Month: March 2014

A Tale of Four Blue Notes

17 comments

kenny drewHere’s some more jazz vinyl we’re watching on eBay, starting with Kenny Drew, Undercurrent, Blue Note 4059. This looks to be an original pressing with the West 63rd address and the single side deep groove. The record is only in VG or VG+ condition and the cover is VG. Bidding is only in the  $50 range now but there are five days left in the auction and I would expect this to sell for several hundred dollars despite the condition. We’ll see.

Hank Mobley, Roll Call, Blue Note 4058. This listing mentions almost everything about the record, except with it has deep grooves. Curious. If you look at the pictures it’s not conclusive. If I were interested in this record, which I’m not, I’d certainly query about the deep grooves before bidding. The record looks to be in VG++ condition and the cover is probably VG++ as well, although the labels have some staining, which will be a turnoff to some bidders. Bidding right now is in the $170 range.

Read more

Candy, An Autograph and 10-Inch Vinyl

11 comments

dizzy gillespie autographHere are a few more items from our watch list on eBay, starting with Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This is an original pressing that looks to be in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. As a bidder I would be careful of the “light background noise” part of the description because the cleanest copies of Blue Notes don’t typically have background noise, at least not the original 12-inch pressings. Other bidders seem to be more sanguine about the description. The bidding is now in the $1,800 range with two days left.

Dizzy Gillespie Volume 1, Atlantic 138. This looks to be an original 10-inch pressing signed on the front by Dizzy Gillespie. I’m sure Don-Lucky or one of our other readers will weigh in on the authenticity of the autograph. The cover looks to be in VG+ condition and the record is described as VG+ as well. Bidding is in the range of $110 and there’s more than a day left on the auction.

Speaking of 10-inch records, we also had our eyes on these: Read more

John Coltrane Vinyl For the Ages

4 comments

John Coltrane Jazz VinyylBack to our life’s mission of watching rare jazz vinyl on eBay. For some reason this morning I noticed several of the Red Garland Prestige records with John Coltrane. These are nice records and  can still be purchased for reasonable prices. The exception is Prestige 7123, which is a Coltrane date and is typically one of the higher priced Prestiges, particularly with the original cover.  Speaking of 7123: John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio, Prestige 7123. This is an original New York pressing and this is the original cover. It was later issued as Traneing In with another cover. This one is in M- condition for the record and probably VG+ or maybe a little better for the cover. The price is already more than $250 and there are still four days left on the auction.

I noticed two copies of this one:

Read more

Blue Note Records That Are, Ahem, “Essential”

27 comments
Zemanta Related Posts Thumbnail

Fats: Not Essential

I thought we might have some fun with this. As I mentioned in a previous post, Blue Note is issuing new vinyl releases to commemorate its 75th anniversary. I was perusing my online version of The New York Times last evening and came upon this article, asking “Which Greats Were Left Off the Blue Note 100?” I hadn’t realized the first time around that Blue Note was issuing this records in any particular order and I assumed all along (and still do) that it was mostly a commercial venture and they would be issuing those records that they believe will sell the most copies. However, you can see in The Times article that they are considering these albums to be “essential,” which, of course, is a marketing ploy — but also a chance for us to talk about some of the Blue Note records we consider to be “essential” that are not on this list. Somehow, I don’t see a lot of readers of Jazz Collector putting records from Brian Blade Fellowship, Robert Glasper, Stefon Harris or Madlib on our lists of essential Blue Notes, and that’s if we’ve even heard their music, which, I have to admit, I have not. Anyway, here is the complete list, following by a comment or two from me:

Read more

Inventions, Dimensions and High Prices

14 comments

herbie hancock jazz vinylReaders are sending me results of auctions and posting them on the site. Here are a few to share:

From CeeDee, this comes out of his “priced out again” department: Herbie Hancock, Inventions and Dimensions, Blue Note 4147. This looked to be an original New York USA pressing in VG++ condition for the record and just VG for the cover. There were more than 20 bids and the price ended up at $449.

