Catching Up on Some High-End Blue Note Vinyl

Time to follow up on some of the jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with Duke Jordan, Flight to Jordan, Blue Note 4046. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing offered by the Jazz Record Center. It looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. When we spotted this there were four days left in the auction and the bidding was at $1,600. The final price was $2,753. Still a market for the high-end stuff from reputable sellers, right? From the same auction there was Sheila Jordan, Portrait of Sheila, Blue Note 9002. This was an original New York USA pressing that looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $306. Keeping up with the Jordans, I guess. Read more

Live From eBay, One More Time

I really enjoyed doing that “live” eBay search last week, so let’s try it again. I’m heading over the eBay now. Searching on Jazz Vinyl Records sorted by highest prices first and auctions only. Here we go. Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing from a reputable seller. The record is graded as a “solid VG” and the cover is probably VG++. Looks like a nice copy, although there are some tics in the playback, as described by the seller. The start price is $2,000 and there are no bidders with more than four days left on the auction. Read more

Jazz Vinyl Miscellany and Mail

Before getting back to writing about my own experiences doing the recent auction with Carolina Soul Records, let’s return to our normal activity of watching other peoples’ rare jazz vinyl in eBay and taking a peak in the old Jazz Collector inbox. Let’s start with Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. This looks to be an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record is listed in VG+ condition. The cover is also listed as VG+, but the pictures show it to be no better than VG. It’s from a seller in Thailand who has one feedback. The start price is $1,250 with less than a day left on the auction. We’ll see if anyone is desperate enough to take that kind of risk. Meanwhile, I have a beautiful VG++ copy that may make it to the next round of auctions. Or, maybe not. Read more

Condition is Still Critical . . . Isn’t It?

Let’s look at some random jazz vinyl we are watching and have been watching on eBay, starting with Joe Henderson, Page One, Blue Note 4140. This looked to be an original pressing, listed in VG or VG+ condition for the record and G+ for the cover with water damage on the bottom. There were 13 bidders for this record and the final price was $439. From the same seller there was Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This was an original West 63rd Street deep-groove pressing, listed in VG+ condition for the record and VG for the cover. The final price was $2,475. Over the years, when people have contacted me for advice about selling their collections, I have always emphasized the importance of condition. While it is still of great import, of course, it seems that there has been a shift in the market and collectors are more willing to pay high prices for records in less than great condition. We’ve all been noticing this for a while, I’m sure, so it probably requires an adjustment for those of us buying or selling records to be aware of this pretty fundamental change in what jazz collectors are looking for these days. As with most trends, you wonder if this one will last and will become kind of a new standard in our little world of jazz collecting. Read more

Not Selling on eBay

Took a lovely holiday with The Lovely Mrs. JC and was off eBay for quite a bit. Now I am back and looking over my eBay watch list, and I am somewhat surprised to see that a lot of the items I had put on the list did not sell. A few examples: Jackie McLean, Makin’ the Changes, New Jazz 8231. This was an original purple label pressing in VG+ condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The start price was $500, when I looked at it. It is back again on eBay now for $400 and there are still no takers, yet. This was from the seller 1molecularman, who has had quite a lot of success with his recent auctions, so I expected it to sell. Another from the same seller: Read more

Updates

The seller of the U.K. Esquires we were watching did all right. I guess the buyers did too. Miles Davis, Miles His New Quintet, Esquire 32-201. This was in M- condition for the record and Ex for the cover. When we wrote about it, the bidding was in the $55 range.  It sold for $533.99. I find myself siding with Maarten on this one. I like the cover design. It is an artwork, at least to my eyes. In fact, I tend to like the cover designs on most of the Esquire Prestige releases. Case in point: Elmo Hope, Informal Jazz, Esquire 32-039. This one was listed in Ex+ condition for the record and cover. It was also in the $55 range when we posted. It sold for $338. Even this cover has a simplicity that is appealing, although they probably could’ve put a little more effort and oomph into it, Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Esquire, 32-045, particularly considering that they had two years to work on it after the U.S. release.   This was listed in Ex+ condition for the record and Ex for the cover, with a partial seam split on the top. It sold for $356.12. Read more

Catching Up, Up, Up

Catching up on a few jazz vinyl sales from the recent auction by Carolinasoul, starting with Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing listed in VG+ condition for the record and the cover. The final price was $3,000. Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This was an original purple label mono with deep grooves. The record was VG and the cover as VG+. The final price was $1,598. Doug Watkins, Watkins at Large, Transition 20. This was an original pressing with the booklet. The record and cover were VG. The final price was $1,415. Read more

Hot and Heavy

Here are some jazz vinyl auctions we are watching this week, starting with a couple of heavy hitters: Tommy Flanagan Overseas, Prestige 7134. This is an original pressing listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding is in the $800 range with more than six days left on the auction. Tina Brooks, True Blue, Blue Note 4041. This looks to be an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record looks to be in VG++ condition and the cover is probably VG+. The current price is $2,995. There is one bidder and five-plus days left on the auction as of this writing. Last week we saw a copy sell for more than $8,000 (WOW). Read more

A Hot and Heavy Threesome

It’s pretty rare for me to come across a rare jazz record on eBay whereby I had never heard of either the artist or the record. Here’s one: The Mike Taylor Quintet, Pendulum, EMI Columbia 6042. This is an original 1966 UK pressing listed in EX+ condition for both the record and the cover. A quick eBay search tells me that I probably should have heard of Mike Taylor because of his association with Cream as a songwriter. But I don’t know his music and his story seems quite tragic: drowning in the River Thames at the age of 30 following years of heavy drug use and homelessness. Anyway, the bidding for this record is pretty hot and heavy, with the price already at $2,100. Read more

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