A Dash of Blue Note Mania

I was away from eBay for a couple of weeks but I had put a bunch of records in my queue. Now that all of the auctions are done, and I’m looking at the queue of records all at once, it’s striking to me how the market value of Blue Note LPs just keeps escalating and escalating with no apparent limits. I think it has been this way for as long as I’ve been watching the market and collecting records, but for whatever reasons there seems to have been another quantum leap forward recently. Or perhaps I just haven’t noticed. Let me do a download of some of the records I’ve been watching, starting with Bud Powell, Bud!, Blue Note 1571. This was an original West 63^rd Street pressing with the deep groove, ear, etc. The record and the cover both looked to be in M- condition. The final price was $1,230.90. Based on Popsike, this looks to be the highest price this record has sold for on eBay. Granted, the condition was great and the seller is reputable, but the price was outside of what you have considered to be the normal top range for this LP.

Lee Morgan, The Rumproller, Blue Note 4199. This was an original New York USA pressing, also listed in M- condition for the record and the cover. The final price was $610, which was a shocker to me largely because when I first started collecting back in the early 1970s this was a common record in the closeout bins at Sam Goody’s, believe it or not. I imagined after the success of the Sidewinder, Blue Note thought they may be able to duplicate their good fortune, and perhaps the market for the Rumproller was softer than they expected. Not anymore, based on this auction. Back to my original point, this is a new high point for this record as well, way beyond the previous top price, based on Popsike.

Bobby Hutcherson, Components, Blue Note 4213. This was also an original New York mono pressing listed in M- condition for the record and the cover. The final price was $678. Not so sound like a broken record but, once again, a new high.

And there was the copy of Tina Brooks, True Blue, Blue Note 4041. As some of you mentioned on a previous Jazz Collector post, there were some issues with the cover that put it in probably more of a VG+ rating. The final price was $6,201. As someone said, before you know it we will be starting a $10,000 bin.

And there was this copy of The Magnificent Thad Jones, Blue Note 1527. Thanks to our friend Clifford for passing this along. This was listed in Ex condition for both the record and the cover and sold for $458. Nothing out of line about that, you might say, except it was a United Artists pressing from the 1970s.

Stanley Turrentine, Look Out!, Blue Note 4039. This was an original West 63^rd Street pressing that also looked to be in M- condition for the record and the cover. The final price was $1,124.07. This may have been the highest price ever for this record as well, although it is hard to tell, because it looks like the same record, literally, was sold for $40 more a few months ago by the same seller. I’m thinking perhaps it was a return and a resale?