Lou, Lexington, Blue Note . . . Temptation

I randomly logged on to eBay a few hours ago and the first record, about to close in 30 seconds, was this one: Lou Donaldson, Quartet, Quintet, Sextet, Blue Note 1537. This is a long-time favorite and, somehow, I don’t have an original pressing. My copy is a Japanese reissue. So I had 30 seconds to decide whether to bid and how much to bid. At the time, the record was in the $350 range, and I was thinking I might be able to get it for about $525. Now, if I were to have done that, it would have been by far the most I had ever spent on a single record. I was tempted, tempted, tempted. I looked at the seller’s description. The condition was listed as VG+ for both the record and the cover. But the listing also included

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Some Non-Blue Notes For the Price Guide

Here are a few non-Blue Notes for the Jazz Collector Price Guide:

The Arrival of Kenny Dorham, Jaro 4644. This seemed to be a mono pressing and it was listed in M- condition for both the cover and the record. The price was $943.33.

Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This was an original pressing. The seller listed the condition of both the record and the cover as between VG and VG+. It sold for $840, which means the buying public probably figured the VG grading was more accurate than the VG+. I was listening to some jazz vinyl with the lovely Mrs. JC last night and I asked her if she recalled me ever playing Jackie McLean for her. She didn’t, so I put on

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Here’s Blue Note 1540 . . . I Mean 1568

Here’s an interesting one. Remember that Mobley record that sold for more than $5,000 last week? Well, there’s another copy on eBay now, sort of. It’s there and it’s definitely Blue Note 1568, by the picture of the cover and the label. Yet  . . . . the seller, the same one who sold the copy of True Blue the other day for $2,800 seems to have mislabeled the record in the listing. If you just go by the headline, it would be Blue Note 1540. But the picture is clearly 1568 and the label is clearly 1568. Check it out. This is one of those Jazz Collector dilemmas — by calling attention to this I ruin any chance of getting it for a bargain price but, to be honest, this isn’t going for a bargain price under any circumstance. Perhaps the seller will even realize his error and pull the listing. I wouldn’t be surprised, would you?

A Blue Note Day on eBay

Just did an eBay search and it seems as if most of the 12-inch Blue Note catalogue is up there now. Just searching down the list are the ones I mentioned before, plus: Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else; Kenny Dorham, Afro Cuban; Hank Mobley, Roll Call; Lou Donaldson, Blues Walk; Thad Jones, Detroit-New York Junction; Paul Chambers, Whims of Chambers; Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’; John Jenkins With Kenny Burrell; Jutta Hipp at the Hickory House Volume 2; Introducing Johnny Griffin; Kenny Drew, Undercurrent; Hank Mobley, Soul Station; Ike Quebec, Soul Samba. And that’s just a quick search on the first page, scrolling down the first 25 items from highest prices first. Pretty impressive. If you were rich, you could own the entire Blue Note catalogue in a matter of weeks, I would think.

On eBay: True Blue Returns & More

This one was on eBay, didn’t meet the seller’s reserve price, is back again and the reserve price has been me, to it will sell this time: Tina Brooks, True Blue, Blue Note 4041. The seller was smart not to sell it the first time, I guess. He got a top bid of around $2,300 the first time up and now the record is already at $2,650 with plenty of time to go. Perhaps the recent high price on the Hank Mobley Blue Note 1568 inspired either some collectors or investors. This one is in M- condition and it has shrink wrap on it, and the shrink wrap may even be original, who knows. It is just shrink wrap, however: You can’t put it on the turntable.

The same seller also has this: Cliff Jordan, Cliff Craft, Blue Note 1582. This is an original pressing. The vinyl is VG++ and the cover is VG+. The current price is about $600.

The seller Bullsite2000 is also back with some nice Blue Notes, including: Johnny Griffin, A Blowing Session, Blue Note 1559. This one is already more than $500 with several

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A Tale of Two Blue Notes

The Blue Notes remain through the roof. Here’s a new one for the $1,000 bin: Clifford Brown Memorial Album, Blue Note 1526. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing and it was listed as “very close to mint” condition. It sold for $1,280.50. Our friend Rudolf recently put this on a list of expendable Blue Notes. So what do you think about this price?

This one came from the same seller: Thad Jones, Detroit-New York Junction, Blue Note 1513. This was also an original Lexington Avenue pressing and it was also listed as near mint. It sold for $692.02, not quite half of the Clifford, but pretty close. Who knows why? That is a rhetorical question by the way, although if some thinks there is an answer, be my guest.

Site Update, One More Time

OK, in response to some of your suggestions, we’ve made a slight adjustment on the site. On the Reader Forum, the comments are listed with the most recent on top and the oldest below. This will simplify searches and make it easier for those of you using portable devices. On all of the other items, the comments will be listed sequentially, with the most recent on the bottom. This is to satisfy my belief that the comments flow better from top to bottom and, when read sequentially, help tell a bigger story than what I may have posted originally. We’re also looking into a Forum plug-in for WordPress, so if any of you have seen ones you like elsewhere, just let us know.

Mobley Sets New Top Vinyl Price For Jazz Collector

Time to catch up on a few items. By now, most of you have probably seen what happened with those records we were watching from the Jazz Record Center. The Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568 sold for $5,101, which is the highest price we’ve ever recorded for a jazz record at Jazz Collector. The previous high was $4,036 for a copy of Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, on Ad Lib. A lot of people have already commented on this one, so I don’t have much to add other than what I’ve often said: The market is the market and eBay reflects what the market will bear. This is the going rate for this record in this condition at this point in time. I was wrong, barely on a couple of my predictions. (1) I had opined that two of the other records from this auction would sell for more than $2,000 and only one of them did: Hank Mobley, Hank, Blue Note 1560, which is the one pictured here. This one sold for $2,347. The one that did not break the $2,000 barrier was:

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A Veritable Cornucopia of 10-Inch Jazz Vinyl

As is our usual custom, we were perusing the jazz vinyl listings on eBay this evening and we happened to notice an unusually large number of interesting 10-inch LPs for sale, some of which we shall share with you henceforth, including:

Kenny Dorham, Afro-Cuban, Blue Note 5065. A beauty, no? This one is in M- condition for the record and what looks to be VG+ for the cover. The current price is around $225 and there are three days to go.

Here’s the next one up in the 10-inch Blue Note catalogue: Hank Mobley Quartet, Blue Note 5066. This is an original pressing, of course,and the vinyl looks to be M- and the cover somewhat close to M-. The current price is $338 and there are also three days to go.

Another 10-inch Blue Note? Why not. Here’s The Amazing Bud Powell, Blue Note 5003. This is an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It is being offered by Euclid Records and is currently at about $115.

Here’s the one on the list that will probably sell for the highest price:

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New Jazz Record Center Auction Could Be Big

Got an email from the Jazz Record Center and they have an auction closing in a couple of days and it could be a doozy. Here’s one of the items we’ll be watching closely, to see if it perhaps sets a new record for Jazz Collector: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This is an original pressing and it’s in M- condition: In fact, it’s listed as “near new.” The combination of one of the rarest records, a Blue Note at that, and the most trusted seller, is definitely worth watching. So far, the record has a start price of $2,500 and there are no bidders.

Here are a couple more we’ll be watching from the same auction:

Dexter Gordon, Dexter Blows Hot and Cool, Dootone 209. This is an original red vinyl pressing. The record is in M- condition and the cover seems to have been repaired, but is also listed as very clean. This one has a start price of

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