Auction Notes Archive:
April - August 2006
(August 5, 2006 -- 3:45 pm EST)
I was just listening to this Joe Pass LP this afternoon while I was entering records for September's auction. I enjoyed it. Pass plays nice, low-key jazz guitar and I just put about 5 of his LPs onto this auction. Nice music.
In other news, the July auction closed (most of you have already received your winners letters.) We had more won records in July than any auction so far. Those of you who track these things may have noticed that we're putting a few more records on the auction each time. Catalogs are getting fatter and I think the quality of the records is a little better as well.
Last thing. One of the things that drives me crazy is those little stickers that people stick on their records. They're really hard to get off. My father has been doing secret research in the basement lab on various products that claim to remove labels. He says he's ready to write a little article for the website on removing labels but I can't get him to do it. So drop him a line and encourage him to get going on the secret label remover report.
--Ward
(July 17, 2006 -- 5:17 pm EST)
I'm entering records for the September Auction (I know we're supposed to be talking about the July Auction but that's just the sort of sophisticated businessmen we are - not very) and I've been putting on a ton of Benny Goodman. It's a collection we bought and the guy just has a lot of Goodman. And he's got Goodman before he got his own band. He's got Goodman playing with the Bulgarian String Quintet. Some of these records are in really nice condition. So all you Goodman fans, check your collections, you may be able to upgrade a side or two. Or fill in an odd record you don't have.
-- Ward
(July 15, 2006 -- 12:08 pm EST)
It doesn't happen very often, but it happens. When we came across this reissue of some Paramont sides we realized it had never been on the auction before. Fifteeen years of listing records and we've never had "Hot Jazz Rarities" from Herwin before. This LP has some very hard to find sides from 1926-1928.
--Ward
(July 14, 2006 -- 12:15 pm EST)
New Auction
The new July auction is up on the website and it has some interesting stuff in it. The closing date is July 26, so there's a little less time to go through the whole thing than usual.
Ever wished you could find an upside down 3 cent airmail stamp? One of those rare collector's items that are the result of human error? Well, now you can have the equivalent.
This Miff Mole record is kind of a rarity because it's actually Benny Goodman. Miff plays on the other side, as advertised ("How Come You Do Me Like You Do") but this side is actually Benny Goodman in his first recording ("Jazz Holiday"). They got the label right but must have grabbed the wrong master to do the pressing with. Very, very unusual.
--Ward
(May 5, 2006 -- 1:45 pm EST)
2. HRS Original 1004 mx R4100 (both label & wax) Rex Stewart, Barney Bigard, Django Reinhardt and Billy Taylor with the complicated title: Improvisations in Ellingtonia Part 3---Finesse.
The other side is mx 1004 (both label & wax, and obviously a mistake) and the tune is called Solid Rock
HRS 1003 with the same Rex Stewart group is labelled as Monmartre on the "Original" HRS label and Django's Djump on the later label. The tune is the same on both, however.
So here we have 3 records all with the catalog number of 1004 and they sport 5 different songs instead of the more usual two. And if you think this is bad, LP liner notes are NEVER to be taken at face value, but that's another story.
(April 25, 2006 -- 12:40 pm EST)
We couldn't resist this intriguing label and group name. It is listed in Rust as a jazz record.
-- George
____________________________________ (April 24, 2006 -- 2:40 pm EST)
The catalog for the May auction is up! There are a number of interesting items on the list. The one that really caught my eye is this Mitchell label.
My father said he'd never seen a Mitchell label in twenty-five years of collecting. I'm guessing it's rare. Maybe one of you out there knows something about this label?
-- Ward
____________________________________ (April 20, 2006 -- 3:27 pm EST)
Pay no attention to the curmudgeon below. It's a nice logo.
As promised, here are the rankings from the September auction (I think this is kind of interesting, actually.) These are the artists on 78s that collectors made the highest bids for. (This is not scientific. Of course, the bids depend on the quality of the records and which records were on the auction, etc. etc. But still - interesting.)
The top five artists on 78 in terms of bids were (drumroll) 1. Fletcher Henderson, 2. Duke Ellington, 3. Ethel Waters, 4. Maxine Sullivan, and 5.Charley Straight. The average bid for a Fletcher Henderson 78 was $24.34.
Louis ended up at 15th, Fats Waller at 16th, and Artie Shaw at 28th.
Does this mean that Fletcher Henderson is the most popular artist with collectors? No. But he is popular.
Tomorrow we'll post the new May auction (there's a good deal of Artie Shaw in that auction actually.)
-- Ward
____________________________________ (April 20, 2006 -- 11:47 am EST)
This is Ward's idea of a website. Personally, I liked the old logo better. Please vote to restore the old logo.
