A Matter of Prestige?

bennie-green-jazz-vinylAre we finally starting to see the Prestige records follow the same path as the Blue Notes? I’ve been quite surprised at the price of several Prestiges recently, including the Sonny Stitt record I mentioned last week and this one that sold yesterday on eBay: Bennie Green With Art Farmer, Prestige 7041. This was an original New York yellow label pressing. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was excellent. Great pictures from the seller are always helpful in achieving high prices. Still, I wouldn’t have pegged this record to sell for $860, which was the final price. Careful readers may recall that I purchased an original copy of this record for 25 cents. It was sitting in the bargain bin at Mr. Cheapo’s record store in Mineola on Long Island. I typically never looked in the 25-cent bin because it was always junk. But this day I was looking to kill time and not go back to work and, voila, there was Bennie Green With Art Farmer. Now the condition was just VG for the record and VG for the cover. But it was literally a quarter, the same as the parking meter outside the store. Still have it. The record, not the quarter.  Read more

What Happens? Records Sell for High Prices

Art Farmer Jazz VinylOnce again we find another record that is unfamiliar to us, this one sent in courtesy of our friend CeeDee: Art Farmer and Phil Woods, What Happens?, Campi SJG 12001. This was an original Italian promo pressing from 1969.  It was listed in M- condition for the record and  VG++ for the cover. It sold for $355. I did a quick search to learn more about the record but pretty much came up empty. That’s why it’s nice to have the Jazz Collector community weigh in with our collective knowledge. So, friends, what’s the story behind this record and the label?

I think a lot of us had our eye on this one: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This was an original original pressing, with the New York 23 on one side. The record and cover were both listed in VG+ condition. The final price was $3,998. There were 11 bidders. Given the rarity of this record, the price of nearly $4,000 seems to be market-appropriate, even with the VG+ condition. Based on the description, I’m sure the buyer is expecting this to be somewhat under-graded, particularly since there can be such a wide span within the VG+ category, don’t you think?

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Four Jazz Classics, and Nary a Blue Note

Art Farmer copyAnd now for some more jazz vinyl from our eBay watch list, starting with Art Farmer Quintet, Prestige  7017. This is an original yellow label pressing with the New York address. The record and cover are both listed in VG+ condition. The price is only at $88 with less than a day left on the auction. Someone may be in line for a bargain (and a great record). In the same vein, and from the same seller, there is Art Farmer and Gigi Gryce, When Farmer Met Gryce, Prestige 7085. This is also an original New York pressing, listed in Ex condition for the record and the cover. Based on the seller’s descriptions, it looks like Ex is a higher grade than VG+. This one is at a bit more than $200.

While we’re on Prestiges, there is:

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Not-So-Cool Struttin’

cool struttin'I happened to be perusing old DownBeats yesterday when I casually opened up the issue of Oct. 30, 1958. The “jazz record reviews” listed on the cover were for Harry Belafonte, Terry Gibbs, Benny Goodman, Earl Hines, Shorty Rogers and Bob Scobey. Nothing too interesting, and I almost passed up on reading the reviews. So I was a bit surprised to see that this issue contained reviews of two of the rarest and most highly treasured records in the entire Jazz Collector pantheon: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588 and Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568.

 

Let’s start with Cool Struttin’. The reviewer, Don Gold, gave it two and a half stars out of a possible five stars. To put it in perspective, Cool Struttin’ had a lower rating than these records, also reviewed in this issue: Steve Allen All Stars Featuring Terry Gibbs; Danny Alvin and His Kings of Dixieland Play Basin Street: Belafonte Sings the Blues; Paul Horn Plenty of Horn, and Moe Koffman, The “Shepherd” Swings Again. This is what the reviewer had to say about Cool Struttin’:

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And Yet Another Jazz Vinyl Update From eBay

trumpets jazz vinylI am going to get through my Watch List and update the Jazz Collector Price Guide. I really am. I think. I will post a few more in a second, but first I want to point everyone’s attention to the comment from the buyer of the Hank Mobley Blue Note 1568. Perhaps we will less ready to throw stones, those of us who who live in vinyl houses. It is also not often that we get comments from female readers, so welcome to Caroline.

Now, onto the Watch List and the Price Guide:

Art Farmer, Donald Byrd and Idrees Sulieman, Three Trumpets, Prestige 7092. This is an original New York pressing that looks to be in M- condition for the record and perhaps a drop less for the cover. It sold for $338.58. I happen to have a spare copy of this record sitting in my closet, if anyone is interested. I also have a spare copy of this one: Lou Donaldson, Swing and Soul, Blue Note 1566. This was an original pressing listed in VG condition for the record. The cover looked like it was probably VG+. The record sold for $127.50.

