Jazz Vinyl Today: 2 Prestiges, 2 For the $1,000 Bin

Here’s some jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay this way, starting with this beauty: Webster Young, For Lady, Prestige 7106. This was an original pressing with the yellow label and New York address and it looked to be in almost pristine condition, with a promo stamp on the back cover and the original rice paper inner sleeve. This one sold for $648.80. I remember once having a duplicate of this record and offering it to a dealer, who offered me $35 for the copy and was insulted when I refused to sell it to him. That was pre-eBay, of course.

The other nice Prestige we were watching wound up not selling: Elmo Hope, Informal Jazz, Prestige 7043. This was an original New York pressing in at least VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. The top bid was $477, which failed to meet the dealer’s reserve price.

This one broke into the $1,000 bin, again: Lee Morgan, Indeed, Blue Note 1538. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing and it was listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,358.77. Also entering the $1,000 bin, again, was:

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Jazz Vinyl: Jackie-ing, Hope and McGhee

Here’s some jazz vinyl we’re watching now on eBay. Jackie is back: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This one is from a reputable seller and is listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. VG+ is always a risk, but this one is play-graded and sounds like it is in pretty good shape. The bidding has already topped $1,000 on its way to . . . . we’ll see. Also on eBay now is one of my favorites, Jackie McLean, Swing, Swang, Swingin’, Blue Note 4024. This looks to be an original pressing with the West 63rd address, deep grooves, RVG, ear. It is listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. Start price is $650 and, with a day to go, there are no takers so far. For a high start price like that, I think most buyers would appreciate pictures of the labels, for what it’s worth, although I’d be OK bidding on this record if I was inclined to pay that high a price for it in any condition, which I’m not.

This one is tempting:

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Jazz Vinyl Update: Jackie, Mobley, Burrell, Warhol

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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More Jazz Vinyl Updates and A Couple of Surprises

Here’s an update on some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:

Let’s start with the $1,000 bin, this one from last week: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,675. Hmm, in the Jazz Collector Price Guide we’ve had four or five of these sell for more than $3,000. What’s going on? Is there something in the listing that would indicate this is not an original pressing? Looks good to me. I know the listing would have been enhanced by more and better pictures, but still. . .

As we saw last week, prices for certain records with Andy Warhol covers seem to be rising. Here’s an example: Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1543. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing — the last original Lexington Avenue, right? — and the record was VG but the cover was VG+. It sold for $833. That’s the highest we’ve seen in the Jazz Collector Price Guide for any Burrell record.

Here’s one that provides an answer to a question we posed the other day:

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Jazz Vinyl on eBay: Ad Lib & a Few Blue Notes

I’m looking forward to the day, coming soon, when my real work slows down and I will be able to post more items and more thoughtful items on Jazz Collector. In the meantime, I will keep updating some of the records we like to watch on eBay and keep an eye out for interesting items as well. For today:

What’s a VG-minus version of this record worth: Jackie McLean, the New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601? We’ll find out later today. This one is just a little bit more than $200 and is a little tempting, to be honest, based on the seller’s description that it sounds decent. I had a VG copy of this I sold years ago for $500 and have always regretted it, and I’d love to get another copy for the collection. Probably not this one, but I’ll keep looking.

Here’s a nice original Blue Note: Horace Silver with Art Blakey and Sabu, Blue Note 1520. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing in M- condition. I don’t normally think of the Horace Silvers an the same league — value-wise — as some of the other Blue Notes, but this one is already more than $600.

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Jazz Vinyl Update: Jackie, Miles, JR

Here’s an update on some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been watching. Each of these will be entered into the Jazz Collector Price Guide as soon as we get the chance, hopefully by the weekend.

This one almost made the $3,000 bin: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This is the one that was listed as “almost M-” for both the record and the cover. Not sure how I’ll list that in the Jazz Collector Price Guide: Probably VG++, wouldn’t you say? Anyway, this one sold for $2,840.

I was also watching several listings from the seller dobdjukic, who tends to get top dollar, at least, for his auctions. Here are a couple from last week: Miles Davis, Birth of the Cool, Capitol T-762. This seemed to be an original mono pressing. Based on the description, it looked like the record and the cover were both in about VG+ condition. The final price was $315. I just picked up a

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Jazz Vinyl Pricing Trends: Three Altos

Today is the Independence Day Holiday here in the states but, as usual, we at Jazz Collector never rest. Here are some of the items we’ve been watching on eBay lately:

Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This was an original pressing, of course, and  it was listed in VG++ condition. The price was $2,627. The seller was a collector from Japan, not a dealer. Haven’t seen that so often.

