Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This was an original pressing of one of the rarest and most valuable of all jazz records and it was sold by the most reputable of all jazz sellers, the Jazz Record Center in New York. The record was in M- condition and the cover looked like VG++. We’ve seen this record sell for more than $5,000 in the past on the Jazz Collector Price Guide. Not this time. This one sold for a mere $3,362.

Presenting Ernie Henry, Riverside 222. This was also from the Jazz Record Center and it was an original white label pressing that looked to be in quite lovely condition, M- for both the record and the cover. This one sold for $510. Great cover, isn’t it? Perfection, really, with the great picture and his eyes closed and the scripted typeface with the finger pointing to Ernie. Love it. Great record too.

This seller had a few interesting records from the Prestige New Jazz label, including:

The Music of Ahmed Abdul-Malik, New Jazz 8266. This was an original deep groove pressing with the purple labels. It was listed in VG+ condition for both the record and cover and sold for $447, which seemed quite high to me. I have a Riverside record by Abdul-Malik with Johnny Griffin and I’ve had this record in the past but I have to admit I never listened to either. Perhaps I will change that later this weekend and put the Riverside on the turntable.

From the same seller was: Ken McIntyre, Looking Ahead with Eric Dolphy, New Jazz 8247. This was also an original pressing with the deep grooves and purple labels. It was also in VG+ condition. It sold for $122.50. Funny, I’d have expected the record with Dolphy to fetch a higher price than the Adbul-Malik record, but it wasn’t even close.

Coleman Hawkins, The Hawk Flies High, Riverside 233. From my experience, we don’t see too many Coleman Hawkins records garnering collectible prices these days. We only have a few mentions of Hawk in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. So I was surprised to see that the bidding for this record had already surpassed $150, closing later today. I was surprised again to see that the record was not an original pressing — it has the blue label as opposed to the white label. It is in nice condition, however, M- for the cover and the record.

This record was closing just as I was perusing, not that I would have bid on it: Charlie Mariano With His Jazz Group, Imperial 3006. This was an original 10-inch pressing in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It was sitting at $95 with three minutes left and wound up selling for $180. It also had more than 150 page views, which surprised me. Glad that people are still interested in 10-inch Charlie Mariano records.

Here’s a record that’s not graded and the description says that it plays great with minor surface noise in spots. No mention of the condition of the cover: Everybody Digs Bill Evans, Riverside 291. The auction is closing later today and the bidding is in the $150 range. For me, I’d rather have a little more information before plunking down $150 or more sight unseen for a record.

What are some of the other items we’re watching from the Jazz Record Center auction. Glad you asked:

J.C. Heard, This is Me, Argo 633. This looks to be quite a find and quite rare. It has the original SPLIT-PAK design, where the record enters from the cover. And it even has the original Argo postcard and EP sampler included. The record and cover are in M- condition. I, for one, have never seen a copy of this record before. The start price is $250 and so far there are no bidders.

Of similar ilk is Johnny Griffin Quartet, Argo 624.  This too has the SPLIT-PAK design cover and an original Argo postcard. The record is in M- condition and the cover is close to that, perhaps M- or VG++.  This also has a start price of $250 and no bidders as of yet.

Presenting Ernie Henry, Riverside 222. This is an original white label pressing and it looks to be in beautiful condition, M- for the record, probably M- for the cover as well. Again, the start price is $250 and, again, there are no bidders. There will be, I’m quite sure. Perhaps even me if things don’t get started.

Clifford Brown Quartet, Blue Note 5047. This was an original 10-inch Lexington Avenue pressing. The record was in M- condition and the cover looked like it was probably VG++. The price was $900.12. That’s the highest price we’ve ever recorded for this album in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Speaking of new highs, this was one from the recent Jazz Record Center auction: Grachan Moncur III, Some Other Stuff, Blue Note 4177. This was in M- condition and sold for $775.43. As we’re seeing pretty consistently, these later original Blue Notes are really increasing in value. I had sold a copy of this record for around $500 a couple of years ago and that was, by far, the highest price we’d seen up to that point.

Sonny Clark Trio, Time 70010. This was an original pressing rated VG++ for the record and VG+ for the cover, even though the headline stated it was M-. Pretty interesting/deceptive move by the seller. It sold for $699.99.

Look at the price on this original Riverside:

Kenny Drew Trio, Riverside 224. This was an original pressing with the white label. The record was rated in VG++ to M- condition but the cover was only fair. The price was a whopping $637. I’m sure even the seller was surprised. Happy, but surprised.

Dizzy Reece, Blues in Trinity, Blue Note 4046. This was an original pressing with the deep grooves, West 63rd Street address, etc. It was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $634.99.

Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago, Mercury 60134. This was an original stereo pressing in M- condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $410. I’m not going to comment on the prices of the records I’m listing here. They tend to speak for themselves, no?

John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic 1311. This was not an original pressing. It was a fairly common mono pressing with the red and purple labels and the white fan logo. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. It sold for $142.50.

Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto, Getz/Gilberto, Verve 8545. This was an original stereo pressing. The record and cover were probably in M- condition. The price was $361.

John Coltrane, Ballads, Impulse 32. This was an original orange label pressing. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. The price was $410. Our previous high price for this in the Jazz Collector Price Guide was $205.

Joe Henderson, Mode For Joe, Blue Note 4227. This was a Liberty pressing. Liberty Pressing. It was in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $154.02.

Enough for now. Here are a couple of other auctions we were watching.

We started watching this when there were about two hours to go on the auction and there were no bids at a start price of about $100: Donald Byrd, Byrd’s Word, Savoy 12032. This was an original pressing with the blood red label and heavy vinyl. It looked to be in VG++ condition all around and sold for $125.55. We thought it would get more play. Perhaps if it were offered by a different seller and labeled as insanely rare . . .

Abbey Lincoln With the Riverside Jazz Stars, Riverside 251. This was a stereo pressing with the black label. Haven’t seen it like this in stereo before with the word “stereo” prominently displayed over the title. This one looked to be in M- condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $128.70.

Thelonious Monk, Brilliant Corners, Riverside 226. This was an original pressing with the white labels. It was listed in VG+ condition for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover and I recall the seller as being very reputable from previous dealings, as buyer and seller. As I was packing my records to move, I noticed that my copy of Brilliant Corners was a blue-label pressing and it was in maybe VG+ condition. I put this one on my watch list to potentially bid on it, not just as potential fodder for Jazz Collector. I think I would have gone to at least $180 for an original pressing. This one sold for $100, so I missed out.

I also had my eye on this for my own collection, but I knew the price would go way beyond my comfort zone — and it did: Lee Morgan Sextet, Blue Note 1541. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing and the vinyl was in M- condition. The cover was VG+. It sold for $1,475. One of these days I’ll find a reasonable copy for the right price. Right?

There was also a big auction from the Jazz Record Center, including: Toshiko Akiyoshi, Her Trio and Her Quartet, Storyville 918. This was an original pressing that looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. I love the cover. I’m not an art expert, but is that Miro? The record sold for $260. I’ll take a look later at some of the other records from this auction and do another post.

This one sold for top dollar, right: Herbie Hancock, Inventions & Dimensions, Blue Note 4147. This was an original mono pressing with the ear, Van Gelder and New York USA address on the labels. It was in M- condition for both the record and the cover and it sold for $449.

This one got a pretty high top bid, but did not sell because it didn’t meet the seller’s reserve price:

Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. This was an original pressing that looked to be in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The top bid was $910. You can see where the seller expected more: The last six times we’ve recorded this record into the Jazz Collector Price Guide it sold for more than $1,000, with a top price of more than $2,600.

Hmm, this one doesn’t normally get the Jazz Collector  prices, particularly the stereo version: Jimmy Heath, The Thumper, Riverside 1160. This was the original black label stereo version. The record was in M- condition and the cover was probably VG++. It sold for $163.50 but there were only two bidders, which raises a bit of an alert with me. This one was from the same seller: Cannonball Adderley Quintet at the Lighthouse, Riverside 344. This was an original deep groove mono pressing. The record and cover were in M- condition and, again, there were two bidders. The top bid was $88.

There were still a few more we were watching from the jazz5060/Music Matters auction, including a few that went for quite high prices, compared to what they normally fetch. For example:

Art Farmer, Farmer’s Market, Prestige 8203. I always found this one to be an interesting curiosity because of the number in the 8200 series. This was a short-lived series and I’m not sure what Prestige was thinking at the time. Perhaps one of the Prestige experts out there — hello, Rudolf — has more information. This was a review copy with the original yellow label and it was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for a whopping $707. This one also got a very high price, all things considered: Mal Waldron, The Quest, New Jazz 8269. This record features Eric Dolphy and Booker Ervin, a nice combination indeed, Mingus alumni, and it was in M- condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $630. Our previous high for this in the Jazz Collector Price Guide was $170

Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This was the one that was in M- condition for the record and VG++ or M- for the cover. It sold for quite a hefty price, $4,600, but not a record high. This guy was bid all the way up to $2,720 and STILL didn’t meet the seller’s reserve price. Wow: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. The record was described as being in M- condition and the cover was VG++ or M-.

This one, believe it or not, entered the $2,000 bin: Bill Evans, Waltz for Debby, Riverside 399. The seller didn’t actually apply a grade for either the cover or record, but noted that the vinyl was in “great shape” other than for a paper scratch or two. Somewhat reassuring, but not enough for me to wager $2,075, which is what the winning bidder put up. It was a white label promo copy, but still.

Here are a couple more for the $1,000 bin:

J. R. Monterose, The Message, Jaro 5004. This was an original pressing in M- condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $1,292.56.

Dexter Gordon, Dexter Blows Hot and Cool, Dootone 207. This one had the original red vinyl and was in VG+ or better condition for the record and VG or better for the cover. It sold for $1,025.