-- George
____________________________________
(April 19, 2006 -- 8:28 pm EST)
Welcome to the new AllJazz web site! We've reorganized and added some new things that I think you'll like.
The first thing is the Auction Notes section. We're going to put news about the last auction, things we're putting on the next auction that look interesting, and general goings on in the jazz world. We plan to update this every couple of days and we're hoping to hear from you about collecting, jazz, and interesting things you've found.
For example, tomorrow I'm going to put up a list of the most popular artists, based on the September auction results. This isn't really scientific, but it is interesting to see who collectors and jazz aficionados are buying.
In the Jazz Notes section (to the right) we're going to be featuring writing about jazz, longer articles that talk about the music in general, particular figures in jazz or the record industry. Some of this will be new writing, some of it will be reprints from other publications. It's just stuff we find interesting about jazz. Again, we're interested in what you think, too. (You'll have to wait til I finish typing this one in.)
Some features are still being updated from the old site, but I wanted to put the site up - even if it's only a partial site - right away. Should be all ready to roll by Friday when we'll put up the auction for May.
-- Ward
The Blues
If you are new to Blues music, or like it but never really understood its basic tenets, here are some very fundamental rules:
1. Most Blues begin with: "Woke up this morning..."
2. "I got a good woman" is a bad way to begin the Blues, unless you stick something nasty in the next line like, "I got a good woman, with the meanest face in town."
3. The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes - sort of: "Got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Yes, I got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher and she weigh 500 pound."
4. The Blues is not about choice. You stuck in a ditch, you stuck in a ditch...ain't no way out.
5. Blues cars: Chevys, Fords, Cadillacs and broken-down trucks. Blues don't travel in Volvos, BMWs, or Sport Utility Vehicles. Most Blues transportation is a Greyhound bus or a southbound train. Jet aircraft and state-sponsored motor pools ain't even in the running. Walkin' plays a major part in the Blues lifestyle. So does fixin' to die.
6.Teenagers can't sing the Blues. They ain't fixin' to die yet. Adults sing the Blues. In Blues, "adulthood" means being old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis.
7. Blues can take place in New York City but not in Hawaii or anywhere in Canada. Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle is probably just clinical depression. Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Memphis, and Nawlins are still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the Blues in any place that don't get rain.
8. A man with male pattern baldness ain't the Blues. A woman with male pattern baldness is. Breaking your leg 'cause you were skiing is not the Blues. Breaking your leg 'cause a alligator be chomping on it is.
9. You can't have no Blues in an office or a shopping mall. The lighting is wrong. Go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dumpster.
10.Good places for the Blues:
a. highway
b. jailhouse
c. empty bed
d. bottom of a whiskey glass
11. Bad places for the Blues:
a. Nordstrom's
b. gallery openings
c. Ivy League institutions
d. golf courses
12. No one will believe it's the Blues if you wear a suit, 'less you happen to be a old person, and you slept in it.
13.Do you have the right to sing the Blues?
Yes, if:
a. you're older than dirt
b. you're blind
c. you shot a man in Memphis
d. you can't be satisfied
No, if:
a. you have all your teeth
b. you were once blind but now can see
c. the man in Memphis lived
d. you have a 401K or trust fund
14. Blues is not a matter of color. It's a matter of bad luck. Tiger Woods cannot sing the Blues. Sonny Liston could have. Ugly white people also got a leg up on the Blues .
15. If you ask for water and your darlin' gives you gasoline, it's the Blues. Other acceptable Blues beverages are:
a. cheap wine
b. whiskey or bourbon
c. muddywater
d. black coffee
The following are NOT Blues beverages:
a. Perrier
b. Chardonnay
c. Snapple
d. Slim Fast
16. If death occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die. So are the electric chair, substance abuse and dying lonely on a broken-down cot. You can't have a Blues death if you die during a tennis match or while getting liposuction.
17. Some Blues names for women:
a. Sadie
b. Big Mama
c. Bessie
d. Fat River Dumpling
18. Some Blues names for men:
a. Joe
b. Willie
c. Little Willie
d. Big Willie
19. Persons with names like Michelle, Amber, Jennifer, Debbie, and Heather can't sing the Blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.
20. Blues Name Starter Kit:
a. name of physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Lame, etc.)
b. first name (see above) plus name of fruit (Lemon, Lime, Kiwi, etc.)
c. last name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.)
For example:
Blind Lime Jefferson, Pegleg Lemon Johnson or Cripple Kiwi Fillmore, etc. (Well, maybe not "Kiwi.")
21. And I don't care how tragic your life is, if anyone in your family plays soccer, you can't sing the blues.
