Let’s catch up on some jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with a dash of pepper: Art Pepper Quintet, Discovery 3023. This was an original 10-inch pressing listed in M- condition for the record and probably about VG+ for the cover. The final price was $481. This is not one that comes up when you think about rare records but, honestly, I can’t recall the last time I saw a copy of this on eBay. I had a copy once. It had a scratch that caused several skips. I had a friend who was a Pepper fan and he offered me $50 for it. I think he wanted the cover and probably to listen to the side without the scratch. And then we are back in the nearly $3,000 bin with Art Pepper, Modern Art, Intro 606. This was an original pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $2,700. This was the same record that ostensibly sold for more than $3,500 last week but something must have gone wrong and it was back on eBay. Perhaps the first buyer missed the line about superficial hairlines, which may take it out of the M- category.
Author: Al
More Rare Jazz Vinyl, Of Course
Let’s start the day with one of the rarest of the rare, although as rare as it may be, copies seem to be up on eBay quite often: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This looks to be an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address and, for those who really care, the New York 23 label on one side. This copy is listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG++ for the cover, although based on the pictures the cover may be more in the VG+ range with some damage on the back. The seller is not an eBay regular and has only 11 feedbacks. This one closes Saturday night and is currently in the $2,000 range.
While we’re on Mobley, there is also: Hank Mobley Sextet, Blue Note 1560. This is an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address, deep grooves, Van Gelder, ear, etc. This one is listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The start price is $1,250, but so far there are no bidders. This seller has three other records on eBay now, all with starting prices of more than $1,000, all with zero bids as of now. One more, for the record: Bill Evans, Waltz For Debby, Riverside RS 9399. This is an original black label stereo pressing. It is listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The start price is $1,100.
What Makes Us Covet Certain Records vs Others?
Whilst I’ve been away, a friend sent me this link: A Recital by Tal Farlow, Norgran 1030. This was an original pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It looked pristine, probably with the original inner sleeve. The final price was $121.49. Is that high, low or just right? It seems original Norgrans in this condition are quite hard to find, but the demand is nothing close to the original Blue Notes or Prestiges. For my money, Farlow was the best of the bop-oriented guitarists, but his records rarely sell for high collectible prices, particularly in today’s market as we are seeing prices of some records rising to staggering levels. Is it a question of label, race, style of music, era, artist, instrument or some combination of all of the above? It would be easy to suggest it is race, but then someone sent me this link as well: Art Pepper, Modern Art, Intro 606. This was also an original pressing and it was also in M- condition for the record and the cover. This one sold for $3,506. Pepper was iconic because of all the other stuff in his life, so well told and chronicled in his book Straight Life so maybe I’m just stretching a comparison, but it’s interesting to ponder what makes collectors interested in one set of records or artists, versus others of the same era. Hopefully we can generate some interesting discussion.
E-Baying: Billie, Stan, Sun Ra and More
Here’s a record that has always intrigued me but I have never owned: Billie Holiday and Stan Getz, Billie and Stan, Dale 25. This was an original 10-inch pressing. It looked to be in VG+ condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. It sold for $317.99. I know very little about Dale records. I have a couple of 10-inch LPs, but I can’t think of a 12-inch LP. Based on the description of this record, it seems like it may have been a bootleg label. This was recorded from a radio broadcast from Storyville all the way back in 1951. I’ve never heard the record, and I’ve only seen it a couple of times, always at a price beyond my sensibilities. And, yes, $317.99 is still beyond my sensibilities.
Two readers separately sent me the link to this, which is listed as: Sun Ra Outtakes 1957 Acetate LP Unreleased Transition. This looks to be the real deal, music that was never issued from Sun Ra’s Transition sessions, as well as sessions featuring Dave Coleman, Joe Gordon and Roy Haynes. If you’re interested, you should read the entire listing for more details. The item is listed in VG condition and there are audio clips accompanying the listing as well. It is available at a buy-it-now price of $6,500 or you can make a best offer. As you all know this is not my area of interest/expertise, so if anyone would like to weigh in on this, please be our guest.
Of Blue Notes and Want Lists
Sorry for the long, unexpected delay between my posts, and thanks to Clifford for jumping in. While I’ve been missing . . . . One of our readers sent me a link to Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address, deep grooves, Van Gelder, etc. The record was VG+, the cover was VG++, the final price was $565.55 This is a pretty good price for this record and under some circumstances a price I might consider, although, in the end, I tend to wait. My feeling is I do have a Japanese copy of Shades of Redd, so if ever I want to listen to it, I have it. And I do believe that somehow, someday, I will find an original pressing at a price that does not offend my sensibilities. That’s just my approach to collecting, and it’s served me pretty well through the years although, to be honest, I’ve been looking for an original copy of Shades of Redd for at least 40 years and haven’t found one yet. I do also tremendously appreciate it when our Jazz Collector readers point me to records that they know are on my want list, so don’t hesitate to drop me a note.
