Catching Up On a Jazz Vinyl Quintet

dolphyLet’s catch up on a few more jazz vinyl auctions we were tracking, including: Eric Dolphy, Out There, New Jazz 8252. This was an original pressing with the purple labels and deep grooves. The record looked to be in VG++ condition and the cover was VG+. The price was $416. I like the covers on this one and Outward Bound. Very cool, and reflective in their way of the music.

This one from the Jazz Record Center wound up selling and fetching a pretty nice price: Lester Young, The President, Norgran 1005. This was an original yellow label pressing in what looked to be M- condition for the cover and the record. The final price was $365.

Here are a few other items from the Jazz Record Center auction:

Tommy Flanagan, The Cats, New Jazz 8217. This was an original purple label deep groove pressing in M- condition for both the cover and the record. It sold for $449.

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Blue Note Temptation

I haven’t bid on a record on eBay in a long time, so long I can’t remember when, so long that I no longer have access to any sniping software. But today, I am strongly considering making a bid on something. If I was greedy, I wouldn’t share my intentions here, but I don’t have high hopes of winning the record because I don’t think my bid will be nearly sufficient. For the record (pun intended), the record is Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore, Blowing in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This looks to be an almost original pressing with one New York 23 label and it is listed in VG++ condition for both the record and probably VG+ for cover. Read more

The Complete Jazz Collector Irving Kalus Collection

I was doing a search on Jazz Collector to refer to the Irving Kalus Collection I purchased in 2012 and realized I never put the entire story together in one post. In re-reading this for the first time in years, my own story-telling is fine and fun, but I must admit that Irving’s own article about Bird at the end is the real gem here. Without further ado:

Part 1, Posted July 20, 2012 

So I mentioned the other day that I recently purchased a record collection. Here is the story.

A few weeks ago a woman sent me the following e-mail: “I’m wondering if you can help me. My dad passed away suddenly in an accident. He left a huge jazz collection of approximately 2500+ vinyl albums. He died at 82 and was a jazz enthusiastic since his teens and his collection dates back to then. To his great disappointment I did not share his passion for jazz. I am interested in selling his collection. How can I go about finding its value? I’ve read some of the information on your blog and realize I need to consult an expert. Any guidance you can give would be greatly appreciated.” Read more

A Colossus Question, Blue Notes, And . . . .

Sorry, once again, for the long gap between posts. As this has become somewhat of a regular occurrence, I feel I owe some kind of explanation now that regulars such as Japhy and DaveS are calling me to task, rightfully so. I will do so in the next couple of days, but now that I’ve put aside some time to post, I feel obligated to go back to eBay and talk about jazz records as opposed to my own personal peccadillos, such as they are. So, here we have Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This is a New Jersey yellow label pressing listed in M- condition for the record and perhaps the same for the vinyl. The bidding is in the $442 range with five days left. Not bad for a New Jersey pressing. I do have a question about Saxophone Colossus. I have a duplicate copy and a few weeks ago got into a discussion with one of our readers who was looking to make a trade.

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More Adventures . . . Or Just Misadventures?

Today we have various jazz vinyl that has caught my eye for various reasons, starting with Miles Davis, Miles, The New Miles Davis Quintet, Prestige 7014. This looks to be an original New York pressing with the green cover, although it’s hard to tell if it is the frame cover from the picture, but the seller says that it is. The seller also says the cover is VG++, which doesn’t look quite accurate to these eyes. The record is listed in VG+ with “a touch of light surface noise in spots.” The start price is around $280 and there are nearly five days left on the auction. So far there are no bidders. When I started collecting, this was considered a real rarity, John Coltrane’s first recording with Miles. And, indeed, this record has made it into the $1,000 bin several times. I’m wondering if there will be interest in this record. If not, will it be because of the condition or will it be because it is not on Blue Note? I’m sensing it may be a combination of the two. But I could be wrong and the bidding will become heated at the last minute, as it so often does on eBay. Read more

Milestones and More

Cannon copyI don’t want to interrupt the discussion on the previous post, so please keep it going. With all of the action the past few days, we’ve reached somewhat of a milestone here at Jazz Collector. According to the statistics compiled by WordPress, yesterday we went over 2 million page views since we began tracking such things back in the fall of 2008. Our first month we had 296 page views and last month we had about 40,000.We are now averaging more than 1,350 page views every day. In all we’ve had 1,557 total posts, of which I have written all but seven (although, to be fair, we’ve had several guest columns in which I have been the poster, but it’s been someone else’s words). Anyway, I feel pretty good about all this, how we’ve been able to build the community organically all these years and how we’ve been able to keep the site independent and fun and still just a hobby. No plans for any major changes from my end.

