[78-L] Somebody Needs to Step in and Educate this Guy

[Michael Biel]

This record stinks like rotten Wisconsin cheese.  Russ Shor alerted us
to this record on Facebook yesterday on the "Come On and Stomp Stomp
Stomp" page with the posting of a photo of the REAL Zulu's Ball.  The
real one has six closely spaced lead-out grooves, the usual handwritten
matrix number right at the grooves at the 6 oclock position, and a
pressing ring close to the spindle hole like most Gennetts.  Mark
Beresford posted a photo of a REAL 1923 Gennett test which has that
pressing ring, a yellow label that has TEST at the top in large regular
serif type, and underlined spaces for (in smaller type) DATE, TITLE, to
the right of the hole LAB NO., and under the hole BY.  Below that it
says in smaller letters RECORDING TEST with spaces for DATE, NO., and
BY.  Mark doesn't say if it is a single sided pressing, but I recall
seeing some Gennett test that were not only single sided but had large
regularly spaced quarter inch bumps all over the other side.  

But what REALLY stinks about the ebay record is the reverse side.  Look
at it.  It is a Comumbia-type laminated pressing with the Columbia
pressing ring, a label with all the printing rubbed off, AND A MATRIX
NUMBER WHICH HAS BEEN SCRAPED OFF.  

I have a suspicion that the Zulu's Ball side might be a production test
pressing of a post-war pirate reissue.  Biltmore did one of Zulu's Ball,
and I can go check if anyone did one of Just Gone.  (I just got several
hundred Record Changer and other jazz journals from the 40s and 50s at
the bash.)

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com  
-------- Original Message --------

From: Cary Ginell <soundthink at live.com>
>> Wonder if he played it on the Califone record player it's sitting on. I wouldn't do that with a $99,000 record.  Cary Ginell

On Jul 22, 2012, at 5:26 PM, david.diehl at hensteeth.com wrote:
> Odd that the disc is pretty shopworn but the label is clean and white 
>(and not very authentic to my eye). David

> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Lewis [mailto:uncledavelewis at hotmail.com]

> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370632986650&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123 

If it is an authentic record, and it looks like the real deal, then it
would be an awesome find that could well illuminate the tortured
trajectory of the most famous jazz 78 of all. But the sum is beyond
ridiculous, the disc is not in the best of shape, and it would be nice
to know what the mx. is onthe unlabeled flip. Of course, if someone was
really in the know, and conducting a scam, they could use a real Gennett
test and pencil in these notations; the disc couldby anything. Uncle
Dave Lewis