This week’s theme: A potpourri of jazz songs that have crossed over into the mainstream in some way. For example, Mercy, Mercy Mercy, The Sidewinder, or The Girl From Ipanema. Featured artists include John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Steve Davis, Vince Guaraldi, Monte Budwig, Colin Bailey, Herbie Mann, John Handy, Wes Montgomery, Ron Carter, Ray Barretto, Billy Taylor, Ben Tucker, Grady Tate, Les McCann, Eddie Harris, Benny Bailey, Leroy Vinnegar, Donald Dean, Stan Getz, Jaoa Gilberto, Astrid Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Joe Morello, Eugene Wright, Lee Morgan, Joe Henderson, Bob Cranshaw, Barry Harris, Billy Higgins, Cannonball Adderley, Nat Adderley, Joe Zawinul, Victor Gaskin, Roy McCurdy.

This week’s theme: A Jazzy Christmas. Featured artists include Ray Charles, Betty Carter, Shelly Manne, Shorty Rogers, Teddy Edwards, Victor Feldman, Al Viola, Monty Budwig, Charlie Parker, Kenny Dorham, Max Roach, Al Haig, Vince Guaraldi, Diana Krall, Rosemary Clooney, Dan Axelrod, Dinah Washington, Ramsey Lewis, Isaiah J. Thompson, John Pizzarelli, Julian Lee, Philip Norris, Kyle Poole, Manhattan Transfer, Nancy Lamott.

Vince Guaraldi, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Fantasy 85019. This is a stereo pressing. Frankly, I’ve never been that interested in this record and never had an original copy, and I don’t know the criteria that would make it an original. I’ve always loved the music, but I didn’t really get interested in the album until I started doing my Jazz Collector Live radio show and podcast, and I was looking for Christmas music to play on the show. In doing further research, I learned that this is the second highest selling jazz record ever, behind Kind of Blue? The question mark is there because I’m not so sure this is accurate.

In any case, I’m preparing to record my next Christmas show this week, so any ideas are welcomed. This particular copy of A Charlie Brown Christmas is listed in good condition for the record and “worn” for the cover. You would think a record in that condition would be a tough sell, but not this one: There are already 10 bidders and the price is getting close to $200, with the auction closing tomorrow.

Finally, I have one more from the Jazz Collector inbox. A reader sent me this note:

“Subject: Bird. Hi. I found what I believe to be a rare Charlie Parker 7” shellac single. It has his name and Dark Shadows printed on one side of the white label and on the other “Garner original” is printed. I can’t find any references to its existence online in this format and was wondering you had come across it before.”

My reply: “No I haven’t. You can safely assume it is from the Dial label. Dark Shadows was a tune Bird did with the singer Earl Coleman. He also did several sides with Errol Garner, who was on Dial at the same time. Could be some kind of test pressing, not sure. I’m not a huge expert on 78 RPM records. You could send me a photo if you want.”

Here’s one of the photos.

Still didn’t ring a bell with me, and I wasn’t interested in this piece for myself, so I suggested the reader reach out to Fred Cohen at the Jazz Record Center. If you’re reading this Fred I apologize — I seem to send a lot of stuff your way. As I said to this particular reader, Fred is far more knowledgeable than I am. The reader did contact Fred and afterward he sent me this reply:

“Fred said the following: ‘Charlie Parker recorded “DARK SHADOWS” for Dial records on February 19, 1947. He recorded three different versions of the song. Yours is probably a dub (transfer) from another source, but without comparing it to the issued takes it would be impossible to know which one you have.'”

And that, I believe, is the end of this particular story, unless someone here has some additional insight.

The post Back in the Wacky World of Jazz Vinyl on eBay first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]> https://jazzcollector.com/impulse/back-in-the-wacky-world-of-jazz-vinyl-on-ebay/feed/ 0 9792 https://jazzcollector.com/features/more-live-jazz-isaiah-j-thompson/ https://jazzcollector.com/features/more-live-jazz-isaiah-j-thompson/#respond Sun, 07 Dec 2025 15:12:31 +0000 https://jazzcollector.com/?p=9782 I saw a terrific jazz concert the other night here in The Berkshires. The pianist Isaiah. J. Thompson led a quartet playing holiday music, including [...]

I saw a terrific jazz concert the other night here in The Berkshires. The pianist Isaiah. J. Thompson led a quartet playing holiday music, including a familiar batch of songs written by Vince Guaraldi for the “Peanuts” series. I became aware of Thompson during the past few years when he appeared here in Great Barrington with the guitarist/vocalist/raconteur John Pizzarelli. I was extremely impressed with his playing. He has really strong technique and, even better, he really swings. When I saw that he would be appearing with his own group at a relatively new venue in Great Barrington, I got tickets immediately.

