Author: Al

Danish Jazz, Anyone? Blue Notes, Anyone?

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Here’s one that almost made it to the $3,000 bin: Sahib Shihab and the Danish Jazz Radio Group, Oktav OKLP 111. This was an original Danish pressing listed in Ex condition for both the record and the cover, with just a single photo on the listing. The bidders must have had a lot of confidence in the seller because the record sold for $2,965. Last time we saw that record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide it sold for $1,953. This seller had quite a week. This next one went deep into the $3,000 bin: Presenting Jazz Quintet 60, Fontana TL 687.527. This was another Danish original, from 1963, and it featured, among others Bent Axen and Neils Hennings Oersted Pedersen. It was described as being in pristine condition and sold for a whopping $3,617.89. Imagine buying these records in the mid ’60s for, what, the equivalent of five bucks or so each, and now selling the two of them for $6,500? What’s more, if you look at the seller’s completed auctions, you see another record that sold for $2,240: Jazz Quintet 60, Metronome 15124.

Here are a few nice Blue Notes:

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Jazz Vinyl: Trane, Zoot and 10-inch LPs

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Let’s catch up on some more interesting jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with John Coltrane, Africa/Brass, Impulse 6. This was an original mono pressing with the orange labels. The record and cover were both in M- condition. It’s not a record we’ve typically covered in the Jazz Collector Price Guide because it rarely gets collectible prices. I guess we’ll start covering it now: This one sold for $493.88. Wow. I’ve had an original copy of this record for a long time, since the 70s in fact, but I also remember a version of a Coltrane Greatest Hits double-record on Impulse where they had Africa but eliminated the Elvin Jones drum solo so they could get more songs onto the package. There was something that always seemed unseemly about that, a violation of some kind of moral code, particularly since Coltrane was no longer alive to object.

I always liked this record, but haven’t listened to in in a while: Zoot Sims in Paris, United Artists 14013. This was an original pressing with the grey labels and was probably in VG+ condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $202.51.

Here’s an update on some 10-inch jazz vinyl:

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When an Original is Not an Original

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I was watching a few jazz vinyl auctions as they closed the other day with some degree of interest because of what I considered to be the clear misuse of the word “original.” Here’s an example: Lee Morgan, Lee-Way, Blue Note 4034. This was labeled as an “original mono pressing from 1964.” What does original mean in this case? It is clearly not a first pressing, since the address on the label is New York USA. The seller is a veteran eBayer and I’ve bought from him a few times and I’ve always had good experiences. So he knows the difference between a real original and a pseudo original. Was a buyer duped in this transaction? Well, there were pictures of the label and the New York USA labels were clearly stated, so if someone thought this was an original first pressing, he was being quite careless and/or was ignorant. It’s hard to tell from the price. The record sold for $136.50, but the back was stained and in VG- condition. My bet is if the listing did not use the word “original” then a second (or third, or fourth) pressing of Lee-Way with a stained back cover would not have sold for more than $100. So the seller probably made a few more bucks and the buyer got a later pressing with a stained cover.

Here’s another one that’s hard to figure:

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Social Media, Anyone?

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I’ve never been a big fan of social media. I’ve had a Facebook page for a few years, but I post just a few times a year. I experimented early with Twitter, but don’t use it other than for work. But . . . yesterday I was procrastinating and avoiding a writing project so I decided to go to Twitter and Facebook and finally set up accounts for Jazz Collector. I can’t promise how often I will tweet or post, but I am now there for you to find and befriend. The Twitter handle is aljazzcollector and the Facebook page is Jazz Collector and if I attract some friends I will put up some links to interesting auctions I see on eBay and other items of interest related to the world of jazz and Jazz Collector. Speaking of which . . . did you know that April is Jazz Appreciation Month? We even have a logo on our site from the Jazz Journalists Association to prove it. You can click the link to find out more information about what you can do to appreciate jazz. As for me, I think I’ll put on a record. Or two. Or perhaps a few hundred.

Waxing Rhapsodic on Kenny Dorham Vinyl

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Here’s an update on some jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with The Arrival of Kenny Dorham, Jaro 5007. This looks to be an original deep groove pressing. The record was in what looked to be VG++ condition and the cover was listed as M-. The final price was $580. This one is closing in a couple of days: Kenny Dorham ‘Round About Midnight at the Cafe Bohemia, Blue Note 1524. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing listed as Ex condition for the cover, which I consider a catch-all rating similar to VG+, and VG for the cover. The bidding is in the $350. Curious about favorite Kenny Dorham records out there among the Jazz Collector community. I like him on pretty much everything. This Blue Note is fantastic for example, and, of course, there is Quiet Kenny on New Jazz. Someone was asking me about KD the other day and of of the best things I had on my iPhone to play for her was Kenny Dorham on the Benny Golson Riverside album The Modern Touch on which his playing really stands out among a great group of musicians in a great setting. The other one I had in my pocket on the iPhone was  KD on Rollins Plays for Bird, another standout performance.

