Podcast: Riverside Records, Part I
This week’s theme: The Riverside Label, Part I
Tag: Thelonious Monk
Coming to You Live (Sort of): Jazz Collector Radio and Podcasts
I just got back from taping my seventh Jazz Collector Live radio show in the studio of WTBR-FM in Pittsfield. I’ve really enjoyed doing the show, but I have to admit that it has taken away time that might otherwise have been devoted to posting here at the Jazz Collector web site. Hopefully, I will soon be able to strike a better balance, especially because doing the radio show is getting me more involved with my collection and listening much more attentively. For example, today’s show was devoted to John Coltrane, as a leader, playing standards, on the Prestige label. Soultrane, Settin’ the Pace, Lush Life, et al. Great stuff. Last week, I did Bill Evans as a sideman, and the week before the show was devoted to Thelonious Monk. Sound interesting? Well, the shows are now available to be downloaded as podcasts. Go to this site: WTBRFM.COM. There’s a tab for shows, and under the tab for podcasts you will find the familiar Jazz Collector logo at the very bottom. Read more
Heavy Hitters: Monk, Duke, Evans, Dorham
Here are some of the rare Jazz LPs I am currently watching on eBay, starting with Thelonious Monk Plays the Music of Duke Ellington, Riverside 12-201. This is an original white label pressing with the original cover. The seller doesn’t offer a grade, but it looks like the record is in nice shape and the cover looks really clean. This is a cool record, with the original cover, great music and the first record in the Riverside 200 series, signifying the label’s shift to modern jazz and, in particular, its very fruitful relationship with Monk. I would love to have an original pressing of this record and, unfortunately, I passed up an opportunity to buy one for $100 at the Jazz Record Center in New York about 30 or so years ago. This one has a start price of $940, which is too rich for my sensibilities. I took a look over at Popsike and, to my surprise, this record has sold for more than $1,000 at least two times. Perhaps this will be a third? Read more
InBox: Una Mas, New OJCs, Autographs and A Rare J.R.
I know it’s been a long time between posts, but there is a reason, and, fortunately, it has nothing to do with health, at least physical health, but there may be some of you out there who will question my mental health once I get around to telling the whole story, which I will do in a few days. Sorry for the intrigue and mystery, but for a couple of days I want to just do regular, routine posts, looking at rare jazz records on eBay, so I can take a little more time to write about may latest adventure in Jazz Collecting. You’ve waited this long between posts, you can wait a few days more to hear the story. Meanwhile, our old friend CeeDee has gotten impatient, rightfully so, and sent me a link to this record: Kenny Dorham, Una Mas, Blue Note 4127. This looks to be an original New York USA pressing. The cover is pretty trashed and the record plays with slight noise throughout. It is on buy-it-now on eBay for $245. Something about this listing has perplexed Mr. CeeDee because this is the note that accompanied the link: “I don’t know whether to laugh, cry or scream. I’m sure there is something missing . . . isn’t there?” Is there?
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.
Jazz Vinyl Auctions for the Road (And Beyond)
I’ll be off line for the next week so I won’t be able to post. Not that it will be any different than a normal period between posts, but this time my absence will at least be planned. Everything’s fine. Just enjoying a little holiday. In the meantime, I will leave you with a large batch of records to watch so you can all comment to your heart’s content. Let’s start with one of the records that would still be on my want list, if, indeed, I had a want list: Sonny Rollins Plays, Period 1204. This looks to be an original deep groove pressing listed in M- condition for the record and EX+ for the cover. Bidding is in the $200 range with almost three days left on the auction. I have no idea how this record has eluded me all these years, but it has. Read more
Brick-and-Mortar Vs. Online
These days I can leave my home in The Berkshires and drive in almost any direction and, within an hour or a little more, I can cover three or four or even five record stores. Some of these stores have been around for a while, others seem to have popped up in the last few years to take advantage of the recent boon in vinyl and the growing interest in records from a younger audience. It definitely makes the hobby more fun and interesting, seeing what is happening in these stores and perusing the shelves for items of interest to me, not just as a collector but as the sole proprietor of the Jazz Collector site. I share this as a precursor to some thoughts I had yesterday while shopping in one of the relatively new strores not very far from home. I was in town doing chores and wanted to get the newly remastered Revolver. I could pay less online, but for items like this I like to buy local to support the stores and their owners. In this particular store, I was there the first day when the owner started the business a couple of years ago, and he very little in the way of jazz vinyl. But he has gradually increased the amount and quality of his inventory, and he has definitely upped his prices. Read more
Rare Jazz Vinyl, Sonny Rollins, MOMA, Me & Bob Porter
I just logged in to my eBay watch list and the first three items were recent sales from the seller 1molecularrman. Prices seemed really high to me, so perhaps he has a great reputation, or a magic touch, or maybe he is just bobdjukic incognito. Anyway, these were the records: Thelonious Monk/Sonny Rollins, Prestige 7075. This was an original New York yellow label. The record was listed in VG++ condition and the cover was VG+. The final price was $1,375. Based on a quick look over at Popsike, that is the highest price ever recorded for this record. And, to note, neither the record nor the cover was in near mint condition. Read more
Starting Points for Rare Jazz Vinyl
I haven’t been watching eBay as diligently during the summer as I normally do, and I haven’t actually sold anything on eBay in more than a dozen years, so this observation may be dated, but . . . . is it just me, or are sellers consistently putting a higher start price on their auctions of rare jazz vinyl? I was just updating my watch list and flagged several titles that had high starting prices and no bidders. At first I assumed it was all from a single seller. But when I opened up the listings, they were all from different sellers. Here are some of those records, starting with Mal Waldron, Left Alone, Bethlehem 6045. This was an original red label pressing. If you can read through the seller’s tome and ‘tude, eventually you can find the condition of the record, which was listed as NM-. The cover was described as “pretty nice-very nice” and the picture shows a pretty clean front cover, with wear on the top and some old tape on the back. To me, pretty nice-very nice translates to VG+. The bidding start at $800 and so far there are no takers. Read more
A Supreme Love Supreme, Prestiges and Blue Notes
Still here. Still watching jazz vinyl on eBay. Here’s one: John Coltrane, A Love Supreme, Impulse A-77. Gotta give the seller credit for being loquacious and highly descriptive about this record. We know why he is selling it, what equipment he played it on, how loud. It is one of the more unique listings I’ve seen. Anyway, after reading all that, I would guess, as the seller does, that the record is in VG+ condition, that it is an original pressing and the cover is probably in VG+ or VG++ condition. The start price is $400 and so far there are no bidders with a bit more than a day left on the auction. The seller says he is ambivalent about selling the record because he is afraid to play it, so maybe the market will make it an easy decision for him to keep it. Read more
“A Pretty Nice Batch of Sides”
Let’s turn this one over to our friend Japhy, who sent me the following note under the subject “New Trombone, New High!”
“Heya, Al, just randomly nosing around eBay and noticed a few records, all from the same seller. Not one of the more-known sellers we talk about, but the guy recently sold a pretty nice batch of sides for some hefty sums. Included in those were Curtis Fuller New Trombone, Prestige 7107, which at $1,259 set a new record, and also a Riverside white label Monk Plays Ellington, which, at $1,077, was the third highest ever, according to Popsike. Read more