For some reason, I was expecting a trio, but it was a quartet featuring Thompson on piano; Julian Lee on tenor sax; Matthew lee on drums, and Sebastian Rios on bass. These are all relatively young jazz musicians and they can all really play. The set featured mostly Guaraldi’s holiday classics, including Linus and Lucy, Skating, Christmas Time is Here, Thanksgiving Theme, and others. There were also some standards, such as White Christmas, Let it Snow, and What are You Doing New Year’s Eve.

As I said, Thompson has great technique and really swings. I heard a lot of Oscar Peterson, Horace Silver, and Bobby Timmons in his playing. I overheard him talking to an aspiring young pianist after the show, and he also mentioned Phineas Newborn Jr., which you could hear in the way he used both hands, as well as an occasional emphasis of using his left hand to solo.  As I said, terrific stuff.

Lee on tenor was also a revelation. He is a straight-ahead player who swings. If I were to cite any influences that I noticed, Dexter Gordon was one that comes to mind, and, as most of you know my taste in music, that is high praise indeed. The Dexter influence, to me, was most pronounced on the ballad What Are you Doing New Year’s Eve. Lee on drums and Rios on bass kept the band swinging all set and had a great rapport with one another and with Thompson and Julian Lee.

After the set, Thompson was in the lobby selling and signing copies of the CD A Guaraldi Holiday. I bought a copy and spoke to him briefly. I don’t think he had heard of the Jazz Collector web site, but maybe he’ll find us now. The great thing for me is that now I have a new CD to play on my upcoming Christmas radio show for WTBR-FM, live on the air Dec. 21, followed up here at Jazz Collector with the podcast thereafter. I just listened to the CD and it is excellent. Here’s a sample from YouTube: Linus and Lucy.

A couple of other things about the concert. The new venue, called the Indigo Room, is terrific for jazz. It is affiliated with the larger Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, MA., which is next door and where John Pizzarelli will be appearing on Dec. 20, with Mr. Thompson backing him on piano. The club is set in an old firehouse and it easily held about 100 people for the concert. Acoustics were excellent, as were the sight lines. I hope they are able to bring more jazz here.

The other thing that impressed me was the enthusiasm and knowledge of the audience. Whenever I looked around the people were bopping and smiling, and based on the reaction to the music, it was clear they had a strong affinity and appreciation for jazz. It made me think that perhaps I should be doing more in the community to promote my radio show and perhaps even expand the show. We’ll see.

In the meantime, keep an eye out for Isaiah. J. Thompson. He is a young pianist who plays in a style that most of you here at Jazz Collector will appreciate. I took a quick look at his web site, and he will be playing with Pizzarelli in Boston Dec. 19, and with the Guaraldi set in Vail, Co., on Dec. 22.

Here’s another pictured taken by my wife, the Lovely Mrs. JC.  She wanted to share it.

The post More Live Jazz: Isaiah J. Thompson first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]> https://jazzcollector.com/features/more-live-jazz-isaiah-j-thompson/feed/ 0 9782 https://jazzcollector.com/riverside/a-new-case-of-vinyl-envy/ https://jazzcollector.com/riverside/a-new-case-of-vinyl-envy/#comments Sun, 15 Dec 2024 10:10:51 +0000 https://jazzcollector.com/?p=9525 OMG, it’s so freaking easy to get hooked again. I went on eBay on Thursday for the first time in months and now I’m checking [...]

The post A New Case of Vinyl Envy first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]> OMG, it’s so freaking easy to get hooked again. I went on eBay on Thursday for the first time in months and now I’m checking every few hours, including 5 AM on a Sunday. It’s re-awakening the old, familiar adrenaline rush of just looking at the records, seeing the prices, and feeling that old collector’s feeling of “boy this is fun.” Then there’s the vinyl envy of the records in great condition that I don’t have, The Unique Thelonious Monk as a case in point. I’m pretty sure I’m going to bid on that record. I’ll keep you posted. In the meanwhile, here are a few more records that have tickled that familiar feeling, starting with another Monk record from the Jazz Record  Center auction: Thelonious Monk, Monk’s Music, Riverside 242. This is an original white label pressing that looks to be in M- condition for the record and at least VG++ for the cover. I have never owned an original white label pressing of this record, and it is John Coltrane (among others) playing with Monk. Bidding is a little bit more than $100, with the auction closing Monday evening.

