Updating the $1,000 Bin, Near–$1,000 Bin, and Obscure Bins

Another week in the world of collecting jazz records, and the march of Blue Notes cresting or nearing the $1,000-bin continues. It never ceases to amaze me what people will pay for original pressings of modern jazz LPs, though as the ceiling gets (and stays) high, it’s easy to catch oneself saying something like ‘oh, that title only went for $800 – good deal!’

It was pointed out in another thread how much Herbie Hancock’s Maiden Voyage tends to go for these days. The Jazz Record Mart out in Colorado was able to get a whopping $1,500 recently for a mono first pressing in nice condition, which seemed like a fluke. Maybe it was, but the guys over at Atomic Records in Burbank got a cool $815 for a similar copy, which was graded at EX+ for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. Given my experience with their – and others’ – grading I’d translate that to a strong VG++ all around. It’s a wonderful record, but those mid-60s Blue Note sessions weren’t nearly as collectible a decade ago and it’s interesting to see them fetching so much coin. The smattering of original Blue Notes in my collection are all from the 1960s (or later), mostly purchased when that section of the catalog was more affordable, rather than the always-hot 1500 and early-4000 series.

Speaking of Atomic Records, this copy of Lee Morgan’s Candy cracked the $3,000 bin. It’s not the first time for such a feat, but certainly eye-popping when it happens. It’s a nice, swinging session with Art Taylor’s squeaky hi-hat keeping time, and certainly one of the more desirable early Blue Notes. Atomic grades this as an all around ‘EX’ with light marks; having asked them before about whether an ‘EX’ grade would have marks that click and being politely told I’d be better off staying away, I can’t imagine this record is much better than a VG+. At $3,000+ I hope the winning bidder is happy.

Atomic also has a copy of Tina Brooks’ True Blue – once seen as a Blue Note grail, it seems to pop up every now and then and still does hefty wallet damage. It’s a beautiful record and one I actually wouldn’t mind having in my collection in its original form (only have the Japanese King pressing). That said, it would be hard to get me to plunk down $2,000 for it and with a bit over one day to go, it’s already at $1,300 – although the reserve hasn’t been met. The record is graded EX (or VG+/VG++) and the cover is a nice-looking VG++.

And in the realm of my main interest, bullsite2000 had another interesting round of European jazz albums for sale, although none of them went particularly stratospheric. I was intrigued by this early Finnish LP from saxophonist Esa Pethman; it predates slightly the excellent Christian Schwindt LP, also on Finnish RCA, and is probably a bit more mainstream. Both albums feature early appearances by pianist Heikki Sarmanto, whom astute observers may recognize from a string of excellent semi-electric jazz LPs he recorded in the 1970s for Odeon, and this one also includes reedist Juhani Aaltonen, whose work took a much freer direction some years later. The Pethman LP was graded EX- for the record and VG++ for the very thin cover, which probably translates to an all-around strong VG+. I’d never seen it before and it is presumably quite rare. Perhaps getting it for just shy of $200 is a steal.

Happy Bidding and Happier Listening!