first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]>

Phil Woods, Warm Woods, Epic 3436. This looks to be an original yellow label pressing. It is in shrink wrap, but that might indicate this particular copy may have hit the selves after the initial run. Not sure when the industry shifted from loose plastic to shrink wrap, but I think it was in this time frame, late 1950s or early 1960s. Anyone with a better idea? Rudolf? This is another seller who doesn’t deal in returns or refunds. He said he played the album and there are no skips, but some crackling. Start price is $200 with three days to go and so far there are no bidders and only seven watchers.

Could I do a complete post without mentioning a Blue Note. I could, but I choose not to. So how about Here Comes Louis Smith, Blue Note 1584. This looks to be an original West 63^rd Street pressing. The record is listed in VG+ condition and the cover is Ex+. The bidding is at $500 with four days left. This one will end up in the $1,000 bin, don’t you think?

I have another question about this record. It features the alto saxophonist “buckshot la funke,” who is, of course, Cannonball Adderley. But a few numbers later in the Blue Note catalogue comes Somethin’ Else, the only Blue Note under Cannonball’s leadership and a record that seems more of a Miles-driven session versus a Cannonball session. Does anyone know what was going on with contractual rights in those days – why Cannon could not appear under his own name for Louis Smith, but then has an album under his own name in the same time period? I know that the Louis Smith record was originally a Transition, but that doesn’t explain the contractual issues with Blue Note. And, if Cannonball had a contract with Blue Note before he moved to Riverside, why was it only for a single record?

Here’s one we had our eye on with the idea of a potential bid, but the price went way beyond what we had expected (that seems to be a familiar refrain these days, doesn’t it?): Jackie McLean and John Jenkins, Alto Madness, Prestige 7114. This was an original New York yellow label. The record looked to be in M- condition and the cover was pretty close to that, probably VG++. The final price was $1,036. According to Popsike, this is the second highest recorded price for Alto Madness, behind an $1,191 winning bid from 2019.

Whilst we’re rummaging through the $1,000 bin – or shall we now refer to it as the OOF! Bin – here’s one more: Bill Evans, Waltz for Debby, Riverside 399. This was an original blue label, deep groove, mono pressing that was listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $1,101.

And not to be outdone there was Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This was an original purple label pressing with the deep grooves. The record was listed in VG+ condition, with some “crackle.” Not a very specific term, but I guess we know what that means. The cover was also listed in VG+ condition. There was no mention of crackle, just some very light staining. The price was $2,076.

Stan Getz Quartets, Prestige 7002. This was an original New York yellow label that looked to be in M- condition for the record and the cover. The final price was $363.

Booker Ervin, Exultation!, Prestige 7293. This was an original New Jersey yellow label pressing that also looked to be in M- condition for the record and the cover. The final price was $317.34.

Bobby Jaspar, Tenor and Flute, Riverside 240. This was an original white label pressing that looked to be in M- condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. The final price was $212.50. Interesting sidemen: Idrees Sulieman, George Wallington, Wilbur Little and Elvin Jones.

Finally, there was that collection of 29 Blue Notes in not-so-great-condition, described by the seller as “filler lot only.” The final price was about $1,390. I have to admit, I was tempted, even if just to see the records. But $1,400 was a bit steep for my curiosity. But, if the buyer is out there reading these, I am sure I am not the only curious one about the actual condition of these records and covers. I’ve been looking for that Lou Donaldson Quartet, Quintet, Sextet for years, but I stopped buying records that I can’t confidently put on my turntable.

Here’s another Blue Note from the same time period, courtesy of the Jazz Record Center: Dexter Gordon, A Swingin’ Affair, Blue Note 4133. This is an original mono pressing with the New York labels, ear and Van Gelder stamp. The condition is M- and, in fact, it sounds like it is in absolutely pristine condition. The bidding has already surpassed $600 with two days left on the auction. From the same auction there is Phil Woods, Pairing Off, Prestige 7046. This is an original New York yellow label and it also looks to be in M- condition. The bidding is at $300.

Gene Ammons, huh?  Here we go: Jammin’ With Gene, Hi-Fi Jam Session, Prestige 7060. Final price: $1,425. Gene Ammons, Funky, Prestige 7083. Final price: $1,175. Gene Ammons, Jammin’ in Hi Fi, Prestige 7110. Final Price: $1,009. It’s nice to see that condition still counts, I guess. Just did a quick search on Popsike, and these would be the first Ammons records to make it into the $1,000. A new standard, or an aberration because of the immaculate condition? I would imagine this was a pleasant surprise for the seller, oui?