Blue Notes or Bust

What jazz collection would be complete without a copy of The Swinging Fats Sadi, Blue Note  5061? I say this in jest because mine is one of those collections that does not have a copy of this 10-inch Blue Note, nor have I ever seen a copy in the real world nor heard a note from the recording. Still, it is an original 10-inch Blue Note, sort of, in the sense that it wasn’t actually recorded for Blue Note but was originally issued on French Vogue, just like the Clifford Brown/Gigi Gryce Paris Sessions and Wade Legge Blue Notes (thanks, again, Rudolf, for spelling that out for us several times in the past). So, if you are looking to fill in this particular blank in your Blue Note collection (I’m not), there is a copy if this record for sale on eBay now. The record is listed as M- and the cover seems close to that and the start price is $350. So far there are no bidders. For the record (pun intended), three copies of this record have previously sold for more than $500, according to Popsike. We’ll see what happens with this one. It is a pretty cool cover. Then again, can you think of a 10-inch Blue Note that doesn’t have a pretty cool cover? Or a 12-inch Blue Note?

It’s one of those times on eBay where there seem to a lot of rare Blue Notes for sale. Here are a few, starting with Cliff Jordan, Blue Note 1565. This is an original pressing with the New York 23 labels. The record is listed in M- condition and the cover seems to be VG+. There are about two days left on the auction and the bidding is only in the $500 range. I say “only” because I would fully expect this record to fetch between $1,000 and $2,000, if not more. It’s another one that is a gap in my collection, sort of, in that I own a United Artists pressing and not an original. Still, the UA pressing sounds decent and is probably worth a decent amount as well, given the current market. So, maybe it’s time to stop longing for an original and just be satisfied with what I have?

The same seller is offering Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This is another original pressing with the West 63rd Street address. The record is also M- and the cover VG+. The bidding is in the $700 range. I used to own an original copy of this record and yada, yada, yada, now I don’t and you can just look at my comments on the Cliff Jordan record above and apply them to this.

Dexter Gordon, A Swingin’ Affair, Blue Note 84133. This is a stereo pressing with the New York USA address listed in M- condition for the record and the cover. Of course, the mono pressing of these is usually in much greater demand and fetches a higher price, but this looks like a beauty. The music is great and there’s the always appreciated presence of Sonny Clark, who uplifted every date on which he played. There are five days left on this auction and the bidding starts at $295. So far there are no bids.