Month: April 2012

Jazz Vinyl, Insanely Rare Or Rarely Insane?

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Here are the results of a few more jazz vinyl auctions we were watching:

Hank Mobley, Mobley’s Message, Prestige 7061. This looked to be an original pressing with the deep grooves and New York address on the label. It’s always nice to see more pictures, but this one looked legitimate. The record and cover were both listed in M- condition and the bidding ended at $1,027.99.

Here’s a random rare remnant from the insanely rare offerings of bobdjukic: Sonny Rollins Plays, Period  1204. This looked to be an original pressing. The condition was probably in the range of VG++ for the record and the cover. The price was $798.77.

Tommy Flanagan, The Cats, New Jazz 8217. This looks like an original pressing with the purple labels and the deep grooves. The record, of course, features John Coltrane as a sideman. The record and cover were both listed in VG+ condition and the price was $381.20.

 

 

A Trio of Rare (Original?) Blue Notes

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I’m watching three interesting jazz vinyl listings on eBay from the same seller in Germany. They are:

Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’ Blue Note 1588. It’s a very weird listing. It uses a canned picture of the record, no labels, no back cover, nothing. It describes the record as a Lexington Avenue label. Huh? As we here at Jazz Collector know, Cool Struttin’ was issued way after Blue Note moved away from Lexington Avenue and Lexington Avenue labels. The record is listed in M- condition and has a buy-it-now price tag of $2,999. The seller has a lot of feedback so I’m not necessarily questioning his credibility, but I certainly wouldn’t bid on this. Perhaps that’s just me.

From the same seller: Jutta Hipp at the Hickory House Volume 1, Blue Note 1515. This also looks like a canned picture. The record is listed in Ex condition and the price is $1,799. Finally, Walter Davis Jr., Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. This is another one that’s lacking in pictures. It is listed in M- condition. The price is $1,999. Do you think anyone will take a gamble on it? We’ll watch it so see.

Strange (And Not So Strange) Prices on Jazz Vinyl

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Wow. That Ben Webster record I mentioned yesterday — Ben Webster, Soulville, Verve 8274 — sold for a whopping $201.50. Although the seller listed it as an “original” there was a clear picture that showed it was an MGM pressing. What do the MGM’s sell for, generally, $20 or $30, at best. The bidders either weren’t paying attention to the picture or they mistakenly thought it was a bobdjukic auction.

Johnny Griffin, A Blowing Session, Blue Note 1559. This was an original pressing in VG condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $415. These original Blue Notes are so coveted and hard to get that $415 for a VG seems like a reasonable expectation. I bet is sounds nice too. Although this one failed to sell at all: Sonny Rollins, Newk’s Time, Blue Note 4001. The record was listed in VG condition and the cover VG+. The start price was $400, but there was no action.

 

Finding Jazz Vinyl To Watch on eBay

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Slow time on eBay this week for collectible jazz vinyl. To save time, rather than going through all the listings I’ll often do searches of Blue Notes or high-priced records or other filters to find the items most interesting to the Jazz Collector audience. Using those same filters I always use, hardly anything too exciting or expensive came up for this entire week. Perhaps its a hangover from the bobdjukic auction that seems to have everyone so enthralled. Having said that, there are always items of interest to watch, bid on, envy or all of the above.

Horace Silver, Six Pieces of Silver, Blue Note 1539. This one has the West 63rd Street address which makes it a second pressing, or at least not a first pressing. The record is in VG++ condition and the cover is VG. What makes it interesting is that it is signed by Horace Silver. What’s that worth? We’ll see. So far there are no bidders with a start price around $200.

Here’s a reason to read auctions carefully: Ben Webster Soulville, Verve 8274. This is advertised as an original pressing when it clearly is not. This has the MGM label while an original has the trumpeter label. Nonetheless there is a bid of about $80 on this records. The seller has minimal feedback. Not a good way to get started on eBay.

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More Rare Jazz Vinyl, More High Prices

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Here’s an update on some jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with: J.R. Monterose in Action, Studio 4 SS 100. This looked to be an original pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. This auction is saying that there were 250 copies of this record printed, although for some reason I recall an earlier posting with a 500 number. Regardless of 250 copies or 500 copies, there aren’t that many to be had, so this record often winds up in the $2,000 bin these days, as has this copy, logging in at a cool $2,215.

This is one I missed from the bobdjukic auction: Herbie Hancock, Maiden Voyage, Blue Note 4195. This looked to be an original pressing with the ear, NY USA address and RVG stamp. It was described as “monstrously” rare because it was a mono pressing. Anyway, I’m pointing it out because of the price, which was $821.21, way more than we’ve ever seen for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. In fact, more than double the previous high. And you seem to want me to include these aberrations in the Price Guide? I guess I will, even though I don’t necessarily agree.

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