Month: March 2010

Updating the $1,000 Bin, Thanks To JRC

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As I’m catching up on the eBay action I’ve been missing the past few weeks, I’ve noticed that the Jazz Record Center recently made quite a large contribution to the $1,000 bin. Here are some of the choice items, all Blue Notes:

Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This was an original pressing that looked to be in new, pristine condition. It sold for $2,905.55.

Jutta Hipp With Zoot Sims, Blue Note 1530. This was an original pressing. The vinyl appeared to be in new near-mint condition, while the cover had a few minor issues, perhaps VG++. The price was $1,954.49.

Hank Mobley, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. This was an original pressing that also looked to be in near mint condition. The price was $1,580. Where does he find these records in such immaculate condition?

There was also this: Paul Chambers Quintet, Blue Note 1564. This was

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eBay Watch Resumes: Here Are Some 10-Inch LPs

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I went back on eBay last night for the first time in a couple of weeks. It was like a visit with old friends, seeing the Prestiges and Blue Notes and Norgrans all hanging out as if I had never left. After a short visit I put a few on my watch list to see once again. Here are some of them:

Gigi Gryce Big Band Featuring Clifford Brown, Blue Note 5049. This is an original 10-inch record and is being offered by Euclid Records. The vinyl is listed as VG++ and the cover is M-. The current price is $73.85, which seems pretty low, but the 10-inchers no longer seem to have the cachet they once had, even though in many cases they are the original pressings. This one was originally issued on French Vogue, right? Anyway, I’d be tempted to bid on this one myself since I once had a near-mint copy of this record and let it slip through my fingers, although for a price of $200 more than 20 years ago, so I can’t complain too much. In a similar category is this record: The George Wallington Showcase, Blue Note 5045. This one is being offered by Atomic Records, one of the other large sellers on eBay. This one seems to be in

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Adventures in Jazz Collecting: The Auction, Part 2

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Sorry to leave you hanging on Part 2 of this story. So I am on the phone listening to the auctioneer in the background. He is describing each lot – Here’s Number 14, Kenny Burrell on Blue Note, do I hear one hundred, a hundred ten, a hundred twenty, a hundred thirty, two hundred, two ten. This is going by in what seems like nanoseconds. For me to get in a bid I have to decide quickly how much, then I have to react quickly and, in the end I have one or two seconds to decide as the auctioneer is getting ready to close the auction. It’s a bit of an adrenaline rush, as you may imagine. Anyway, I lose out on all the Burrell records and I’m feeling a bit guilty about tying up the phone line and the next thing I know I’m bidding on a couple of Wes Montgomery records and the guy on the other end of the phone, who is the brother of the auctioneer, is telling me it looks like I’m going to win these records. And I do. One is Full House, a great Riverside record featuring Johnny Griffin. The other is The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery, also on Riverside. I have bid $60 for

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Adventures in Jazz Collection: The Auction, Volume 1

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I participated in a jazz auction the other night. Not an eBay auction, but a traditional auction with real people and an auctioneer and a gavel. Here’s the story: A few weeks ago I got a call from a guy named David Quinn who said he ran an auction house and had in his possession a collection of jazz records and CDs from an estate sale. I helped David out with some information about the jazz collectibles market and he told me he’d send me a list and let me know when the auction was taking place. It was in the Washington DC area. I couldn’t make it down there, so I asked if I could be on the phone and perhaps bid on a few items. He arranged it and when the first item was put on the block at about 6:30 on Wednesday night, there I was on the phone, bidding on items I hadn’t actually seen. This put me at a pretty stark disadvantage, because there were about 30 people physically in the room at Quinn’s Auction Galleries in Falls Church, Va. These people could physically see the items: I was going on guts and instincts and whatever pictures were available online. The thing with this type of auction, the auction house gets

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Back on eBay and The Bidding is Busy

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Hey, everyone. Seems since I came back everyone stopped using the Reader Forum. It would be a shame if that trend continues, because I find it very useful and, at times, more interesting than my own posts. Nevertheless, I am back and I am back to posting and I am back to looking at records every day on eBay. Which means today I am looking at pretty nice auction from Fred Cohen at the Jazz Record Center, which many of you were also watching in the Reader Forum. Here are some of the choice items, closing soon:

Donald Byrd, Byrd Blows on Beacon Hill, Transition 17. This is an original pressing, labels unattached (of course) with the booklet in beautiful condition. The current price is $1,791. I’m saying the record sells for $3,300. Anyone want to take the over or the under?

