More Confessions of a Vinyl Addict, Part 1

Friends, my name is Al and I am a vinyl addict. It is necessary for me to confess once again because I have had yet another setback. Remember my mission to pare down my collection, which I have labeled The Great Jazz Vinyl Countdown? Well, as part of that endeavor I decided it would be wise to take inventory of my records so that I would know what I actually have, in intimate detail: Record, condition, provenance, value. I had never actually done this before, so yesterday I set up a spreadsheet and began the process. I started, naturally, with the Blue Notes, the 1500 series, Blue Note 1501, Miles Davis Volume 1. I pulled the record off the shelf, looked at the record, cleaned it, typed the information into the spreadsheet, put it back on the shelf and then pulled the second record, Blue Note 1502, Miles Davis Volume 2. Same deal: Looked at the record, cleaned it, wrote it down, then moved on to the next record.

What a mistake.

I was moving along fine through the first eight records in the

Read more

On eBay Now: Watching Some Blue Notes

Here are some interesting items on eBay now.

Here Comes Frank Foster, Blue Note 5043. This is an original 10-inch pressing from Euclid Records. The record is in M- condition and the cover is VG+. The price is around $235 with a few hours to go. This is another 10-inch LP from the same seller: Milt Jackson, Wizard of the Vibes, Blue Note 5011. This one is in M- condition for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. The current price is about $190.

Heres another seller with some interesting items, including: Paul Chambers, Bass on Top, Blue Note 1569. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing. Based on the description it looks like the record is VG++ and the cover is VG+. The current price is close to $500. This seller has a bunch of collectibles closing today, many of which don’t have bids yet. Probably worth taking a look

Read more

More Price Updates: Ernie Henry, Clifford Brown, Etc.

We updated Blue Note and Prestige earlier this week. Here’s an update on some other labels we’ve just entered into the Jazz Collector Price Guide:

Ernie Henry, Seven Standards and a Blues, Riverside 248. This was an original pressing with the blue label, deep grooves, etc. It was sold by a reputable seller and was in M- condition, for both the record and the cover. And it got quite a hefty price: $564.32.

Brew Moore Quintet, Fantasy 3-222. This was an original pressing that looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $304.

Mal Waldron, Left Alone, Bethlehem 6045. This was an original red label pressing. The vinyl

Read more

Updates: $1,000 Bin, Dizzy, Sonny, Trane

Still updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide. It can be a bit tedious, but it’s important, isn’t it? Let’s hope so. Anyway, here are a few items on the extremes: A couple more for the $1,000 bin and a few that normally don’t make the Price Guide but, for one reason or another, have broken through.

First the big ones: Walter Davis, Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. This was an original pressing and it was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,300. Also, Paul Chambers Quintet, Blue Note 1564. This was an original pressing. The record and cover looked to be in VG+ or VG++ condition. The price was $1,032.

Here are a couple that don’t often get collectible prices: Dizzy Gillespie, Afro, Norgran 1003. This was an original yellow label pressing with a cover design by David Stone Martin. It was only in VG condition and sold for $72. That may not be a Blue Note price, but it is still somewhat surprising. Few of the Dizzy record

Read more

Price Update: 10-Inch LPs by Miles, Prez . . .

We’ve been updating Prestige and Blue Note. Here are some 10-inch LPs for the Jazz Collector Price Guide:

Miles Davis Sextet, Prestige 182. This was in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. We were thinking about bidding on this because the price was right, but in the end we’re getting rid of records, not adding records. We do have to remind ourselves of this, constantly, each time we see a nice item on eBay, which is several times a day. Anyway, this one sold for $102.50. That’s a pretty attractive price and was in my range. This was in M- condition for both the vinyl and the cover. The price was $233.50.

Howard McGhee Volume 2, Blue Note 5024. This was in M- condition for both the record and the cover and sold for $234.

Here are a couple of nice 10-inch LPs by Lester Young:

Read more

Prestige Price Update: Miles, Red & More

Yesterday we updated some Blue Notes for the Jazz Collector Price Guide, this morning let’s turn to Prestige.

This one looked quite nice: Miles Davis, Relaxin’, Prestige 7129. This was an original pressing with the yellow label and New York address. The record and cover both looked to be in VG++ condition. The price was $294.

Jackie McLean and Company, Prestige 7087. This as an original New York pressing. The record was M- and the cover was VG+. The price was $265.

Red Garland, All Mornin’ Long, Prestige 7130. This was an original New York pressing with the original cover. It was in M- condition for the vinyl and the cover and it sold for $449.

This is another favorite:

Read more

For the Price Guide: A Blue Note Bonanza

We’ve been quite busy updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so we will do a few posts over the next few days highlighting some of the new entries, starting with some Blue Notes, of course. There are no links to these, FYI.

Kenny Drew, Undercurrent, Blue Note 4059. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address and just one side deep groove. The record was listed in VG+ condition for both the vinyl and the cover and it sold for $285.

Baby Face Willette, Stop and Listen, Blue Note 4084. This was an original pressing with the NY USA label. the record looked to be in VG++ condition for both the vinyl and the cover. It sold for $200.

This one sold for a big price, but it didn’t seem to be an original pressing:

Read more

On eBay: Walter Davis, Wallington, Prez

Another day, another $1,000 Blue Note on eBay. Today’s entry to the club will be: Walter Davis, Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing and it appears to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover, based on the seller’s description. The current price is $999.95, so it’s a pretty save bet it will sell for more than $1,000. Perhaps a lot more than $1,000.

Atomic Records also has a few nice items on eBay now, including: George Wallington, Jazz For the Carriage Trade, Prestige 7032. This is an original New York pressing. The condition of the vinyl looks to be about VG++ and the cover VG+ or a little better. The current price is more than $300, but it hasn’t yet reached the seller’s reserve. From the same seller is this item:

Read more

Updating The $1,000 Bin: Miles, Mobley

Let’s update the good old $1,000 bin, which seems to be getting pretty crowded these days, no?

This one was certainly expected: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This was an original pressing. The vinyl was only in VG+ condition. The cover was M-. The price was $2,615.50. The surprise was the high price for the VG+ condition.

One of The Miles Davis Blue Notes sold for more than $1,000, which was a new high. Miles Davis, Volume 1, Blue Note 1501. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing from a very reliable seller. The record was in M- condition, as was the cover. We had written about this one when it was at $250. It eventually sold for $1,007. Also, Miles Davis Volume 2, Blue Note 1502, from the same seller, in the same pristine condition, sold for $765.55.  There was another Miles that made the $1,000. That was:

Read more

1 2 3 4