Quiet Kenny at a Bargain Price?
Apr 26, 2004 Blue Note, Jazz Vinyl, Jazz Vinyl on eBay, Prestige
eBaying
Missed out on a few interesting items the past few days. In some cases the prices got a little too rich for my blood, in others I forgot to bid. My friend recommends buying Sniper software, which I plan to do today. I’ll let you know how it works out. Anyway, it was a busy weekend on eBay for some high-end collectibles. Here are some examples.
Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225
This was an original pressing in M- condition, record and cover. Price: $787.
If you watch eBay very closely, your point of view can get distorted. Case in point: I look at this and wonder if the buyer got a bargain at $787. Here’s why: Last week the same item in virtually the same condition sold for $1,261. It’s hard to conceive of $787 for one record as a bargain, but the reality is that prices are set by the market, especially on eBay. Seeing this record sell twice in the past week breaks my heart. I had an original mint pressing of this LP, which I sold years ago for a fraction of these prices. I used the money partially to buy a boat. Two months later, the boat sank. To this day I’ve never been able to replace Quiet Kenny. Here are a few more examples of wild market swings. This weekend one dealer sold the following records for the following prices:
Dexter Gordon, Dexter Calling, Blue Note 4083. Record and cover were M-. Price: $395
Sonny Rollins, Moving Out, Prestige 7058. Also M-. Price: $295
Donald Byrd, The Cat Walk, Blue Note 4075. Also M-. Price: $325
Dexter Gordon, Doin’ Allright, Blue Note 4077. Also M-. Price: $510
Pretty hefty prices, right? Here’s what’s more remarkable: One of these was not an original pressing: The Rollins LP had the New Jersey label, not the New York label. Also of interest of the weekend: The very rare Jackie McLean record on Ad Lib was up for sale. The record was in G condition, the cover VG-. The bidding topped out at $588.75, but the record didn’t sell because it didn’t meet the dealer’s reserve price. This is another one of those records I sold years ago to buy that damn boat. Ugh! At Jazzcollector.com we keep an ongoing tally of collectible record prices on eBay. We update it at least once a week. Here’s a look at the latest prices. Here’s a look at the larger database.
Upcoming on eBay
There always seem to be items of interest on eBay. I fully believe that if you had enough money, time and interest, you could buy up the entire Blue Note and Prestige catalogues in near mint condition. Anyway, here are some of the items we’re watching over the next couple of days:
John Coltrane, Giants Steps, Atlantic 1311. This is an original mono pressing with the bulls-eye logo. Last time I looked the price was $99. I recently bought a stereo copy with the bulls-eye logo for $50. This dealer also has a nice copy of Soultrain, Prestige 7142 and some other good items. After you look at Giant Steps click view seller’s other items to see what else he has.
The dealer who sold Quiet Kenny also has some interesting items this week. He sold a bunch of original Blue Notes and Prestiges last week, all in beautiful condition. His next auction this week is Hank Mobley, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. The start price is $850. After you look at this, also check out his other items.
Here are a few more upcoming items to whet your appetite:
Bud Powell, The Scene Changes, Blue Note 4009
Ray Draper, Tuba Sounds, Prestige 7096
Serge Chaloff, Complete Sessions, Mosaic 147
We can’t vouch for any of these dealers, but they all seem reputable and we’ve had successful dealings with some of them. In all cases, you should look and see what else they have for auction this week. It never hurts to look.
Tags: Ad Lib Records, Atlantic Records, Bud Powell, Dexter Gordon, Donald Byrd, Hank Mobley, Jackie McLean, John Coltrane, Kenny Dorham, Mosaic Records, New Jazz, Ray Draper, Serge Chaloff, Sonny Rollins
Confessions of a Vinyl Addict, Part 1
Apr 5, 2004 Features, Jazz Memoirs, Jazz Vinyl
(This is the first in an occasional, sporadic and perhaps-never ending series of confessions by Al Perlman)
My name is Al. I’m a vinyl addict.
Last year, I thought I had it beaten. I had turned 50, quit my job and decided to move to a smaller house. It was time to downsize. No one really needs 12,000 records, right? I went through each record one by one and decided which would stay and which would go. I was ruthless. If a record wasn’t in nice condition it was
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Tags: Add new tag, Paul Chambers
Memories Of Mingus
Apr 4, 2004 Features, Jazz Memoirs
One of the great things about selling the records on eBay is making contact with a wide group of people with varied experiences. One of the customers got into a riff about the late bassist and composer Charles Mingus, which brought me back 30 years, to the time when I was a young reporter for the Syracuse New Times and was asked to interview Mingus and review his concert a local club called Jabberwocky. I went through my files and dug up the article, from 1973, when I was just 20 years old. There’s something to be said for saving everything. Anyway, here it is, just the way it appeared 30 years ago, with just a couple of paragraphs deleted for brevity.
Tags: Charles Mingus
Collecting Autographs
Apr 4, 2004 Autographs, Features
It’s always surprised me that jazz collectors seem to place only marginal value in autographed albums or other memorabilia. There are exceptions of course: A Charlie Parker signature on a contract or a Billie Holiday inscription on a book are extraordinarily rare collectibles that fetch a small fortune whenever they appear on eBay or on auction lists from dealers.
But my experience is that autographs don’t necessarily do much to enhance the value of a collectible. To test this, I recently did a search of completed auctions on eBay in the category of jazz using the key word “autographed.” The results confirmed my theory:
Tags: Art Taylor, Features, Louis Armstrong, Sonny Rollins, Zoot Sims