Jason did that story on Boston jazz the other day and, coincidentally, this record was available on eBay from Euclid Records: Charlie Mariano, The New Sounds From Boston, Prestige 130. This was an original 10-inch LP and it was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. With a few hours to go before the bidding closed, this record was sitting in the $30 range. I though I might be able to get it for a cheap price and , not owning a copy, it had quite an appeal for me. So I used my sniping software, which is BidNip, and I

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Some Non-Blue Notes For the Price Guide

Here are a few non-Blue Notes for the Jazz Collector Price Guide:

The Arrival of Kenny Dorham, Jaro 4644. This seemed to be a mono pressing and it was listed in M- condition for both the cover and the record. The price was $943.33.

Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This was an original pressing. The seller listed the condition of both the record and the cover as between VG and VG+. It sold for $840, which means the buying public probably figured the VG grading was more accurate than the VG+. I was listening to some jazz vinyl with the lovely Mrs. JC last night and I asked her if she recalled me ever playing Jackie McLean for her. She didn’t, so I put on

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Price Updates: Hank, Jackie, Farmer, Moody

Just spent the morning updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so there are a bunch of new records we’ve been watching, including these, all of which have been mentioned before:

Hank Mobley, Mobley’s Second Message, Prestige 7082. This was an original New York pressing. The record and cover were listed in VG++ condition and the price was $482.

Another nice Prestige: Webster Young, For Lady, Prestige 7106. This was in M- condition and sold for $529.

Almost bid on this one: Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing and it was in VG++/VG++ condition. It sold for $678.

Zoot Sims, Down Home, Bethlehem 60. This was an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $435.

Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This was an original pressing of this very rare record. It was

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Watching eBay: Jackie, Farmer & Moody

Here are some items worth watching on eBay:

Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This is the original, quite rare. The seller lists it in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The price is a little over $200 but there are a few more days to go before it closes.

This one is already more than $100 with several days to go. Perhaps it will set a new high for this LP: Art Farmer Quintet, Prestige 7017. This one appears to be in M- condition, although the seller does make it complicated in his listing. We’ve watched this record several times in the Jazz Collector Price Guide and the previous high price was $204. We’ll see if that changes.

My experience with James Moody LPs is that they sometimes don’t get the prices of other original Blue Notes and Prestiges by other artists. Anyway, this one may buck that trend:

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Watching Some More Second Pressings

Here are a few items we’ve been watching, none of them an original pressing, each of them selling for a pretty hefty price tag. What I find interesting is that these second pressings of highly collectible records seem to be selling a lot better than original pressings of more moderately collectible records. It seems that certain records are just in demand and second pressings are becoming acceptable to collectors.

Paul Chambers, Whims of Chambers, Blue Note 1534. This was a West 63rd Street pressing. It was listed in VG+ condition for both the cover and the vinyl. The price was $222.50.

Jackie McLean Quintet, Jubilee 1064. This is a reissue of The New Tradition on Ad Lib, although it’s probable not all of the bidders knew this. In any case, this copy was in M- condition for both the record and the cover and it sold for $182.50.

This next one didn’t get a huge price, but still not bad for a second pressing:

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On eBay Now: Jackie, Mobley & a Sealed Dolphy

Some interesting items on eBay this weekend. Let’s take a look:

Here’s a beauty: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This one looks to be in beautiful condition and is a promo copy. How many promo copies do you think there are of this record? I do have to say, for a very rare record, it comes up fairly often on eBay. I guess that’s just a function of eBay. I’ve been going to record stores all over the world for 40 years and never saw this in a store, although I did own the record at one time and sold it. On eBay, it seems there is a copy at least once a week, sometimes more. Of course, some of these may not be real — Nautiluso anyone? — and some may not be in very nice condition. This one is and the current price is $1,500 and it still has not reached the seller’s reserve.

Here’s a rare Blue Note that may be difficult to judge, based on the seller’s description:

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Esoteric Question Of The Day: Does This LP Have RVG?

Duonri reminded me that I didn’t include this record from Nautiluso in the list: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This was listed in M- condition and wound up selling for $4,036, the highest price we’ve ever recorded for a jazz record on the Jazz Collector Price Guide. So I went back to the original listing in order to record it, and I noticed something I hadn’t noticed before: The seller says this one has the RVG in the deadwax? The question I ask: Is this possible — does an original pressing of The New Tradition have the RVG in the deadwax, or did he just make that up? I would have looked in my own collection for the answer but, unfortunately, I sold my copy of The New Tradition for a mere $400 nearly 20 years ago. Many of you may have heard this story before, but I sold a bunch of my rarest records in one shot so I could buy a boat. Six months later

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Cool Struttin’ Tops $3,000 (again)

That copy of Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588, that we were watching yesterday? Remember how it was $750 with less than 24 hours to go. It sold this morning for $3,002, making this LP a four-time-entrant in the $3,000 bin. The only other multi-entrant in the $3,000 bin is Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601, which we’ve recorded twice at more than $3,000. To be fair, we don’t watch every single record, and there certainly have been other high-priced records we’ve not logged into the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Jutta Hipp Blue Note Tops The $1,000 Mark, But Jackie McLean Does Not Sell For $2,500

Time to catch up on some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been watching this week at Jazz Collector:

Jerome Richardson, Midnight Oil, New Jazz 8205. This was an original purple label pressing in VG++ condition, both the record and the cover. It was sold by Euclid Records, which usually means it would get top dollar. However, in this case, we’re not so sure. This one sold for $153.50. We sold a copy of our own a few months ago for more than double that, even though it was in worse condition. We’re not sure what that means, other than the reality that prices on eBay tend to fluctuate for no apparent rhyme or reason.