This one fetched quite a nice price, breaking into the $1,000 bin:

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A Prestige-eous Day

MantecaLet’s start the day with a couple of Prestige records we are watching on eBay, starting with Red Garland, Manteca, Prestige 7139. This is an original pressing with the New York address. When I started collecting, this record was fairly common, but most often with the New Jersey address. You don’t see that many with the New York address perhaps because it was at the end of the New York cycle. The latest number I’ve seen with a New York Address is Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, The Cookbook, Prestige 7141. I’ve never seen a New York Soultrane, which is Prestige 7142. This copy of Manteca is in VG+ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The price is in the $160 range.

Art Farmer Quintet Featuring Gigi Gryce, Prestige 7017. This is an original pressing with the yellow label and New York address. The record is listed in M- condition and the cover is Ex. The bidding is now in the $200 range and there’s a bit more than a day left on the auction, as I type this. This is a terrific record, so I would expect the bidding to rise as the auction gets closer to the end.

Here’s a great Prestige record that did not sell:

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Big Bids, Some Sell, Some Don’t

threeBack in action after a long, lovely Labor Day weekend. When I last saw everyone, I had a bunch of items on my eBay watch list and many of these have subsequently been sold, so let’s see how they did:

Lou Donaldson, Wailing with Lou, Blue Note 1545. This was an original pressing with the New York 23 address. It was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. You would have expected it to sell, particularly with a top bid of $1,030. But, alas, a purchase did not take place because the record failed to meet the seller’s reserve price. Interesting because the $1,030 would have been the highest we’ve ever recorded for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.  The same seller had a few more than got nice bids but didn’t get to the reserve price, including: Donald Byrd, Art Farmer and Idrees Sulieman, Three Trumpets, Prestige 7092. This was only in VG+ or VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The top bid was $306.50 but, again, no sale.

These two got nice bids and did sell:

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A New Trio For the JAzz Collector Price Guide

teddyHere are a few more records we were watching on eBay:

Teddy Charles, Coolin’, New Jazz 8216. This was an original promo copy with the purple label and the deep grooves. I thought I was familiar with every record in the New Jazz catalog, but apparently not. Never seen this one in real life. This was in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover and it sold for $361.56.

This one wound up selling the second time around: Art Farmer, Art, Argo 678. This was an original pressing listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. There was one bid and it sold for $109.99.

Gil Melle, Quadrama, Prestige 7097. This was an original New York yellow label pressing. The record was in VG++ condition and the cover was VG+. The price was $114.50. Would this record be worth anything if it weren’t on the Prestige label? I’ve owned it for nearly 30 years and I don’t think I’ve ever listened to it. Perhaps next time I’m in New York I’ll put it on the turntable. Is it worth the time and effort?

 

 

 

 

 

Jazz Vinyl From eBay and Remembering a Score

ShorterAnother slow week of posting for me. Sorry about that. But it’s Monday, a fresh week, a beautiful day and here I am back at my post full of fresh optimism. This week I vow to post at least once every day, starting with: Wayne Shorter, Speak No Evil, Blue Note 4194. This was an original pressing with the NY USA label, the ear and the Van Gelder stamp in the dead wax. Seller describes the record and cover as Ex, which probably translates to VG+ or VG++, based on the more detailed description in the listing. I’d probably grade it VG+ if it was my record. This one sold for $560. This seller had a bunch of other nice listings last week, but this one fetched the highest price. Here are a couple more: Sonny Rollins, The Sound of Sonny, Riverside 241. This was an original deep groove pressing with the white labels. The record was listed as Ex+ and the cover was Ex-. The price was $318.66. Ray Draper Quintet, Tuba Sounds, Prestige 7096. This was an original pressing with the yellow label and New York address. The record was rated Ex- and the cover was listed as VG. No idea why the seller varies the descriptions between Ex and VG. In any case, this one sold for $141.80.

This seller also had a large number of items last week, including:

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A Rare One, A New One & A Work of Art

barney WilenLots of interesting jazz vinyl on our watch list today, so let’s get right to it, starting with Barney Wilen, Tilt, Swing LDM 30.058. This is an original French pressing is in Ex- condition, which may be VG or VG+, and the cover is probably VG, with very visible ring wear. This is one of the real rare ones and has sold for as much as $2,700 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. Given the condition, this one won’t  fetch nearly as much, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it hit the $1,000 bin, just based on it’s rarity.

I always like to find records I’ve never seen before, and here is another: Jimmy Forrest’s Night Train, United Record Company 002. This looks to be an original 12-inch LP in VG condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. I have a bunch of 78s on the United label, but no LPs. Apparently the label was in existence from 1951 to 1957, out of Chicago. According to Wikipedia it never issued 12-inch LPs, but this would seem to prove Wikipedia wrong? Unless the seller is mistaken? Somebody out there should know this, right? Anyway, the start price for this record, whatever the format, is about $150 and so far there are no takers. Looks like a nice piece of history to me.

I’ll be curious to see if this record sells:

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