eBaying With Horace, Lou, Newk & Leo Parker

Some interesting items on eBay now. Shall we see?

Horace Silver, The Cape Verdean Blues, Blue Note 4220. This looks to be an original mono pressing with the ear and the Van Gelder in the deadwax, although there is no close-up picture of the label to tell. This one is closing soon and is at more than $150 in VG+ or VG++ condition. Anyone out there have an explanation? Not that it’s not an excellent record, but it’s never been one of those that has garnered high prices. Perhaps because it’s a mono pressing?

We’d mentioned this one a couple of weeks ago when it sold for $81 in VG condition: Leo Parker and Bill Jennings, Billy in the Lion’s Den, King 395-527. The record here is VG+ and the cover is VG, but the pictures with the listing are very nice. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and, in this case, they seem to be worth several hundred at least: This one is already more than $325.

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Catching Up on Some 10-Inch Jazz Vinyl

Can’t sleep so I’m up early updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide. Here are some 10-inch records that will be going in:

Miles Davis All Stars Volume 2, Prestige 200. This looks to be an original pressing with the yellow label, probably one of the first Prestiges to have the famous yellow label. The record was listed in VG++ condition and the cover was VG+. The price was $204.50.

I think this was the first LP issued by Blue Note: Mellow The Mood, Blue Note 5001. It features Ike Quebec, Benny Morton, Buck Clayton and others. The record was VG and the cover was VG++. You’d think it would fetch a high price just for the historic value. But, alas, this copy did not: It sold for $28.

I’ve never seen this one and it has quite a cool cover: Bill Jennings/Leo Parker Quintet, Billy in the Lion’s Den, King 527. This was listed in VG condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $81.

Hard to find this one in M- condition, but here was a copy: Gerry Mulligan Quartet, With Chet Baker, Pacific Jazz 5. It sold for $115.52.

And now for some 10-inch Blue Notes:

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Jazz Vinyl Price Guide: Wallington, PC, 10-Inch King

Here’s one we missed for the $1,000 bin: Paul Chambers, Bass on Top, Blue Note 1569. This was an original pressing. The vinyl was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. The price was $1,036.

This is a nice New Jazz LP with Phil Woods and Donald Byrd: George Wallington, New York Scene, New Jazz 8207. This was an original pressing with the purple labels and the deep groove. The vinyl was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. The price was $565.55. I remember walking into a local store and seeing this record for three bucks about 15 years ago. Needless to say, it didn’t last long in the store and is still sitting on my shelf at home.

Here’s another original Blue Note: Herbie Nichols Trio, Blue Note 1519. This one looked to be in M- condition for the vinyl and VG+ for the cover. It had the Lexington Avenue address, flat edges and

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10-Inch Mania: Miles, Getz, Savoy, Serge, Prez

Let’s catch up on some 10-inch LPs we’ve been watching. It’s always interesting to keep an eye on the 10-inchers just to see if the market is holding up. So far, it is, based on these records.

Miles Davis, Young Man With a Horn, Blue Note 5013. The vinyl on this one was listed in VG++ condition and the cover was M-. The price was $510.01. This one was sold by the seller herschel78, who has been putting some nice items up over the past few weeks, including some other 10-inch LPs we’ve been  watching.

Miles Davis Volume 3, Blue Note 5040. The vinyl on this one was listed as VG+ and the cover was VG++. The price was $385.

Stan Getz Plays, Clef 137. This was an original pressing with a nice cover by David Stone Martin. The price was $68. This is a great record, one of Getz’s best.

Leo Parker, New Trends of Jazz Volume 5, Savoy 9018. This one was

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Leo Parker LP — And The Winner Is . . .

It’s time to announce the winner of the free record, Leo Parker, Rollin’ With Leo, Blue Note BST 84095. This is the 1986 release of this LP, which was the first time it was released with the cover art and catalog number that was originally intended by Blue Note in 1962. What’s more, this is a promo copy, with a promo stamp on the cover. The record is in VG+ condition and the cover is M-. The rules of the contest are simple: All you have to do is post a comment on the Jazz Collector site, anywhere on the site. Over the past two weeks, since we’ve been running the contest, we’ve had quite a bit of commenting on the site, but as I looked back, it’s not that many people. There are only six eligible to win the record. They are: Jason, Rudolf, Michel, Bethellodge, Mike M and Erich Schultz. And the winner is . . . .

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Quickie Quiz

I posed a question in a post yesterday, but nobody has responded yet. I know you all know the answer, so perhaps you just missed it. But here’s the question I posed yesterday: On the album Here Comes Louis Smith, Blue Note 1584, the alto player is listed as “Buckshot La Funke.” Who is it really? By the way, there’s still time to post a comment on the site and be eligible to win the Leo Parker LP. We’re going to have Mrs. Jazz Collector draw the winning name tonight, and we’ll post the results tomorrow.

Sonny Plus 4, The Real Deal

Yesterday we posed the question about the original cover to Sonny Rollins Plus Four, Prestige 7038. Michel provided us with the correct answer and here, from our own collection, is a picture of the original cover. By commenting on the site, Michel became eligible to win the Leo Parker record on Blue Note that we are giving away. There’s only a little bit more than a week left in the contest, so please comment on the site if you would like to be eligible to win it. By the way, the copy of Sonny Rollins Plus Four that was on eBay yesterday, wound up selling for $165.