Then there was this one from Euclid Records: Jutta Hipp at the Hickory House Volume One, Blue Note 1515. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record was M- and the cover was VG++. The price was $1,263. That’s the first time this record will enter the $1,000 bin in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. As we’re doing our Great Jazz Vinyl Countdown, this

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On eBay Now: One Stellar Collection

Have you seen the jazz vinyl being sold this week on eBay by the seller nautiluso?We are quite agape and agog. There are a good 75 classic jazz collectibles — Blue Notes, Prestiges, Transitions — and most of them seem to be original pressings in very nice condition. The seller is from Rio de Janeiro and says in the listings that they are from his personal collection. His eBay feedback is pretty good, not stellar, and he normally seems to sell a mix of jazz and classical records. The items he has listed this week are a pretty nice jazz collection unto themselves. We’ll post a few of the records here, but it would be worth your time to click one of these and look at the seller’s other items as well.

Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This is one of the rarest of the jazz collectibles — could it be the rarest? — and this copy is listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. In the Jazz Collector Price Guide we’ve twice recorded this one selling for more than $3,000. This one

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Quiet Kenny at a Bargain Price?

eBaying

Missed out on a few interesting items the past few days. In some cases the prices got a little too rich for my blood, in others I forgot to bid. My friend recommends buying Sniper software, which I plan to do today. I’ll let you know how it works out. Anyway, it was a busy weekend on eBay for some high-end collectibles. Here are some examples.

Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225

This was an original pressing in M- condition, record and cover. Price: $787.

If you watch eBay very closely, your point of view can get distorted. Case in point: I look at this and wonder if the buyer got a bargain at $787. Here’s why: Last week the same item in virtually the same condition sold for $1,261. It’s hard to conceive of $787 for one record as a bargain, but the reality is that prices are set by the market, especially on eBay. Seeing this record sell twice in the past week breaks my heart. I had an original mint pressing of this LP, which I sold years ago for a fraction of these prices. I used the money partially to buy a boat. Two months later, the boat sank. To this day I’ve never been able to replace Quiet Kenny. Here are a few more examples of wild market swings. This weekend one dealer sold the following records for the following prices:

Dexter Gordon, Dexter Calling, Blue Note 4083. Record and cover were M-. Price: $395

Sonny Rollins, Moving Out, Prestige 7058. Also M-. Price: $295

Donald Byrd, The Cat Walk, Blue Note 4075. Also M-. Price: $325

Dexter Gordon, Doin’ Allright, Blue Note 4077. Also M-. Price: $510

Pretty hefty prices, right? Here’s what’s more remarkable: One of these was not an original pressing: The Rollins LP had the New Jersey label, not the New York label. Also of interest of the weekend: The very rare Jackie McLean record on Ad Lib was up for sale. The record was in G condition, the cover VG-. The bidding topped out at $588.75, but the record didn’t sell because it didn’t meet the dealer’s reserve price. This is another one of those records I sold years ago to buy that damn boat. Ugh! At Jazzcollector.com we keep an ongoing tally of collectible record prices on eBay. We update it at least once a week. Here’s a look at the latest prices. Here’s a look at the larger database.

Upcoming on eBay

There always seem to be items of interest on eBay. I fully believe that if you had enough money, time and interest, you could buy up the entire Blue Note and Prestige catalogues in near mint condition. Anyway, here are some of the items we’re watching over the next couple of days:

 John Coltrane, Giants Steps, Atlantic 1311. This is an original mono pressing with the bulls-eye logo. Last time I looked the price was $99. I recently bought a stereo copy with the bulls-eye logo for $50. This dealer also has a nice copy of Soultrain, Prestige 7142 and some other good items. After you look at Giant Steps click view seller’s other items to see what else he has.

 The dealer who sold Quiet Kenny also has some interesting items this week. He sold a bunch of original Blue Notes and Prestiges last week, all in beautiful condition. His next auction this week is Hank Mobley, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. The start price is $850. After you look at this, also check out his other items.

Here are a few more upcoming items to whet your appetite:

Bud Powell, The Scene Changes, Blue Note 4009

Ray Draper, Tuba Sounds, Prestige 7096

Serge Chaloff, Complete  Sessions, Mosaic 147

We can’t vouch for any of these dealers, but they all seem reputable and we’ve had successful dealings with some of them. In all cases, you should look and see what else they have for auction this week. It never hurts to look.