Author: Al

An Interesting Trio of Rare Jazz Vinyl

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Here’s some more rare jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with: Thad Jones, Debut 127. This looks to be an original 12-inch LP, which looks to me like a combination of his 10-inch LP with Mingus and another 10-inch LP, also on Debut? Don’t have this particular record, so I’m not sure. Someone will know, i.e., Rudolf. Anyway, this one was listed in VG+ condition for the cover and Ex for the record, which is probably VG+ as well. It sold for $258.

Benny Golson seems to be more popular as a collectible artist than he ever was as a jazz artist, if you know what I mean: Benny Golson, Groovin’ With Golson, New Jazz 8220. This was an original pressing in M- condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $310.

Here’s a record that’s not only unplayed, it is actually in a virgin state: Lou Donaldson, Lou Takes Off, Blue Note 1591. It sold for $511.01.

Mingus on Mingus (on Mingus)

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We’ve been asked to help call attention to a proposed documentary on Charles Mingus and so we will. The filmmaker is Kevin Ellington Mingus and the documentary is called “Mingus on Mingus”. Kevin is Mingus’ grandson and the film will be about his journey to discover “the truth” about his famous grandfather. There’s a video explaining the project at the Website, Charles Mingus Documentary: Mingus on Mingus. I tried to embed it here at Jazz Collector, but my technical prowess was not up to it, so I recommend you go to the site and check it out. They are trying to raise money to fund the film, so if you are a Mingus fan and wish to see another documentary, please feel free. I have my own couple of Mingus stories to contribute. When I was a young journalist starting out I was assigned to interview Mingus, only he didn’t really want to be interviewed. I wrote the article and subsequently posted it at Jazz Collector. In case you missed it the first time, you can find it here, Memories of Mingus. Another story: I was talking to my cousin yesterday and he heard of the time Mingus was playing somewhere in LA and a woman was talking, and talking, and talking, and talking, and he kept looking at her but she kept talking, and talking, and talking, and talking. Finally, Mingus put down his bass, opened his case and pulled out a gun. The woman ran out of the club screaming with Mingus chasing her down the street, firing shots in the air. The great thing about the story, as surreal as it seems, is that there’s no one who knows anything about Mingus who would doubt that it happened, right?

A Tale of Two Blue Notes

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I did not get the Milt Jackson Blue Note 1509. When I wrote the post yesterday there was only one bidder at $200, so I figured it may not go for that much. I put in a snipe bid of about $280, but right after I wrote the post there were two new bids and the price went up to $235 quickly. I left the snipe where it was and the record wound up selling for $306. I could have bid higher and perhaps gotten the record. It’s a nice one, in M- condition, and it would have fit quite snugly in my collection. C’est la ebay.

As someone else pointed out, the Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Blue Note 4003, sold for $1,125, making it the first time this record has entered the $1,000 bin in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. The record and the cover were in M- condition. We think of this as one of the more common of the Blue Notes because it was quite popular and successful and re-issued but, clearly, original pressings in this kind of condition are still quite hard to come by or else this would have never fetched such a high price.

Watching a Trio of Blue Note LPs

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I have quite a long watch list of jazz vinyl on eBay at the moment, including a bunch that are closing today from the same seller, including: Milt Jackson and the Thelonious Monk Quintet, Blue Note 1509. This is an original pressing with the Lexington Avenue address on both labels and, I think, on the cover as well if my aging eyes don’t deceive me. When I looked at this yesterday there were no bids at a $200 start price, but I see today there is at least one bid. Although this is an early 12-inch Blue Note and it is clearly an original, this one tends not to be as valued as some of the other early Blue Notes. Once of the reasons, for sure, is the fact that the tracks here were originally issued on 78 and don’t have the same sound or cachet as the later Van Gelder recordings that were made for the LP format. Also, as great as Milt Jackson was, his records aren’t in the same category as some of the other artists of his era. Must be the vibes. Still, this is a record I would love to have in my collection, particularly this one  — in M- condition for the record and cover. Will I actually bid? I think I may. Stay tuned.

This is from the same seller and is already at quite a high price tag, considering the popularity of this record and the number of copies out there:

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Watching Some High-Priced Vinyl on eBay

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Before we get into some of the records we’re watching on eBay, be aware that we’ve been having some minor glitches on the site with people posting comments. Not all of the comments are getting posted immediately, and sometimes I have to go in manually and approve them. If this happens to you, don’t take it personally. It’s a technical problem, not a change in philosophy. We’re working to fix it and hope it will be resolved soon. In the meantime, back to watching jazz vinyl:

Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550. This looks like an original pressing with the West 63rd address, deep grooves and all of the other original attributes. It is described as being in M- condition for both the record and the cover and it is accompanied by a nice clear picture, as can be seen here. This one has more than five days to go and already has nine bids and is already priced at about $800. It will sell for a lot of money.