You don’t see too many Gerry Mulligan records in triple figures, but here’s an interesting one: Gerry Mulligan Quartet, Fantasy 3-6. This is an original 10-inch record with red vinyl. The record is listed in VG+ condition and the cover is EX.  Bidding is in the $130 range and there are already 42 bids. The auction is closing within a few hours of this posting.

Finally, I am preparing to record my Christmas radio show/podcast this week and this record caught my eye: Vince Guaraldi, A Charle Brown Christmas, Fantasy 85019. This seems to be an original stereo pressing, although I don’t know enough about it to confirm that this is an original. The seller has it listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover.  The start price is $450. I had never owned a copy of this record until the past few months. It didn’t seem like a real jazz record to me.

However, doing my radio show last year, I discovered I had a dearth of good Christmas music to play. So, when I saw a reissue of this record sitting on the shelves for $20 at Spike’s Record Rack in Catskill, NY a couple of months ago I figured, what the hell, here’s some more music to play on my Christmas show. What I didn’t know at the time was that this record is the second highest selling jazz record of all time, with more than 5 million copies sold, behind only Miles Davis Kind of Blue. Having listened, it’s also a pretty good record. I guess because Vince Guaraldi was so popular with the Peanuts soundtracks and the Cast Your Fate to the Wind record, he was probably underrated as a jazz player. It’s a bit of a takeoff on he old Yogi Berra line about a restaurant: “Nobody goes there anymore because it’s too crowded.” Am I tempted to get an original copy of A Charle Brown Christmas? Not at all. The reissue I own is just fine.

The post A New Case of Vinyl Envy first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]> https://jazzcollector.com/riverside/a-new-case-of-vinyl-envy/feed/ 5 9525

This time of year I seem to notice more of these records on eBay: Vince Guaraldi, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Fantasy 85019. Not sure if there are more available this time of year, or if it’s just that I notice them more. Anyway, this looked to be an original stereo pressing listed in VG+ condition for the record and the cover, still in the original shrink wrap. The seller had a start price of about $500 and didn’t get any bids.

Finally, let’s look at one more from those recent Carolina Soul auctions: Black Unity Trio, Al-Fatihah, Salaam Records 777. This was an original pressing listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG for the cover. It sold for $4,849.99, which must make it pretty rare. Not something I’ve ever heard or heard of until now.

Here are some 10-inch LPs we’ve been watching, starting with Hank Mobley Quartet, Blue Note 5066. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record and cover were both listed in VG+ condition. The final price was $1,625. A merry Christmas for the buyer and the seller, I presume. Howard McGhee’s All Stars, Blue Note 5102. This was also an original Lexington Avenue pressing, listed in EX condition for the record and the cover. The final price was about $516. From the same seller, Vinyl-House-UK came this one: Illinois Jacquet, Jazz by Jacquet, Clef 167. This was an original trumpeter logo pressing, listed in VG+ condition for the record and EX for the cover. The final price was about $86.

I’m hoping to post once again in 2021, but if not, I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year’s.

Whilst on the subject of Blue Notes, I have a question from a reader regarding DMM pressings from the 1980s. It is not a subject of which I have any knowledge, other than what I read on Jazz Collector, but I recall seeing recent comments about these pressings a couple of weeks ago from Maarten Kools, so I am hoping perhaps we can share our collective knowledge and wisdom.

“Hello Al, I’m a big fan on your site. For a while I have been picking up any 80’s Blue Note DMM reissues when I find them in decent shape and priced right. Many sealed and some promos (cover has gold stamp, label is normal). I find the sound quality really good for the most part. I prefer the DMM’s over many reissues thru the years, especially mastered by Walley/Capital versions. I have noticed over the past 6 months that the used Ebay/discogs prices for the DMM reissues are starting to rise. A year ago I could get a nice Blue Note DMM on Ebay for around $20. Now, they seem to be selling $40 or more for nice copies. Do you have any background on these reissues? I assume they were analog cut. Any background would be greatly appreciated. There’s not a lot of info on the web.”

Here’s a collectible that looks pretty cool to me: John Lewis and Sacha Distel, Afternoon in Paris, Versailles MEDX 12005. Thus is two one-sided, white label test pressings, with what looks to be an original cover. The records are listed in VG+ condition and the cover is VG++. My high school French is not getting me through the listing, although the language “2 tics” seems pretty clear. This one closes in nearly two days and has a start price of around $200, with no bidders.

Finally, there is A Charlie Brown Christmas, featuring the famous Peanuts characters, original soundtrack by Vince Guaraldi, Fantasy Stereo 85019. I, for one, had no idea this was a record of any collectible interest, but it has 42 bids and is currently sitting at $295. My question is: Are the bidders jazz people or Peanuts people? I have to admit having soft spot for the music, but not a $295 soft spot.