There’s also this on Transition:

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Jazz Collector Store: 25% Discount on Everything

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Here’s a heads-up to all my friends at Jazz Collector. If you want to purchase any of my items on eBay now, I am offering a 25 percent discount. You can just go to the top of the page for Items for Sale and take a look. There are about 90 items currently in my eBay Store. Also, remember I do combined shipping, so if you buy three or four items in the U.S., the shipping remains very inexpensive.

Here’s the method to this madness. First off, I wanted to thank everyone for their good wishes and keeping the site going while I was away. Second, eBay has changed its pricing policy for anyone who is running a store on the site. It’s interesting the way they do things, because I received this very nice email congratulating me because they were reducing prices and upgrading my store listings. It turns out that this was, as you might expect, a bit of a

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Where’s The Reader Forum?

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Ok, I’m back, and thanks to everyone for your best wishes. I haven’t been on eBay in days and I’m not ready to begin blogging now, but I have to say I’m thrilled to see that the site went on just fine without me: Perhaps even better. This is what I had envisioned when I started Jazz Collector, a community where we can all chat and ask one another questions, and share both the passion for the collecting as well as the passion for the music. Anyway, necessity was the mother of invention, and the idea of the Reader Forum took hold and now I’ve made it a permanent part of the site. So, to find the new Reader Forum just go to the top of the page and there it is right between Hot Topics and About. I’ve also had it enhanced so that the most recent comments are on top, so you don’t have to scroll down every time to see what’s new. Thanks to everyone who commented on the site and kept things going and please, please, please don’t stop now simply because I’m back.  I can’t wait to read it all.

The Gift of Jazz

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When I was six my parents took me to a jazz show somewhere in New York. I think it was the Palladium, but my memory doesn’t stretch back far enough to remember the exact location. I do remember that there was George Shearing on the bill and I didn’t understand how a blind man could play the piano. How did he know what to play without seeing the keys? And there was the Miles Davis quintet or sextet, and I’m pretty sure I saw Trane when I was six. I wish I could have appreciated it. The education in jazz from my parents continued. There were Sunday afternoon concerts at the Village Gate — Jazz Interactions, they were called — and brunches and late afternoon shows at the Five Spot and the Red Garter, all when I was pre-teen and early teen. I remember my father going up to Kenny Burrell and asking if he’d give me lessons. That was not cool. Anyway, Burrell was warm and friendly and I noticed in my collection the other day an autographed copy of Blue Bash!, Kenny Burrell with Jimmy Smith on Verve signed: “To Diane and Hal, Best Wishes, Kenny Burrell.”  All of which is a roundabout way of saying how much I appreciate this great gift my parents gave me and that I am quite sad to report that my mom just passed away unexpectedly. I will be taking a few days off from Jazz Collector, so there will be no new posts from me, but I am hopeful that you guys can fill in the slack. I will post an item right after I post this called: Reader Forum. Please use this to post new comments and keep an eye on eBay and keep the conversation going while I step away for a few days. Thanks.

Watching eBay: Blue Train, Sonny Plus Four

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Here are some records we’re watching now on eBay:

The same seller that has the copy of Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568 with a start price of almost $3,000 also has this: John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing and it is listed in VG++ condition. The start price is about $900. It’s interesting to watch this and the Mobley because the seller obviously decided to go with a high start price rather than put the record up with a reserve price. I actually prefer it this way as a buyer, but as a seller I’m not sure which is the best way to get people to bid.

I’m watching this one because it’s mine: Sonny Rollins Plus Four, Prestige 7038. This one is a New York pressing with a New York cover. The cover is not the kakubushi frame, but it’s hard not to consider this an original pressing with both

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Catching Up: Norgran, Clef, Verve

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Playing some more catchup on the Jazz Collector Price Guide:

This one sold for quite a tidy sum a few weeks back, particularly for a Verve: Ben Webster Soulville, Verve 8274. This was an original pressing in M- condition. This one has a David Stone Martin cover. I’d normally expect this to sell for maybe $100 in this condition. This one sold for $463.99. Here’s a nice Norgran: Lester Young, Jazz Giants ’56, Norgran 1056. This was a original yellow label pressing with the heavy vinyl. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. The price was $105.15. And another nice Norgran:

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