Here’s the method to this madness. First off, I wanted to thank everyone for their good wishes and keeping the site going while I was away. Second, eBay has changed its pricing policy for anyone who is running a store on the site. It’s interesting the way they do things, because I received this very nice email congratulating me because they were reducing prices and upgrading my store listings. It turns out that this was, as you might expect, a bit of a

red herring. Actually, they are increasing the price, pretty dramatically, for my store listings. I have a basic store, usually with about 100 items, and it has been costing me three cents a month for each listing. Under the new scheme, the cost of listing each item in the store is now 20 cents a month. How eBay thought this was a price decrease for me is a logic beyond my understanding. In any case, the new rates go into effect on March 30, so I figured this would be a good time to reduce the inventory and give everyone an opportunity to find some bargains. I had to create a storewide sale on eBay to facilitate this process. I think it actually goes into effect at 11 a.m. Eastern today, which is about a half hour from the time I am posting this item. The sale will last a week and after that I will probably pull the items off the online shelves and replace them with new items. If you’re interested in any of these items, good luck.

The same seller that has the copy of Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568 with a start price of almost $3,000 also has this: John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing and it is listed in VG++ condition. The start price is about $900. It’s interesting to watch this and the Mobley because the seller obviously decided to go with a high start price rather than put the record up with a reserve price. I actually prefer it this way as a buyer, but as a seller I’m not sure which is the best way to get people to bid.

I’m watching this one because it’s mine: Sonny Rollins Plus Four, Prestige 7038. This one is a New York pressing with a New York cover. The cover is not the kakubushi frame, but it’s hard not to consider this an original pressing with both

the New York address and cover. Anyway, I had three copies of this record: Two with this cover and one with the kakubushi cover so, in the spirit of the Great Jazz Vinyl Countdown, I decided to sell one of them. It currently has a price of $100 and no bids. It’s closing today. I’ll be shocked if it doesn’t sell, but if it doesn’t I’ll be happy to keep it: One of my all-time favorite records, for sure. I’ll also be happy to keep this if it doesn’t sell: An Evening With Charlie Ventura and Mary Ann McCall, Norgran 1053. This is a nice pressing in M- condition and it has a beautiful cover by David Stone Martin. I put a starting price of $50 on it — quite reasonable in my estimation — and so far this one also doesn’t have any bids. I have a few other interesting items closing today, so it may be worth a look.

This one sold for quite a tidy sum a few weeks back, particularly for a Verve: Ben Webster Soulville, Verve 8274. This was an original pressing in M- condition. This one has a David Stone Martin cover. I’d normally expect this to sell for maybe $100 in this condition. This one sold for $463.99. Here’s a nice Norgran: Lester Young, Jazz Giants ‘56, Norgran 1056. This was a original yellow label pressing with the heavy vinyl. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. The price was $105.15. And another nice Norgran:

Johnny Hodges, Creamy, Norgran 1045. We presume this was an original yellow label pressing, although the seller did not show a picture of the label and did not include the label color in his description. Perhaps we are being generous. The vinyl was VG++ and the cover was VG+. The price was $161.50, so we’ll also presume that the winning bidder thought this was an original yellow label pressing as well.

We’ll finish this batch off with: Flip Phillips, Flip Wails, Clef 691. This was an original pressing from Euclid Records and it was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The price was $152.50.

When did this one become a collectible that would fetch a price tag of nearly $200: Charles Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Impulse 54. This was an orange label stereo pressing in M- condition. It sold for $178.05. Quite a nice price for this LP, right? I have a stereo copy in my collection also in M- condition, beautiful. If anyone wants it for $175, just send me a note and I will sell it to you.

I almost bid on this one and now kind of regret that I didn’t: Milt Jackson and the Thelonious Monk Quintet, Blue Note 1509. This one was an original Lexington Avenue pressing and it looked to be in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover, although the seller could have been a bit more forthcoming with the grading. It sold for a little more than $100, and

I would have liked it since this is one of the few gaps in my collection of 12-inch Lexington Avenue Blue Notes.

This is a record I have not seen very often: Bill Hardman Quintet, Saying Something, Savoy 12170. This is a pretty late Savoy release but it seems to have the deep red label, based on the picture. This one was in M- condition and sold for about $174.

Lee Morgan Sextet, Blue Note 1541. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing being sold by Euclid Records. The vinyl is listed as VG++ and the cover is listed as M-. The current price is a little more than $300, but it’s hard to believe that this one won’t sell for more than $1,000, perhaps considerably more, given the way prices on Blue Notes have been going.

The Great Zoot Sims, Down Home, Bethlehem 60. This is an original red label pressing. The record and vinyl seem to be in what we would grade as VG++ condition, based on the seller’s description. The current price is about $150.

This one is already close to $800 and it hasn’t yet reached the seller’s reserve price:

Paul Chambers Quintet, Blue Note 1564. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing from a reputable seller. It is in M- condition for the vinyl and the cover. It will almost certainly pass the $1,000 mark and we’ll see if that is enough to get to the seller’s reserve price.

And finally, here’s one that has a start price of $3,000: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This is one of the rare ones, for sure. This one is in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover and it looks to be a nice copy. So far there are no bidders, but there are several days left until it closes. My guess is that someone will be willing to plunk down $3,000 more for this record. We’ll see soon enough.

more eligible contestants — 27 total — than we’ve ever had before. That is quite gratifying. Here are the eligible names: Michael Peoples; Doug; Rudolf; CeeDee; Joaquim; BryanK; Gregorious; Giovanni Zanoni; GW; William; Bob Brooks; Don-Lucky; Bethellodge; Bob; Japhy; Jack; Geraint; Max; Michel; Robert; Baz; RL1856; Jason; Erich Schultz; Brian; Blipp; PFunk. And it is time to bring in the lovely Mrs. JC and place all of the eligible names on the desk and scatter them about and . . . the winner is . . . BryanK. Congratulations BryanK. The sealed Dex is yours. All you have to do is send us your mailing address in an email, to al@jazzcollector.com, and we will send you the record, free of charge, and we even pay for the shipping. Hope you enjoy it. I will spend some time pondering the next record for the next contest and I will probably post it sometime tomorrow.

they wanted to press more they would just use the original artwork. Perhaps they felt they could sell a few more copies with a different cover. It seems as if Prestige did this type of thing all the time. In any case, I’m keeping the original, sending the other over to eBay. Keep an eye out for it — this is a great record, by the way, featuring John Lewis, Bill Perkins and Jim Hall.

bottom of the picture all the way to the right. Recognize the record? I did. I recognized it as this: This Time the Drum’s On Me by Stan Levey, Bethlehem 37. I also recognized that this record features some really, really rare Dexter Gordon from the mid-1950s. The price of the box of 25 records was $15. Shipping was about $15, so the total was $30. Was it worth the risk? I thought so. Here’s why: An original pressing of This Time The Drum’s on Me has sold for more than $125 on the Jazz Collector Price Guide. Plus, my copy could have used an upgraded cover. This risk was that the record in this box was not an original, or was in poor condition. I took a shot. The box arrived yesterday. The Stan Levey record? It is an original. I have it on the turntable now. It sounds great, at least a VG+, perhaps better. And the cover is at least VG++, a definite improvement over the one in my collection. A good investment for $30? I think so. And the bonus is there was also a nice Ruby Braff United Artists LP featuring Barry Galbraith and Bob Brookmeyer that will either end up on eBay or on a shelf somewhere in my collection. So I am quite pleased with myself as I listen to Dexter wailing on Tune Up while I watch the snow continue to pour from the sky on yet another cold blustery day in New York.