From the same seller comes Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. This is also an original pressing and it is also described as being in M- condition. This one is currently at $405. And, while we’re at it, Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This one also looks to be in beautiful condition. It is also in the $400 price range. It will also probably sell for more than $2,000.

Jazz Vinyl Today: A Bevy of Blue Notes

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Lots of Blue Notes on today’s watch list, starting with: Cliff Jordan, Cliff Craft, Blue Note 1582. This was an original pressing that was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,370. We’ve seen this one sell for more than $1,300 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, but this is quite a hefty price nonetheless.

Kenny Drew Undercurrent, Blue Note 4059. This one had the West 63rd Street address and, from the looks of the pictures, it had deep grooves on both sides, certainly on Side 2. That would make it original either way, no? This was described as being in VG condition, and the cover certainly looked no better than VG. It sold for $427.

Gigi Gryce/Clifford Brown Sextet, Blue Note 5048. This was an original 10-inch LP that was defined as being in “very fine” condition, which, the seller implies, is actually M- condition. The pictures certainly looked very fine indeed, if not M-.  It sold for $372. 10.

If it’s a Blue Note, and it’s one of the coveted artists, the record or cover does not have to be in great condition to fetch a high price. Case in point:

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Jazz For A Snowy Day

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Hard to believe, but it’s actually snowing here in New York. A perfect day to take a look at what’s on eBay.

Be still my heart: One of the top priorities on my want list, but the price . . . . Lou Donaldson, Quartet, Quintet, Sextet, Blue Note 1537. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing and it looks to be in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It is now priced at $560 and it will close sometime today, probably in the plus-$1,000 range. Too much for me. I have a Japanese pressing of this record and it’s always been a favorite, “If I Love Again,” mmmmmm. Anyone out there who has a spare, I have some good stuff to trade.

How about a couple of Blue Notes with Andy Warhol covers: Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights Volume One, Blue Note 1596. This is described as an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The current price is $520 with just about an hour to go. And, if you want to buy it’s brother: Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights Volume 2, Blue Note 1597. This is from the same seller, it is described as being in the same M- condition as the other one and it is also at $520. Also from the same seller is this beauty: Lou Donaldson, Sunny Side Up, Blue Note 4036. This is an original pressing with the original cover. It is listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover and is currently priced at $338.

 

On The Hunt: Sonny Clark, Jutta, Prez

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Let’s catch up on some more jazz records we’ve been watching on eBay, including these from the Jazz Record Center auction this week.

Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. This was an original West 63rd pressing that looked to be in at least VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,525. We’ve seen Sonny’s Crib and Cool Struttin’ consistently break the $2,000 and even the $3,000 barrier, but this is the highest price we’ve recorded for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.   

Jutta Hipp With Zoot Sims, Blue Note 1530. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing that looked to be in beautiful M- condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. The price was $2,678.

Lester Young Collates Number Two, Clef 124. This was an original 10-inch pressing with the nice cover by David Stone Martin. It looked to be in M- condition for the record

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Jazz Vinyl Prices, Running The Gamut

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Here’s some jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:

Someone got a nice record at a nice price with this one: Stan Levey, Grand Stan, Bethlehem 71. I’d have thought this would be more collectible, what with the presence of Sonny Clark as well as Richie Kamuca. This copy was in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover.  It sold for $43.

Here’s a nice, original, New York yellow-label Prestige that also didn’t command top dollar: Gene Ammons, All Star Sessions, Prestige 7050. This one was in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $76.01.

This one, on the other hand, had no problem fetching top dollar: Johnny Griffin, A Blowing Session, Blue Note 1559. This was an original pressing and it looked to be in M- condition, although the terminology used by the seller was different. Some people clearly agreed that it was M-: This one sold for $1,252.

 

Existential Thoughts About Non-Collectible Vinyl

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Had an interesting observation last night. I was going through the jazz auctions page by page, probably 30-40 pages  covering about 1,500 records over a period of more than 24 hours. What struck me was the incredibly large numbers of listings of jazz vinyl that simply won’t sell. Page after page of records that probably don’t have a market at almost any price. And a lot of it was good music — Brubeck, Ellington, Errol Garner, Count Basie, Monk and many, many, many others. Try it yourself and you’ll see what I mean. One of the questions I have is this: Who are all these sellers and what do they think they are doing? It’s not a new thing that the demand for many non-collectible records is declining and, in many cases, the shipping fees are worth more than the records themselves. Still, hundreds of sellers are going through the process and expense of taking pictures, creating descriptions and posting listings on eBay for items that will not sell. How long can this continue? At what point, if ever, does eBay become a more exclusive haven for higher-end collectibles, at least in the jazz vinyl market? The other question to ponder, for someone like me, is this this:

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