Blue Notes Galore, For a Price

Catching up on a recent interesting Blue Note auction from the Jazz Record Center. Lots of items for the $1,000, $2,000 and even the $3,000 bin, starting with Lee Morgan Volume 3, Blue Note 1557. This was an original New York 23 pressing that looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $3,248. This was not the highest price ever for this record, but it’s close. A couple of years ago a similar copy sold for $4,177, according to Popsike. We’ll keep going on these for a bit, continuing with Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. This was an original West 63rdStreet pressing that was listed in Mint condition for the record and “virtually new: condition for the cover. This one sold for $2,638, also close to a record high, but not quite reaching the $3,051 for a copy in 2015.

Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. Original West 63rdStreet pressing, Mint condition for the record and the cover, $2,425.

Walter Davis Jr., Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. Original West 63rdStreet pressing. Mint condition for the record and the cover, $2,413.

Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. Original West 63rdStreet pressing, Mint condition, $2,137.

Sabu Martinez, Palo Congo, Blue Note 1561. Original West 63rdStreet pressing, promo copy, Mint condition, $1,580.

Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights Volume 1, Blue Note 1596. Original West 63rdStreet pressing with the Andy Warhol cover. Mint condition for the record, perhaps slightly less for the cover, $1,221.

Lou Donaldson, Wailing With Lou, Blue Note 1545. Original New York 23 pressing, probably VG++ condition for both the record and the cover, $1,225.

That’s it for now. I could go on, but my fingers have gotten sore from typing in all of those numbers.

 

 

 

 

Blue Notes and Brubeck

Following up on a few of those heavy hitters we were watching on eBay, starting with Cliff Jordan, Blue Note 1565. This was an original pressing with the New York 23 labels, listed in M- condition for the record and probably VG+ for the cover. When we first wrote about this record the bidding was in the $500 range and we predicted it would eventually sell for between $1,000 and $2,000, if not more. Didn’t quite make it to $2,000 but came close at $1,809. The same seller had Lou Donaldson, Lou Takes off, Blue Note 1591. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing that looked to be in M- condition for the record and EX for the cover. The final price was $1,425. Read more

Classic Blue Notes from Jazz Record Center

Our friends at the Jazz Record Center have quite an auction closing this week, including several of the rarest of the rare Blue Notes, starting with Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This is a deep-groove West 63rdStreet pressing, no New York 23 label, but it is still considered an original. This one looks to be in VG++ condition for the record and probably VG+ or VG++ for the cover, depending upon how the buyer might feel about a “professional restoration” and a “lightly audible scratch.” This bidding on this one has already surpassed $2,000 with three days of bidding to go.

Here’s another one already in the $2,000 bin: Read more

Bird, Dial, Blue Note And Fillers for the $1,000 Bin

I have a lot of records stacked in my eBay watch list, some from a few weeks ago, so I am going to use this post to clear things out, starting with some 10-inch records: Charlie Parker, Dial 207. This was an original 10-inch pressing. The record was only in VG condition and the cover was VG++. It sold for $1,075. Not sure why. We’ve seen this record in much stronger condition sell for a lot less. The seller took a great picture of the cover, so maybe that helped.

This seller had some nice 10-inch LPs a few weeks ago, including Clifford Brown Quartet, Blue Note 5047. This one looked to be in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover, perhaps a little better for the record. The final price was $565. Also, Lou Donaldson Sextet, Volume 2, Blue Note 5055. This one was graded M-, but the seller’s description made it sound more like VG++. The cover was VG++. The final price was $350. Read more

Blue Notes and Beyond

I’m back, finally. I see in my absence, Mr. Lee did a good job of keeping the interest alive. I’ve actually removed a couple of posts that had to do with cases filed on eBay. Sorry, Mr. Lee, that’s not something we do here at Jazz Collector.

Let’s start with the tease on the Blue Note documentary. It is called Blue Note Records: Beyond the Blue Notes. I saw it at a special screening at the Tribeca Film Festival. Watching the movie and knowing that I would have to write about it here reminded me why, early in my journalism career, I decided that I didn’t want to be a critic. To be fair, there were some great things about the movie. Nice clips of Monk, the Lion and Wolff story, the artwork (of course) and some great commentary and stories from 91-year-old Lou Donaldson, who lights up the screen every time he appears. Would I recommend the documentary to you, loyal Jazz Collector readers? I don’t need to, do I? You’ll see it no matter what I say, as you should. Within the movie is the story of the music we love as it was recorded and packaged on one of the labels we treasure and collect. Read more

Not So Quiet Kenny, And More

One of our readers sent me the following link: Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This was an original purple label deep groove pressing. The record and cover were listed in M- condition and the seller used the word “pristine” in his description. The final price was $3,617. According to Popsike, that is a new high water mark for Quiet Kenny. The reader added this note: “Of course, this LP is superb music-wise and very rare, so in today’s market maybe the price is justified?” My answer, I guess, is yes, it is justified in today’s market. And, I have to say, every time I think the market has peaked, I am always proven wrong. So, who’s not to say that someday down the road, we’ll be talking about this purchase as a bargain?