Bud, Ella, Bird, Jackie: A Day on eBay
I’ve been off eBay for a few days recovering from my Bronx adventure, so today I will go back to my watch list and take inventory of what I have missed, starting with The Amazing Bud Powell Volume 2, Blue Note 5041. This was an original 10-inch pressing listed in near mint condition for the record and probably M- or VG++++ for the cover. It had a start price of $595 and did not get any bids. On the one hand I’m surprised because you just don’t find many 10-inch Blue Notes in this kind of condition. And this is a great record, with a great cover. On the other hand, $600 is still a lot of money.
Everybody’s favorite, bobdjukic, was back with some auctions and, as usual, some hyperbole. This was a highlight from Ella Fitzgerald, and I will give the full title because it is quite a weird mouthful: Miss Ella Fitzgerald and Mr. Gordon Jenkins (with His Orchestra and Chorus) Invite You to Listen and Relax, Decca 8696. According to the listing this is “Easily and By Far Ella Fitzgerald’s Rarest Studio Album in Existence!” I love that stuff, and then it gets topped off with the old standby “ultra-rare.” Somehow this stuff actually works. The record and cover were graded VG++, although the description makes it clear that VG++ for the cover is a wild stretch, since there is actually a partial seam split. Anyway, some how, some way, someone bid $259 for this record. I think I got my copy, in better condition, for $5 at a record show, which was not far from the going rate a few years back. Read more
Another Adventure in Jazz Collecting: A Bronx Tale, Part Two
So, back in the Bronx, I had a pile of about 50 records. Of the records in that pile there were probably about 10 that I really wanted. But I sensed that the woman wanted to get rid of records and taking more seemed like the right approach. So I made an offer that I thought was fair, considering the condition of the records and the reality that many of the records in the pile were relatively worthless. The offer came out of my mouth and the words were still just hanging in the air when I could see the woman physically recoil as if she had just swallowed a platter full of insects. She repeated the number I had just said and gasped: “The Jackie McLean record alone is worth more than that!” Which, to be fair, would have been true if the Jackie McLean record was in excellent condition. But it wasn’t. Then she started going through a list that she had compiled with values for some of the key records. But there was clearly a disconnect. All of the values she had compiled were for records in M- condition. The records in the pile were not in M- condition. None of them.
Another Adventure in Jazz Collecting: A Bronx Tale, Part One
OK, I have another story. This one starts, as usual, with an e-mail. The first e-mail came back in April 2015. I replied, but nothing ever came of it. Then, just a few weeks ago, there was another e-mail from the same person, totally of the blue. This was the text, verbatim:
“Top jazz artist’s
Cotrane , gerald wilson ,st you’d, ray brown, jimmy smith, felonious monk, Eddie Harris , carmen macrae, jazz laboratorylaboratory, gene Simmons, Dexter gordon , stan gets ext.
Give me good price I’ll sell.
‘Miles Davis,chico hamilton about 80 or more.”
I wrote back, asking for more detail and perhaps some pictures. The first photo came back and it didn’t show much at all. No valuable Coltrane, Stan Gets, or Felonious Monk in the picture. Instead there were a lot of records by Gloria Lynne. I wrote back asking for more details and pictures of the Coltrane or Dexter Gordon or Miles Davis. A few more pictures came back. This was the first one:
Obviously, my correspondent had done a little homework between the first few emails and this one. So, of course it is Jackie McLean, The New Tradition on Ad Lib, and yes my interest was piqued. Who would have thought, one of the rarest of the rare jazz LPs among a collection previously highlighted by titles such as Gloria Lynne Intimate Moments and Miss Lorraine Ellison Heart And Soul?
End of an Era
I see there was a mention in the previous post of the impending closing of the Jazz Record Mart in Chicago. Thought it is worth having a separate post if people choose to comment. I had some great experiences at that store. I’m sure I’ve told the story here before, but let me tell it again. Back in the mid-1980s I would go to Chicago fairly often on business and I would typically stay at the Hilton on Grand Avenue. It was just a short walk to the Jazz Record Mart and I always made sure I had extra time to do some record shopping. I think it was the first time I was there, I was looking through the rows of LPs when I noticed that there were also 78s on bottom shelves. I got down on the floor and began looking through the 78s and, to my great pleasure and surprise, there were hundreds of Prestige 78s — all of which looked like they were old store stock and had never been played. I started pulling them out, one after another after another after another. Pretty soon I must have had at least 60 Prestige 78s in various piles next to me on the floor. Read more
Catching Up (Again) On Jazz Vinyl Auctions
And now I will clean out some more jazz vinyl from my eBay watch list, starting with Louis Smith, Smithville, Blue Note 1594. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing. The seller listed the record and cover as VG++, although the picture of the cover looked less than VG++ to these eyes. Nonetheless, the record sold for $1,677.
Jazz By Sun Ra, Transition 10. This was an original pressing with the booklet. The record was listed in Ex condition and the cover was VG++. The final price was $1,475. In a similar vein there was also Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra Playing Secrets of the Sun, Saturn GH 9954. This was an original pressing. The record was probably VG+ based on the seller’s description and the cover was also VG+. The final price was $1,135.
These have all been mentioned in previous posts, but now we have final prices to consider:
April is Jazz Month
