Category: Price Guide

Jazz Vinyl Update: Jackie, Mobley, Burrell, Warhol

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Here are some recent jazz vinyl sales that we somehow missed. This one is among the rarest of the rare and collectors seem to covet it regardless of condition: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This one was in VG condition for the vinyl and VG- for the cover. It sold for $688.

Hank Mobley, Mobley’s Message, Prestige 7061. This was an original pressing with the New York address. The record was in VG++ condition and the cover was VG++ as well. The price was $665. I remember this as one of the few collectibles for which I paid top-dollar at Dayton’s back in the early 1980s. In those days, top dollar for this was about $80, and psychologically, that was a tough hump to get over for me, but I spent it. Then, I wound up selling it a few years later for about $200 and my copy now is a Japanese pressing.

I would have thought this next one would have fetched a lot more money, but the listing was a little confusing and the condition of the cover wasn’t described:

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Labor Day Blues: Kind of Blue, Candy, Monk & Sonny

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Here’s some jazz vinyl we’ve been watching over this Labor Day weekend here in the U.S., the nominal end of summer:

Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, Columbia 1355. This was an original promo pressing with the white and red label and six eyes. For the most part, promo copies of jazz records don’t necessarily add to the value. With Kind of Blue, however, that is not the case: We usually see the promo copies selling for a premium. I can understand why: It looks way cool and has the smell of authenticity of an original pressing. This copy was in M- condition for both the record and the cover, with a very nice picture, and it sold for $555. There were 31 bids. quite a high number.

There’s been a lot of chatter on the Jazz Collector site about the auction last week by the seller bobdjukic, who always seems to generate a lot of interest, partly because of his extensive use of hyperbole but moreso, methinks, because of his ability to generate high prices. Here are a couple of his auctions we were watching:

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Jazz Vinyl: Two for the $1,000 Bin, Plus A Couple More

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Been away from my posting for a few days. Trying to get back into the swing of things, but there were a couple of days of hurricane delays, plus the lovely Mrs. JC is on vacation. Anyway, I vow once again to be posting more regularly, starting today with some jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay.

Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This was an original New York pressing. The record was described as M- condition and the cover looked to be at least VG++, perhaps M- depending upon your grading system. This one sold for $1,536. We’ve seen this one sell for more than $2,000 several times in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, and once approach $3,000. So perhaps this is a bargain, or perhaps it’s just where the market was on this particular day. The item did have more than 400 page views, which is a significant amount.

Here’s a Riverside that did quite well for the seller, which was Euclid Records: Wynton Kelly Piano. Riverside 254. This was an original Blue label pressing with the deep grooves. It was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The price was $710. Nice cover on this record, right? Straight from the ’50s.

So this next one made the $1,000 bin after all:

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Watching Jazz Vinyl From the Jazz Record Center

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Our friends at the Jazz Record Center have a new auction this week and we always like to keep an eye on their stuff because it gives a pretty good indication of the overall market, which still seems to be down these days, right? Here are a few of their listings:

Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot Volume 1, New Jazz 8260. This is an original pressing with the purple label and deep grooves. The record looks to be in M- condition, and the cover probably VG+ with some seam splitting. The start price is $75, there are no bidders and there are eight days to go. We’ve seen this record sell for as much as $966 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so we’d expect that this will fetch a much higher price than the start price. We’ll see.

Horace Parlan, On the Spur of the Moment, Blue Note 4074. This is a weird one, with a Review stamp on one label with the New York USA address, and the other address the West 63rd Street label. As noted by Fred Cohen, proprietor of the Jazz Record Center, the original pressing on this one should have the West 63rd address on both labels. So what does that make this? Here’s where we get into that whole debate again about original and first pressings. This one has a start price of $200 and no bids as of yet.

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Catching Up: Byrd, Tenorman, Golson, Cool Struttin’

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Sorry I’ve been out of touch for so long. Now that I’m back, let’s start by updating some of the items we were watching on eBay:

This one had that very high start price: Lawrence Marable, Tenorman, Jazz West 8. It was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. Not only did it sell, it made it all the way to the $2,000 bin. The price was $2,175.

This one didn’t quite make the $2,000 bin, but it did all right for the buyer and seller: Donald Byrd, Byrd Blows on Beacon Hill, Transition 17. This was an original pressing sold by Euclid Records and it included the original booklet. The record was VG++ and the cover was VG+. The labels, as they do with all Transitions, had fallen off. The price was $1,691.88. Euclid also did well on this one: Benny Golson, Gone with Golson, New Jazz 8235. This was an original purple label pressing with the deep grooves. It was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $355, quite a nice price for an LP with Golson as the leader.  Our previous high in the Jazz Collector Price Guide was $335.

This next one was described as an “original” pressing, but upon further detailed reading of the listing, it clearly was not — unless, that is, you consider an “original” Blue Note anything that was issued prior to the purchase by Liberty:

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High Prices Yes, But Not as High As Before?