Ebay Versus The Storefront: A Cultural Shift

The thing with eBay: The inventory replenishes every day, by at least several hundred new items. It’s much different than when we used to buy our records in physical stores. If you didn’t get to your favorite store for a few weeks, you may not have missed anything. Or, if you happened to walk in at just the right time, you might have been in luck for a major score. With eBay, you get the sense that if you miss something one day, don’t worry, it’ll eventually come back. The challenge with eBay, versus the traditional record stores, is that there is only one item and you are competing on price with every other collector in the world. That’s one of the reasons the prices on eBay are high versus what you might find in a store, and why so many of the top sellers — such as Euclid and Jazz Record Center and Atomic — do a lot of their business on eBay these days.  What do you think? If you comment on this post, you can be eligible to win the free Leo Parker Blue Note record we’re giving away.

Today on EBay, February 16, 2009

Where is everybody? We’re giving away a free record — Leo Parker, Rollin’ With Leo, Blue Note 84095 — and all you have to do to qualify for the contest is to comment on the Jazz Collector site, anwhere, even on items three or four years old. So far, since we put the record up on Friday, we’ve had only a couple of comments. Perhaps jazz collectors aren’t interested in free records???????

Anyway, we hope to see more comments. While we wait, here are a few of the items we’re watching on eBay today: Coleman Hawkins, The Hawk Flies High, Riverside 233. Hawkins usually isn’t among the most collectible of artists, so this might wind up as a bit of a bargain. It’s an original pressing with the white label and it features JJ Johnson on trombone. The record is listed as M- and the cover looks to be VG+, at least. The current price is around $40.

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Time for Another Free Record

Okay, here we go again. So far we’ve given away three free records and now it’s time for number four: Leo Parker, Rollin’ With Leo, Blue Note BST 84095. This one actually has a little bit more credibility as a collectible than our previous giveaways. This is the 1986 release of this LP, which was the first time it was released with the cover art and catalog number that was originally intended by Blue Note in 1962. What’s more, this is a promo copy, with a promo stamp on the cover. The record is in VG+ condition and the cover is M- and it’s being offered free to one lucky reader of Jazz Collector. As before, the rules for entering this contest are very simple: All you have to do to be eligible to win the record is to post a comment on the Jazz Collector site any time between now and when the contest ends, which is the end of day February 26.  You can post a comment on this post or anywhere else on the site and we’ll enter you into the drawing. If you win the record we even pay for shipping, anywhere in the world. This is a very nice record, worth having for sure. In addition to Parker, it features Dave Burns, Bill Swindell, Johnny Acea, Stan Conover, Bill Lucas, Purnell Rice and Wilbert Hogan.

Speaking of Leo Parker, someone recently sent us a link to this eBay auction:

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Another $1,000 Record, and A Few More

Here’s another record that recently broke the $1,000 price barrier: Lee Morgan, Indeed, Blue Note 1538. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The vinyl was in VG++ condition and the cover was listed as VG+. The final price was $1,114. In the Jazz Collector Price Guide, we’ve previously seen this one sell for as high as $895. We’ll be adding this copy to the Price Guide later today. Also breaking the $1,000 barrier was that test pressing of the Jackie McLean Quintet, Blue Note 84116. This was a very rare pressing in M- condition and sold for $1,220. The other two test pressings that were available yesterday, also sold for fairly high prices: The Leo Parker, Rolling With Leo, Blue Note 84095 test pressing, sold for $631; the one from Sam Rivers, Dimensions and Extensions, Blue Note 84261, sold for $480.55.

Today on Ebay, January 19, 2009

Things are kind of slow on eBay today, but there are definitely a few items of interest for those of us in the Jazz Collector world. Of particular note are several Blue Note test pressings from the seller Bluenotesound, which, we believe, is affiliated with Mosaic Records. This one is of the Jackie Mclean Quintet, listed as Blue Note BST 84116. It was recorded in 1962 — the record has the date 9-2-62 — but wasn’t released until the 1970s. It features Kenny Dorham and Sonny Clark and, according to the seller, Blue Note only issued 25 test pressings of each LP, so it would be extremely rare. In addition to this Jackie test pressing, there are two other test pressings available: Leo Parker, Rolling With Leo,  and a copy of the Sam Rivers LP Dimensions and Extensions. All of these are in near mint condition. It’ll be very interesting to see the final prices. 

Among the more conventional jazz collectibles are:

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Today on Ebay, January 15, 2009

After a week of slow days, it was quite a pleasant surprise to log on today and find a large number of nice collectibles to watch, and perhaps even a couple on which to place a bid or two. So, without further ado, here are some items for the Jazz Collector files, and, eventually, for the Jazz Collector Price Guide:

Thelonious Monk, Monk, Prestige  7053. This is an original pressing with the cover art designed by Andy Warhol. The seller provides some interesting background on the cover. For instance, it notes that the cover was hand-written by Warhol’s mother, which we never knew. For the seller, it always pays to have nice detailed information like this. This record, which looks to be in M- condition, is currently priced at $540. 

Miles Davis, Bags’ Groove, Prestige 7109. This is listed as a yellow label. We asked the seller which address and it is a New Jersey address, so be aware. The record and cover both seem to be in VG+ condition. The current price is about $50. 

Dave Bailey Quintet, Reaching Out, Jazztime 003. This is an original pressing. The record seems to be in M- condition and the cover looks about VG. The current price is $305. 

Here’s one that wouldn’t normally hit our radar screen, but we’re sure some of you Jazz Collector readers out there will be interested: Albert Ayler, New York Eye and Ear Control, ESP 1016. This looks to be in M-/VG++ condition. The current price is $91. 

Here are a bunch more from today:

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