Two for the $1,000 Bin, Two for The Watch List

A couple of albums we were watching this weekend broke into the $1,000 bin: Freddie Hubbard, Open Sesame, Blue Note 4040. This was an original pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $1,150. Also, Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. This was a West 63rd Street pressing without the New York 23, which I think is an original, contrary to my previous post. This one was from the same seller and was also listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $1,202.

Here are a few we’re watching now: The Dual Role of Bob Brookmeyer, Prestige 7066. I’m trying to see if there’s something wrong with this one. It looks like an original New York yellow label pressing and it seems to be in pretty nice shape, at least VG+ for both the record and the cover. The auction closes tomorrow and the bidding is only at $30, which seems kind of low for an original Prestige in the early part of the 7000 series. Is there so little interest in Brookmeyer? I mean, Moondog Prestige  records sell for a lot more than Brookmeyer records, it seems.

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The One I Left Behind?

Some interesting 10-inch LPs, 78s and other items on the new eBay auction from the Jazz Record Center. Here’s a few to watch, starting with Red Mitchell, Happy Minors, Bethlehem 1033. This is an original 10-inch pressing In M- condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. There’s writing on the back, but the writing is from the previous owner, Thomas Stewart, who also wrote the liner notes for this record. So it has some interesting provenance. It also has the presence of  Zoot Sims and Bob Brookmeyer, which can’t hurt. The start price is $200. My own story with this record: I used to travel to Palo Alto all the time for business. There was a book store that also sold records and occasionally they would get some nice jazz. The prices were a bit high for the time, but not unreasonable. I remember a mint copy of this record sitting on the shelf for $50. I had it in my hand, put it down, had it in my hand, put it down, looked at a few other records, picked it up again. This went on for a while. In my memory I wound up buying the record for $50. Except, I guess I didn’t. I just looked on my shelves and, alas, no Happy Minors. My hope is that I have the record, but I just misfiled it or something. So later, or this weekend, I will go through all of my 10-inch records in search of the one I may have left behind. It’s probably a great record, right?

A few others from the Jazz Record Center: Read more

Catching Up: Blue Notes, Prestige, Clef

Let’s catch up on some odds and ends jazz vinyl we were watching last week:

First one of the heavyweights: Lee Morgan, Indeed, Blue Note 1538. As noted this was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. This one looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover and was described by the seller as “museum quality,” which is an interesting term we don’t see very often. We predicted that this one would make the $2,000 bin and speculated that it would perhaps even hit the $3,000 bin. It sold for $2,450.

Another really nice one that fetched top dollar: Lou Donaldson, Lou Takes Off, Blue Note 1591. This was also an original pressing, also in M- condition for the record and the cover, also described as a “museum copy.” It sold for $766.99, which is the top price we’ve seen for this one in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

I’ve never seen this cover on this record:

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Catching Up on Some Odds & Ends

Here are some non-Blue Note odds and ends we’ve been watching:

Blue Mitchell, Blue Soul, Riverside 309. This was one of the ones from the recent bobdjukic auction. It was listed in VG++ condition for both the vinyl and the cover and it looked to be an original deep groove, blue label pressing. It sold for $275. One of the reasons I was watching this is that I just bought another small collection and a nice original mint copy of this record was in the batch. There were also a few original Blue Notes so, if I ever get back to selling records on eBay, I’ll have some nice items to start with . . . . or if I have Jazz Collector readers come to the house, as previously proposed.

Harry Carney With Strings, Clef 640. This looked to be an original pressing, although there was no picture of the label, with a beautiful cover illustration by David Stone Martin. It was listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover and sold for $110.50. You have to wonder how much longer there will be a market for Harry Carney LPs. Case in point: The Astaire Story. This was the original Mercury boxed set in beautiful condition, signed by Astaire, with the Stone Martin illustrations and the exclusive photos. In M- condition, this would have sold for somewhere in the range of $2,000 just a few years ago. Now, the seller had a start price of $800 and there were no bidders.

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Tracking Rare Jazz Vinyl That Didn’t Sell

Let’s catch up on a few odds and ends in the world of collectible jazz vinyl:

The Blue Notes continue to be getting top dollar, but there seems to be a drop-off in prices in the middle of the market, records that would normally sell in the $30-$150 range. I’ve noticed it with my own sales on eBay and I was talking with Steve at Round Again Records in Providence yesterday and he said he believes the market has fallen off by as much as 40 percent in the past couple of years. I was thinking about that when I looked at some of the records I’ve been watching on eBay that failed to get bids, despite what seemed to be reasonable starting prices. Here are a few:

Kenny Drew and his Progressive Piano, Norgran 1066. This was an original pressing from a reputable seller. The record was in nice condition, M-/VG++ and the cover seemed nice as well with a partial seam split. The start price was $74.99 and there were no bidders. The picture accompanying the listing wasn’t great and perhaps that dampened the enthusiasm.