Here’s another nice Blue Note up for sale now on eBay:

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Three Tenors

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Just spent some time rummaging through the high-end bins on eBay and found quite a few interesting items, starting with: Dexter Gordon Quintet, Dial 204. This is an original 10-inch pressing listed in near M- condition for the record and M- condition for the cover. Seller took beautiful clear pictures and the record is quite tempting to this Dexter Gordon and 10-inch LP fan. But the start price is around $350 and, tempting as it may be, it is not tempting enough to entice me at that price. Nobody else is enticed yet, either, but I do have a feeling this one will sell.

This is another nice one that is also lacking bids at the moment: Sonny Rollins, Way Out West, Contemporary 3530. this is an original promo copy in M- condition for both the cover and the record. Looks like a real gem, also with nice pictures from the seller. There is a start price of about $500 and a buy-it-now price of about $700. If any copy of Way Out West would set a new price high, this would seem to be it, an original promo in M- condition. But the start price is up there. In the Jazz Collector Price Guide we’ve never recorded a copy of this record selling for more than $300.

One more:

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Catching Up With Miles, Sonny’s Crib

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Here are some results from the recent eBay auction by the Jazz Record Center. We were watching some of the Miles Prestige recordings with interest because you may recall last month we saw an original copy of Steamin’ sell for only $75 in very nice condition, which struck us as very low and a bit odd. Especially when an original copy of Relaxin’ sold for nearly $740. I think the results this week from the Jazz Record Center are probably more indicative of the real market. Miles Davis, Steamin’, Prestige 7200. This was an original pressing with the New Jersey address. It had a promo stamp and was listed in “near new” condition, which is certainly M- for the record and the cover. The price was $307.99. Miles Davis, Workin’, Prestige 7166. This was also an original New Jersey yellow label pressing without the promo staff. It was described as similar condition to Steamin’, M- all around, and sold for $305.01. This next one

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A Taste of French Cookin’

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This is another one that came from a reader, CeeDee, who seems to be feeding my newfound habit for European pressings: Miles Davis, Cookin’, Barclay 84077. This is an original French pressing and, I have to admit, it does look pretty cool, particularly for the price. It has a nice cover, deep groove labels, and, in its own way, is an original pressing, or something like it. At least it was an original French pressing. It probably sounds really good too. Anyway, this one was in M- condition for the record and the cover and sold for $24.99. A bargain compared to the U.S. originals of Cookin’, which seem to be in the $300-plus range these days. Unfortunately, I opened the link after the auction closed. Otherwise, this record would have been mine. Of course, even it I didn’t want the record, it would be fun writing about it, just so I could put that headline on the post.

While we’re tasting international flavors, check this one out:

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No Surprise: Colossus in the $1,000 Bin . . . However

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This one was forwarded to me by one of the Jazz Collector readers: Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. It was listed as an “original U.S. mono pressing” and the condition was probably VG++ for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $1,009, so welcome to the $1,000 bin. So why did our reader send this to me? Well, there was definitely some kind of aberration in the price and, surprise, it wasn’t too low. See, the record was not an original U.S. mono pressing, unless you consider original U.S. mono pressing to mean that it was originally produced in the U.S., which perhaps if you were to stretch the truth would be a technically accurate statement. In any case, this one was a New Jersey pressing with the yellow label. It didn’t sell for what a New York pressing would typically fetch, but it sold for quite a bit more than what a New Jersey pressing might typically get. Hard to figure if the price was legitimate — someone wanted to pay $1,000 for a second pressing of a great record in nice condition — of if the buyer was careless and/or ignorant. In any case, the responsibility should be with the buyer because there was a clear picture of the Jersey label. But the seller could also have been more circumspect, don’t you think? I wonder if this means early second pressings of some of the really rare ones — such as Saxophone Colossus, or the Sonny’s Crib we’re also watching — will now become regulars in the $1,000 bin. I wouldn’t be surprised.

Beautiful Records, No Action

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Watching the latest auction from the Jazz Record Center on eBay, with a bunch of Blue Notes and other nice collectibles, including: Sonny Clark, Sonny’s Crib, Blue Note 1576. This is a deep groove West 63rd Street pressing without the New York 23 on the label. I guess that means is isn’t an original first press, but is clearly an early pressing. I’d be quite pleased to have this baby in my collection, particularly since it is in new new M- condition for both the record and the cover. The start price for the record is $500 and so far there are no bidders. Just for comparison, we’ve seen copies of Sonny’s Crib sell for more than $3,000 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Surprised that this one also doesn’t have any action yet: John Coltrane, Coltrane, Prestige 7105. This is an original New York yellow label pressing also in beautiful condition, probably unplayed. It’s Coltrane’s first album as a leader. The start price is $500. Our top price for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide is $1,281. I can’t see any reason why this beautiful copy won’t approach that, but so far there’s no bidding. Perhaps there are a few bidders lurking in the weeds.

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