Watching a Trio of Blue Note LPs
I have quite a long watch list of jazz vinyl on eBay at the moment, including a bunch that are closing today from the same seller, including: Milt Jackson and the Thelonious Monk Quintet, Blue Note 1509. This is an original pressing with the Lexington Avenue address on both labels and, I think, on the cover as well if my aging eyes don’t deceive me. When I looked at this yesterday there were no bids at a $200 start price, but I see today there is at least one bid. Although this is an early 12-inch Blue Note and it is clearly an original, this one tends not to be as valued as some of the other early Blue Notes. Once of the reasons, for sure, is the fact that the tracks here were originally issued on 78 and don’t have the same sound or cachet as the later Van Gelder recordings that were made for the LP format. Also, as great as Milt Jackson was, his records aren’t in the same category as some of the other artists of his era. Must be the vibes. Still, this is a record I would love to have in my collection, particularly this one — in M- condition for the record and cover. Will I actually bid? I think I may. Stay tuned.
This is from the same seller and is already at quite a high price tag, considering the popularity of this record and the number of copies out there:
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Blue Note 4003. This is an original West 63rd pressing and it looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It’s one of the classics, right? When I moved into my new apartment a couple of months ago and set up my turntable, this was one of the first records I put on, partly in memory of my father, who would have recently celebrated his 85th birthday. This is already at about $610, which is about $607 more than my dad paid for this record when he first bought it.
Sticking with the same seller for now, Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550. This is also an original pressing and it is also in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The current price is $1,225.
I understand those high prices, because all of these records are true first press in beautiful condition. So, in my opinion, there would be no hesitation to bid a high dollar for such beautiful copies…, if i was rich enough to do that of course.
I spotted an original Lex Ave pressing of BLP 1534 (P.C. with Trane) in NM condition for a “buy it now” price of 1199,99. It was gone within a couple of hours.
Al: good luck with BLP 1509.
Thanks, Rudolf. I won’t get it. It’s already moved up to around $230 and I won’t go that much higher. I do have a NY USA copy. Out of the first eleven 12-inch Blue Notes it’s the only one I don’t have as an original pressing, so the temptation is quite powerful. I just picked up an original Blue Note 1557 Lee Morgan for the first time. These originals are quite hard to come by if you’re not willing to pay top dollar, as we all know too well. But it makes it much more exciting when you do get one at a reasonable price, no?
4003 just went for $1,125. OMG, what is going on? This is a very common record.
p.s. and didn’t include original inner sleeve…
Al, as it happens I also picked up a BN 1557 the other day at a local dealer shop. That’s a great record!
My copy was not cheap or in mint (small scratch for 10 revelations) and it has the NYC labels so very early pressing but not the New York 23 first labels. I guess however that the pressing is more or less the same in quality – only the label is different.
Did you catch a true 1st pressing for an ok price?
Hey, Shaft, yes I could a true first pressing for a nice price, but it is more like VG or VG+ at best. Have to clean it up and listen to it to see how it sounds. How much was the NYC label, approximately?
The copy of 1557 from this seller fetched 257 dollar, but when you click on the ‘relisted’ link, it fetched 200 bucks. Confusing and still a lot of money if you take in consideration that the a-side has 47 West 63rd NYC and the b-side was the 47 West 63rd New York 23…
Hi again, My record was in M- condition (apart from the small scratch). No groove distorsion, crackle or other background noise just clear strong sound. Cover was nice and shiny with a couple of small partial seam splits. It was not cheap $500 from a dealer shop.
I know it’s not cheap or close to a bargain but I really like the LP.