Ken McIntyre, Looking Ahead, New Jazz 8247. This was an original pressing with the purple labels and the deep grooves. The record and cover were in VG+ condition and the start price was $99.99. This record, which prominently features Eric

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Are Sales Drooping? Some Items For the Weekend

Is it me, or do things seem slow on eBay? I’m seeing a lot of action on the high-end records, but not much among the mid-tier collectibles. I had a bunch of items this week that I listed for $15, expecting they would sell for $30 or $40 or more, but most of them actually sold for less than $20. I even took advantage of the lull and bid on a few items myself and, fortunately or unfortunately, actually wound up winning a couple. In any case, there are some interesting items on eBay this weekend, so we’ll keep an eye on prices. Here are some of the ones we’re watching:

Phil Woods, Woodlore, Prestige 7018. I had a vigorous internal debate about putting this one on Jazz Collector, since I wouldn’t mind it myself.  It’s an original New York pressing and it’s in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The seller is quite reliable, from my experience. This one closes tomorrow and is still less than $40. As for my vigorous internal debate, obviously here it is on the site. I decided to not show the picture. Small compromise, no?

This seller has a whole batch of items, including: The Dual Role of Bob Brookmeyer, Prestige 7066. This is an original New York yellow label pressing and the item is listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It closes in two days, the start price is $99 and so far there are no bidders. Check out the seller’s other items as well. There are a few in this category, starting price of about $100 and no bids.

Here’s another nice one:

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Price Updates: Blue Mitchell, Beverly Kenney . . .

Another batch for the Jazz Collector Price Guide. These have already been entered, so you can go to the Price Guide to contrast and compare. 

Lou Donaldson, Sonny Side Up, Blue Note 4036. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record and cover were both in VG+ condition. The price was $246.

Beverly Kenney, Born To Be Blue, Decca 8850. This was an original pressing. The record was VG+ and the cover was VG. The price was $202.49.

Lorez Alexandria, Sings Pres, King 565. This was an original pressing in VG++ condition, record and cover. The price was $167.50.

Mal Waldron, Mal1, Prestige 7090. This was an original New York pressing. The record

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Another Dolphy Collectible; Some LPS on eBay Today

Last week we were watching the record Eric Dolphy in Europe, Debut 136, which eventually sold for $1,375. This weekend there was another nice European rare Dolphy for sale: Eric Dolphy Last Date, Fontana 681-008. To my knowledge, this was an original pressing originally issued in Holland. This one was in beautiful M- condition and sold for $596.50. 

While I’m here, I may as put in a reminder that we have a few records for sale on eBay today. Here are a couple:

Mundell Lowe, New Music of Alex Wilder, Riverside 219. This is an original

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How About Another Free Record?

OK, now that we’re back posting regularly again, it’s time to give away another free record. So far we’ve done two giveaways: An OJC copy of The Dual Role of Bob Brookmeyer, Prestige 7066 and a copy of Wayne Shorter, Adam’s Apple, Blue Note 84232. For the next giveaway we have another Blue Note: Hank Mobley, Workout, Blue Note 84080. This is not an original pressing — we’re generous, but not THAT generous — but, instead, is a 1988 reissue from EMI-Manhattan records. The record and cover include the original packaging, including the liner notes from Leonard Feather. Both the record and cover are in M- condition, very nice. Personnel on this LP includes Mobley, Grant Green on guitar, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. It was originally recorded on March 26, 1961. 

We have one copy of this to give away, so we will conduct a drawing. In order to participate in the drawing all you have to do is comment on the site — you can comment on this post or ANY post — between now and the end of the day on Feb. 4. This gives you more than two weeks to comment anywhere on the site. At the end of the day on Feb. 4 — which happens to be my birthday — we will put all of the names of the participants into a hat and ask our lovely bride, Mrs. Jazz Collector, to pull out one lucky winner. Then we will send the record to that person for no charge at all — we will even pay for the shipping. So good luck to all, and we hope to see some of your comments on the Jazz Collector site.

Win A Free Record, Part 2

           Win This Record

A few weeks ago at Jazz Collector we tried to give away a free record and no one seemed to want it. We posted a Bob Brookmeyer record on the site and simply asked people to leave a comment. No one did. But we gave the record away anyway, and we’re happy to say it has arrived safe and sound in its new home. I will post the note of thanks separately. Anyway, we are not ones to give up too easily, so we are back to try and give away another record. This time it’s Wayne Shorter, Adam’s Apple, Blue Note 84232. This is a great record with Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Reggie Workman and Joe Chambers. This is not an original — we’re generous, but not that generous — but a 1985 reissue from the original historical master tape. The record and cover are both in M- condition. We have one copy to give away, so this is a contest, but you don’t have to do anything to enter the contest except leave a comment on this post.

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