Another reader sent this link: Wayne Shorter, Speak No Evil, Blue Note 4194. His object was that this was described as an original pressing, and sold as if it was an original pressing — yet, despite the presence of the New York USA labels and the Van Gelder, there were no Plastylite ears. This one was in probably VG++ condition for the record, with no discernible description of the cover. It sold for about 323 euros, or nearly $450.

This one is linked an an earlier post:

Read more

Some Surprises From Jazz Record Center Auction

17 comments

gerry mulligan jazz vinylOur friends at the Jazz Record Center had an auction last week and here are some of the results:

Gerry Mulligan Meets Johnny Hodges, Verve 8367. This was an original pressing with the trumpeter logo and it was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. I was surprised to see this one sell for $148.37. Neither Hodges nor Mulligan is typically all that collectible, and this is one of the later Verves among those with the trumpeter logo. Any theories as to why this would sell for nearly $150? Is the market shifting back to Verves a little?

I’ve never seen this one before: Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, A Nite at Carnegie Hall, Black Deuce. This was the full set of 78s capturing the historic September 29, 1947 concert. As noted in the listing, this was a pirated record release, but it was the first of the issues in any form. The set looked to be in excellent, near mint condition. They sold for $688.

This one almost made it into the $2,000 bin:

Read more

Condition in the Eye of the Beholder

15 comments

Johnny Griffin Jazz VinylOkay, this is the last catch-up for now, then I will move on to more current listings.

Introducing Johnny Griffin, Blue Note 1533. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing in VG+ condition for the record and VG for the cover. As we are seeing, the prices for records in less than pristine condition seem to be rising, at least if the records are original Blue Notes. This one sold for $710.

Here are a couple of Eric Dolphy records, also in less than pristine condition: Eric Dolphy, Out There, New Jazz 8252. This seemed to be an original purple label pressing listed in VG or VG+ condition for the vinyl and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $177. Eric Dolphy, At the Five Spot Volume 2, Prestige 7294. This was an original yellow label pressing. The record was in just VG condition and the cover was VG+. It sold for $147.50.

Read more

And Yet Another Jazz Vinyl Update From eBay

7 comments

trumpets jazz vinylI am going to get through my Watch List and update the Jazz Collector Price Guide. I really am. I think. I will post a few more in a second, but first I want to point everyone’s attention to the comment from the buyer of the Hank Mobley Blue Note 1568. Perhaps we will less ready to throw stones, those of us who who live in vinyl houses. It is also not often that we get comments from female readers, so welcome to Caroline.

Now, onto the Watch List and the Price Guide:

Art Farmer, Donald Byrd and Idrees Sulieman, Three Trumpets, Prestige 7092. This is an original New York pressing that looks to be in M- condition for the record and perhaps a drop less for the cover. It sold for $338.58. I happen to have a spare copy of this record sitting in my closet, if anyone is interested. I also have a spare copy of this one: Lou Donaldson, Swing and Soul, Blue Note 1566. This was an original pressing listed in VG condition for the record. The cover looked like it was probably VG+. The record sold for $127.50.

This one fetched quite a nice price, breaking into the $1,000 bin:

Read more

Vinyl For the Jazz Collector Price Guide

19 comments

Sonny Rollins Jazz VinylAnd here’s more jazz vinyl from the newly updated (we hope) Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Not sure how we missed this one, but, to be fair, there’s been quite a large number of copies of this record on eBay lately, particularly one considered to be quite rare: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This one had the West 63rd Street address on both labels, but not the New York 23. So it is considered rare but less rare, original but less original. This one was probably VG+ for both the record and the cover. It sold for $2,456.

Sonny Rollins Plus Four, Prestige 7038. This looked to be an original New York pressing with the original cover design, although there was no mention of the frame, or kakubishi cover. This one was in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover and it sold for $332. Here’s another Rollins from the same seller: Sonny Rollins, Moving Out, Prestige 7058. This was also an original New York pressing. The record was M- and the cover was just VG. This one sold for $472.

You don’t see this one too often, at least not with the red vinyl:

Read more

1 2