We’re Back: Another Adventure in Jazz Collecting

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Griffin copySo yesterday I was in my apartment in New York and I had 45 minutes to kill and I decided to put on a classic Blue Note record I hadn’t listened to in a while, if ever. I went through the collection and stopped at Johnny Griffin, A Blowing Session, Blue Note 1559, and I put the record on the turntable and it is quite an interesting record, with early Coltrane and lots of up-tempo material, particularly The Way You Look Tonight. And one other interesting thing is the presence of Art Blakey in the rhythm section, who has an ability to make every session sound like one of his own, with that perpetually driving beat and heavy accents. And I’m listening to the record, and I’m looking at the cover, and I’m reading the liner notes and I’m thinking to myself: Where and when did I get this record? And therein lies a story.

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A Trifecta of Rare Jazz Vinyl

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Flanagan copyBack on eBay after an extended absence, for which I apologize once again. Took a quick check of some listings and found this: Tommy Flanagan Overseas, Prestige 7134. This looks to be an original New York pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding ends tomorrow and it is already more than $1,000, perhaps on its way to the $2,000 bin. Interesting thought about this record: Did Prestige ever issue this on the yellow New Jersey label? I don’t recall ever seeing one or hearing about one. I guess it’s possible they just issued it once in the original format, which is what makes it so rare and so treasured by collectors.

Our friend Serge in Canada has several nice records on eBay now, including Jutta Hipp at the Hickory House, Blue Note 1515. This looks to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing in VG++ to M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The bidding is in the $450 range, but it hasn’t yet reached the seller’s reserve price.

My goodness, look what happened to this one:

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How About A Sealed Mobley?

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Untitled copyA few more jazz vinyl pieces from the Jazz Collector eBay watch list.

Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. This looks to be an original West 63rd Street pressing, listed in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The auction closes in two days and the bidding is close to $700. Given the current market it would be a real shocker if this doesn’t sell for more than $1,000.

Here’s one with similar personnel from the same era: Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Jazz Message #2, Savoy 12092. This is a sealed copy and this is the seller’s story: He recently purchased a bunch of sealed Savoys and opened one, which was an original red-label pressing. He’s not opening the others, because he is assuming that they are all original pressings. He is saying that he “guarantees” that the rest are original pressings. As a potential buyer, which I am not, I’d be

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Another Blue Note Tuesday

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Walter Davis Jr.I spent some time on eBay the other day and wound up putting a bunch of Blue Notes into my watch list, starting with Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This looks to be an original West 63rd Street pressing in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The auction closes later today and the bidding is already more than $1,000.

Walter Davis Jr., Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. This looks to be an original pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The auction closes later today and so far there are no bidders at a start price of about $750. I would expect this one to sell, wouldn’t you?

This seller has a lot of nice items on eBay this week, including Art Blakey, A Night at Birdland Volume 2, Blue Note 1522. This looks to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The start price is $350 with no bidders so far. There is also a buy-it-now price of $700.

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An Evening With Herbie Hancock

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hancock copySo yesterday afternoon I was walking my dog Marty, the one who has accompanied me on my recent record scores, and we passed Barnes & Noble two blocks away and there in the window was a notice that Herbie Hancock would be appearing in the evening at 7 p.m. to discuss his new biography in conversation with Larry Blumenfeld who, I subsequently found out, is a jazz writer for, among others, The Wall Street Journal. Of course, this was of great interest to me so I left my house at 6:40 or so to venture the two blocks to Barnes & Noble and I took the escalator to the area where the discussion would be and, to my great surprise, the room was completely filled and overflowing, to the point where I actually had to stand outside the main area to hear and see the discussion. There must have been between 200 and 300 people in attendance. I don’t know why, but I expected a much smaller crowd. I never entertained the idea of leaving, because I wanted to hear what Herbie had to say and because I had also brought two of my rare Blue Notes for him to sign, which, as you can see in the picture, was a successful outcome. I was pleased that a good portion of the conversation was around Hancock’s time with Miles and, especially, his time with Blue Note. I will share one of the interesting Blue Note stories he told.

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Closing the Loop on Rare Jazz Vinyl

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monk copyLet’s close the loop on some of the rare jazz vinyl we’ve been watching here at Jazz Collector, starting with Miles Davis, Someday My Prince Will Come, Columbia, 1656. You may recall this was the record with the inner seal and signed by Miles, Hank Mobley, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb and JJ. Johnson. When we first looked at this record there was one day left in the auction and the bidding was in the $300 range. The record wound up selling for a whopping $2,091.75.