Now, back to jazz vinyl. I see that our friends at the Jazz Record Center have a new auction with a few nice items, including:

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Nice Records, No Bids (So Far)

Lester YoungI’m watching the latest auction from the Jazz Record Center and there are some nice items, but not a lot of action. Wondering if a non-Pay-Pal-policy has any impact on the bidding? Here are a few of the items:

We were talking last week about perhaps less of an interest in some of the earlier pre-bop artists and some of the more mainstream labels, such as Norgran. This one is up for bid: Lester Young, The President, Norgran 1005. This is an original yellow label pressing that looks to be in M- condition for the record and at least VG++ or M- for the cover. The start price is $250 and, as yet, there are no bids with about two days left.

We were also talking about white label Riversides, such as Kenny Dorham, Jazz Contrasts, Riverside 239. This is an original white label pressing in what looks to be M- condition for the record and the cover. The start price is $200 and there are no bids.

I always think this one should sell for more:

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. . . And In Jazz Vinyl on eBay . . .

cannonOK, I’m starting to feel guilty over my minuscule posting production over the past few weeks. I vow to do better and, again, I will post every day this week. Stay tuned. In the meantime, I will just catch up with some items I was watching last week and then move on to some new items.

This seller has had a bunch of items recently with high prices. Many of the prices seem to be unrealistic, despite the seller’s nom d’eBay, but sometimes the items sell, such as: Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago, Mercury 60134. This was a stereo pressing that looked to be a first stereo pressing with the deep grooves and black labels. It was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. This one has sold for collectible prices a few times in the past, but it has always been relatively common and available, even on eBay. So the inflated prices seem to be an aberration, such as this one that sold for $149.99.

Just as that price seemed to be inflated, this one seemed to be less than expected:

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Finding the Right Price: Some LPs Sell, Some Don’t

Clifford JordanLet’s catch up on some items we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with: Cliff Jordan, Blowing in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This is a deep groove pressing with two different labels: One has the New York 23, the other doesn’t. What does that make this? A very early second pressing? This one is in VG++ condition for the record and probably VG+ for the cover, based on the seller’s description. The auction closes in about four hours and, so far, there are no bids with a start price in the $550 range. I know the seller is a reader of Jazz Collector, so, if it doesn’t sell and you want to make a trade, you know where to find me.

We thought this one would end up in the $2,000 bin, but it came up just short: Lee Morgan Sextet, Blue Note 1541. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. Very nice. It sold for $1,845.

Here’s another that may not sell: Sonny Rollins Plays, Period 1204. This is an original deep groove pressing. The record and the cover are both listed in VG+ condition. The start price is around $500 and so far there are no takers with four days to do.

This one did not sell and has been relisted:

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The “Infamous” Junkie Cover?

Once again we will travel to France for today’s post thanks to our friend CeeDee, who seems to be inspiring a few of our reports lately. This one concerns this record: Miles Davis Group, Barclay 84.018. This was an original 10-inch French pressing that looked to be in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It consists of music from the Prestige “Dig” date, featuring Sonny Rollins and Jackie McLean. In his note to me, CeeDee described this as “the infamous junkie cover.” I had to confess my ignorance. I had never seen this cover before, nor had I ever heard of the picture and the reference to a junkie cover. I asked CeeDee what he knew. Apparently, he doesn’t know much in terms of details but said he’s always heard that’s how this particular cover was usually referenced by collectors and the image has rarely been produced in any format. He suggests that some of our European readers will have what he describes as the “grim details.” So let’s put it out there and see what comes back. The record sold for $577.89, by the way. I have a feeling after this post and subsequent comments, the value may go up even higher. I will say I, for one, am newly intrigued by this record.
Separately, CeeDee sent me these followup excerpts to set the mood of the times:

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