‘Tis the Season To Be Blue Note

After mentioning some of the 4100 series Blue Notes yesterday, I perused the day’s listings on eBay and saw a number of other records from this generation that seemed to be getting quite a bit of action. Here are some of the results and I’ll also post the one that CeeDee pointed to in the earlier post that will certainly raise some eyebrows. Here goes:

Joe Henderson, Page One,  Blue Note 4140. This was an original New York USA pressing with the ear and the  Van Gelder stamp in the dead wax. The record was in VG+ condition and the cover was VG++. The price was $325.

Sam Rivers, Fuschia Swing Song, Blue Note 4184. This was listed as an original pressing with the New York USA label. The condition seemed to be somewhere around VG+, perhaps a little better, based on the seller’s description. The price was $278.

This is of a bit earlier era, but a surprising price (well, as much as any price can be surprising these days): Horace Silver, Blowing the Blues Away, Blue Note 4017. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd label. It was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover and sold for $202 with just one bidder.

This one got a huge price a few weeks ago, but not this week:

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Keeping an Eye On Some “Other” Blue Notes

Not every Blue Note is selling for more than $1,000 these days. Here are some Blue Notes at reasonable prices, with the recognition that “reasonable” is, like beauty, in the eye of the beholder.

Dexter Gordon, A Swingin’ Affair, Blue Note 4133. This was an original mono pressing with the New York USA labels. This was listed in M- condition for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. The price was $192.51.

Horace Silver, Cape Verdean Blues, Blue Note 84220. This was an original pressing with the New York USA label. It was listed in pristine M- condition for both the vinyl and the cover. It sold for $45.

Bud Powell, Bud!, Blue Note 1571. This was an original pressing. The vinyl was listed as VG+ and the cover was listed as VG. The price was $127.50.

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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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