Here are a few from the recent Jazz Record Center auction, starting with Red Rodney, 1957, Signal 1206. This was an original pressing listed in M- for the cover and probably VG++ for the record. We were commenting that there was no action in the auction but, of course, there was quite a bit at the end. The record wound up selling for $1,324.50. Thelonious Monk, Monk, Columbia 2291. This would not normally appear on a list of collectible records, but this was a promo copy with the white labels. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. It sold for $114.37. From the same auction there were also . . .

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Now Here’s a Rare Jazz Record

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Clark copyHere’s something I would love to hear and own: Bill Evans Acetate, US Army Dance Band Jazz 1951. This seems to be a legitimate recording of Bill Evans in 1951. The problem for me is that the start price is $1,000 and that seems too high unless I planned to do something with it, like transfer it to digital and make it available for broader consumption. I would be willing to do that, but not at that price. It makes me think that we should form some sort of non-profit Jazz Collector collective to acquire some of these rare items to share and preserve them. If you recall, there was also a very rare J.R. Monterose recording  of him as a teenager that we had an opportunity to acquire, as well as a recent Dizzy Gillespie concert and I’m sure many others.

This seller has some interesting items, including Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This looks to be an original pressing listed in VG+ condition for the record and probably VG+ for the cover. The bidding is in the $450 range and there are still two days to go on the auction. We’ve seen this record sell for more than $3,000 on many occasions in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. One of the things I find interesting about this auction is

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Where are the Bidders?

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benny green copyI’m watching the current auction from the Jazz Record Center, which closes in two days, and I am left to wonder: Where are the bidders? Perhaps they will show up at the end, as the often do. But, after seeing so much action on other auctions, I’d expect to see more on this one, considering the sterling reputation of the seller. We’ll see what happens. Some of the records I’m watching from this list:

Bennie Green, Back on the Scene, Blue Note 1587. This is an original pressing in what looks to be pristine condition for both the record and the cover. The start price is $300 and so far there are no bidders. I recently purchased a copy of this record in my Baltimore purchase, so I don’t need it, but I’d be happy to get a copy in this condition for anything less than $500, which may seem possible.

Art Taylor, AT’s Delight, Blue Note 4047. This is also an original deep groove pressing in what looks to be M- condition for the record and the cover. The start price is $250 and there are no bidders as of now. Huh? This is a great record. I happen to own a copy signed by Art Taylor, which is quite precious to me.

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Signed and Sealed: A Rare Combo

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Miles copyQuite an interesting set of jazz vinyl we’re watching now on eBay, starting with Miles Davis, Someday My Prince Will Come, Columbia 1656. This one has the rare combination of being both autographed and sealed. The autographs all look legitimate and they are on the back of the cover, featuring Miles, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb, Wynton Kelly, Hank Mobley and JJ Johnson. As for the seal, when Columbia issued records in this area they often had an inner sleeve that was sealed. I know this because I recently purchased a copy of a similar record. So in this case, the record is unplayed, and the cover has autographs of some of the greatest icons of jazz. The auction closes tomorrow and the bidding is in the $300 range.

Here’s one that says “Org” in the listing, which I assume means original, which is a bit of an overstatement, unless you take the seller at her word and accept that it’s an original New Jersey pressing, which it is, just not an original first pressing: Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. It’s a nice Jersey pressing, in M- condition for the record and the cover. And, for a non-first pressing, it will reap a hefty price as it is already in the $400 range.

Here are a couple ending later today:

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Updating the $2,000/$1,500 Bins

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JR copyI step away from eBay for a few days and come back and my watch list looks like it has exploded with records in the $1,000 and even $2,000 bin. First there was this from our friends at Euclid Records: J. R. Monterose, In Action, Studio 4 100. This was an original pressing listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $2,175. We have seen this one sell for more than $2,000 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, but this is a new high for us. To me, it’s almost always a surprise when a record sells for more than $2,000. You’d think I’d be used to it by now.

Speaking of $2,000 records, there was also Johnny Griffin, A Blowing Session, Blue Note 1559. This was an original pressing listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ or M- for the cover. In a previous post I admonished the seller for the poor quality of his picture. Turns out the seller is one of our regular readers and, in fact, someone I have had very pleasant dealings with over the years. So I will be a little bit more circumspect in some of my comments. Although, it really was a poor picture. No matter. The record sold for $2,181.

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