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It’s been a few days since I’ve been on eBay or posted on Jazz Collector. So many records, so little time. Here’s an update on some of the ones we were watching last week:

The Jazz Record Center seemed to do well with it’s most recent auction, although careful scrutiny would suggest that prices are down from previous expectations. That copy of Tommy Flanagan Overseas, Prestige 7134, sold for $1,891.88. Last year at this time we logged two copies of this in the Jazz Collector Price Guide at more than $2,000. Miles Davis Volume 3, Blue Note 5040. This original 10-inch LP was in M- condition for both the record and the cover and sold for $565. Art Blakey, A Night at Birdland Volume 2, Blue Note 5038. This also looked to be in M- condition. It sold for $359. One more: Sonny Rollins Plus Four, Prestige 7038. This was an original New York pressing with the frame cover. The record looked to be in M- condition and the cover was probably around VG++. The price was $345. In my view, somebody got a bargain on this one.

There was also that other copy of Conte Candoli, Cool Gabriels, Groove 1003 in VG++ to M- condition. It looked for a while that this one might go cheap, but it sold for $1,705, which, given this one’s condition and recent prices of other copies, was cheap, relatively. This one, of course, has the Andy Warhol cover.

Andy Warhol Jazz Covers Keep Rising, But . . .

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Other than the Andy Warhol covers, which seem to be going out of sight, I’m sensing some softness in the market these days. Not sure if it’s because of what’s going on in Japan or just the usual ebbs and flows of prices, often dependent upon who is on eBay and who is not on eBay. In any case, let’s start with the Warhols. I’ve never seen this one at this price: Count Basie, RCA 1112. This is in VG++ to M- condition for the record, but only VG for the cover. Still, it is already close to $350 with several hours to go. This one looks quite familiar: Conte Candoli, Cool Gabriels, Groove 1003. Methinks this belongs, for now, to Rudolf, correct? If so, I think it will finally sell. There are five days left on the auction and it is already more than $1,000.

So why am I mentioning potential softness in the market? Here are a few examples, perhaps not a trend, but examples nonetheless. Jackie McLean, Swing, Swang, Swingin’, Blue Note 4024. This is an original West 63rd deep groove pressing in M-/VG++ condition for the record and M- for the cover. Hard to find this record is such nice shape and it has sold for more than $1,000 previously in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. This one has a start bid of $300, it closes tomorrow, and there are no bidders. Hmmm. I can use an upgraded copy for my collection.  Or perhaps there are many snipers lurking in the weeds for this.

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Tracking eBay: The Cats, Blue Notes, Cannonball

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Before we look ahead at the coming week, let’s look at some of the jazz vinyl we were watching last week:

Tommy Flanagan, The Cats, New Jazz 8217. This was an original pressing with the purple label and the deep grooves. It features John Coltrane. I haven’t listened to this record in a few years, but my recollection is that it’s not among Trane’s better efforts, but I should go back and check again. Nevertheless it is a New Jazz and it is Trane and Flanagan and it is thus an important collectible. This one was listed in excellent condition by the seller, which I took to mean about VG++. The price was $404.99.

This one was from the same seller and also looked to be in excellent VG++ condition: The Magnificent Thad Jones, Blue Note 1527. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing and sold for $869.99.

Speaking of Blue Notes, as we so often do at Jazz Collector, here are a couple of 10-inch Blue Notes we were watching:

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Catching Up: More Warhol Madness

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Time to catch up on some jazz vinyl sales on eBay:

This one made the $1,000 bin with plenty to spare: Conte Candoli, Cool Gabriels, Groove 1003. This was an original pressing and, of course, the main feature is the cover illustration by Andy Warhol. The record was VG-, the cover had splits on the top and the bottom, yet it still sold for $1,825. The Warhol market is driving these prices quite high, but this one seems to do even better than the Blue Notes in better condition. It must be harder to find? Or perhaps the Warhol collectors are more enamored with the artwork?

This one was not an original pressing, at least not in the way we think of originals as “first” pressings: Sonny Rollins Volume 1, Blue Note 1542. This one had the West 63rd Street address, plus the deep grooves and ear and all the other markings of an early pressing: But a first pressing would have had the Lexington Avenue address. This one was in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover and it sold for $334. Quick question: I know most collectors prefer Blue Notes over Prestiges in general but, musically, to me the Sonny’s on Prestige are far more preferable and inventive than the Blue Notes. How do other collectibles feel about this?

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Tracking Prices in an Alternate Universe

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Let’s catch up on some of the jazz vinyl we were watching last week. Remember that copy of Miles Davis, Steamin’, Prestige 7200, pictured a few items below?   That was the one from bobjdukic and it was in M- condition, an original New Jersey pressing? It sold for $760. Wow! I’ll put it in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, but it’s hard to imagine that this will now be the going rate for this record. This guy seems to have a customer base that’s in an alternate universe from the customer base buying jazz vinyl from every other seller on eBay. There are many examples, but look at this one as well: Stan Getz, Imported From Europe, Verve 8331. This isn’t even an original pressing and he was able to get $122.50 for it. It leaves me somewhat speechless, but someone, somewhere, was willing to pay the price.

This is from a different seller and more in line with current market realities: Duke Jordan, Flight To Jordan, Blue Note 4046. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd label, deep grooves, ear, etc. It was listed in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $741.

This is a nice record:

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