This one also fetched quite a price:

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A Cross Section of Collectible Jazz Vinyl

We’re watching a few auctions from the seller bullsite2000, including Billy Taylor, Cross Section, Prestige 7071. This is an original New York yellow label pressing. It looks like the record is in about VG++ condition and the cover is M-. The bidding is in the $90 range and the auction closes later today. Typically, you don’t see any Billy Taylor records selling for high prices. This particular record seems to be somewhat of an exception, selling for more than $200 several times on Popsike. We’ll see what this one goes for. I like the picture on the cover, which is one of the reasons I’m mentioning here at Jazz Collector: It’s not often that I get to use a Billy Taylor Prestige cover with one of my posts, and this one has the old record player, the tube amp and the old records. Wouldn’t you like to own the records on THAT shelf. This is another one with a great cover: Jay Jay Johnson Sextet, Blue Note 5028. This is an original 10-inch Lexington Avenue pressing. The record looks to be in VG+ condition and the cover VG++. It is also closing today. The bidding is in the $250 range.

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Rare Jazz Vinyl, But Not For Me

Back in business with a few items we’ve been watching on eBay. We haven’t been buying records for a white but we decided to try to win a couple of items recently, using our sniping software. Here’s what happened, starting with: Lester Young and Teddy Wilson, Pres and Teddy, Verve 8205. This was an original pressing with the trumpeter logo that was in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. I was perusing eBay and noticed this with a start price of $99 and no bidders, quite close to the end of the auction. I do own a copy of this record, but it is a bit of a mess, VG- cover and VG record. I have had a clean copy of this record in the past and, quite honestly, I don’t recall what happened to it. I can’t imagine I sold it or traded it, as it is one of my favorite Pres records. In any case, the idea of upgrading my copy was quite compelling, and it seemed as if there might not be any action on this record so I tried to sneak in a bid in the range of about $11.50. The final price was $113.50, so someone else had the same idea, but decided to go with a higher bid. How how, we’ll never know, but I will keep on the lookout for a clean copy of this record and would have no problem paying in the low hundreds for one.

I tried a similar tactic with this record, also to no avail:

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Blue Notes and More

Curtis FullerWe’ll start with a couple of Blue Notes today and segue neatly into some other stuff, including a question from a reader in China. Curtis Fuller, Volume 3, Blue Note 1583. This looks to be an original West 63rd Street pressing listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. I remember this seller having a bunch of Prestiges a couple of months ago. Now, he seems to be selling the Blue Notes. His listings don’t include a lot of photos, so there’s not a ton to go on. This record is in the range of about $115 with just a couple of days to go. I would normally expect it to sell for a lot more than than. We’ll see what happens. Here’s another Blue Note from a little later: Lou Donaldson, Light Foot, Blue Note 4043. This is also a West 63rd Street original, listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The price is also in the $115 range, also with about two days left on the auction.

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Various Vinyl For a Rainy Tuesday

Kenny DorhamHere’s a nice one for a rainy Tuesday here in The Berkshires: Kenny Dorham, Afro-Cuban Blue Note 5065. This is an original 10-inch Lexington Avenue pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. Not to hype things for the seller, but how many M- copies of this record do you think there are, anywhere in the world? Could there be 100, 200? Doubtful it would be more than that. I have a copy, but the condition is VG for the vinyl, and I was happy to get it for about $35 maybe 25 years ago in a store in Los Angeles.

Charles Mingus, Pithecanthropus Erectus, Atlantic 1237. This was an original black label pressing in VG condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $150, somewhat surprising given the condition. Interesting seller who seems to be selling all kinds of stuff all the time, nearly 110,000 feedbacks. He had a couple of other items I had spotted, but when I went back to search I didn’t have time to go through the various Judge Dredd bikes or Predator wolf masks to find a stray Mingus or two.

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