DG, or Not DG

eric-dolphy-jazz-vinylI’ve been off eBay for a few days and I would once again thank Clifford for filling in. It’s always great to see so much interest in his posts, particularly since he covers an area of the jazz collector world that is pretty foreign to me. Anyway, before I left I had a watch list on eBay, and here are some of the items I was watching, starting with: Herbie Hancock, Takin’ Off, Blue Note 4109. This one had a comment in the listing that caught my eye. It looks like an original pressing with the New York USA label, ears, Van Gelder in the deadwax, et al. The seller says that there is a deep groove on side 2. I had thought the pressings after around this era no longer had deep grooves, but apparently I was mistaken. I looked at my copy and there seems to be some kind of groove, although not nearly as pronounced as the one in the picture on this listing. I looked it up in Fred Cohen’s book and it does seem that an original pressing of Takin’ Off does have a deep groove on side 2. Anyway, it’s very hard to get all of the DGs straight, even, apparently, when you’ve been blogging about this stuff for nearly 10 years. Anyway, this one was probably in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $521.

Eric Dolphy in Europe, Volume 1, Prestige 7304. This was an original pressing with the yellow label and New Jersey address. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover looked to be about VG+, based on the picture, with some ring wear and fraying at the bottom. The record sold for $344, about what you would expect, right? Read more

Paying For Pres and Other Jazz Vinyl

Lester Young Jazz VinylThanks for all of the suggestions on getting the mildew odor off the covers of the records. I’m going to try a few of these once I have time, probably next week, and I’ll let you know if anything works. In the meantime, I’m not going back for that sterling collection of 10-inch LPs because the price was just too high, all things considered. I’ll write a post when I have more time, also probably next week. This week I am buried in real work, per usual. Despite my workload, I’ve had a chance to look at some items on my eBay watch list and here are a few things to share with the Jazz Collector community, starting with: Lester Young, Pres, Norgran 1072. This was an original yellow label pressing listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ condition for the cover, although there was some writing on the back. I must admit that I started watching this record

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Temptation, Thy Name is Newk

Sonny Rollins 10 Inch Jazz VinylThanks again to Clifford for stepping in while I took an unexpected extended break. I am back on eBay now and, once again, subject to temptation. For example: Sonny Rollins Quartet and Thelonious Monk, Prestige 190. This is an original 10-inch pressing that looks to be in VG condition for the record and the cover. It’s not a record I own and, of course, I would like to have it, but not in that condition. So perhaps the temptation is not as intense as it may seem just looking at the listing. This one has a start price of about $80 and so far there are no bids. I have been in the midst of another Adventure in Jazz Collecting that I will share with you in the next couple of weeks involving what would normally have been an absolutely sterling collection of 10-inch records. Unfortunately, the records all have a heavy scent of mildew, and I’ve never been able to figure out how to get rid of that odor. Has anyone been able to solve that problem? I wound up passing on the collection because the seller wanted a price that would have been realistic — although still somewhat high– if the records didn’t reek. He claimed to have gotten an offer at that price. Hopefully, the buyer actually saw, and smelled, the records before making that offer. Details to come once I’m sure that I am fully out of contention for these records. Read more

A Little Hope For the Hipp

Booker Little Jazz VinylHere’s one you don’t see too often on eBay: Booker Little and Friend, Bethlehem 6061. I guess in this case the friend was Booker’s trumpet. The record and the cover are both in VG+ condition and the start price is $350. Thus far there are no bidders with about a day and a half left on the auction as of this writing. We’ve seen this record sell for more than $700 a few times in better condition than this, so the seller might have expectations of the record selling for this price.

Here’s another seller that is optimistic with a start price of more than $1,400 for this record: Elmo Hope, Meditations, Prestige 7010. This is an original New York yellow label pressing listed in EX+ condition for the record and Ex/Ex+ for the cover. I’m like Bill W. on the previous post. I’m never sure what Ex or Ex+ means, although I’m assuming for this record the condition is either M- or pretty darn close to it.

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Checking Out Some Classic Jazz Vinyl

Sonny Rollins Jazz VinylSorry for another long delay between posts. I have been watching eBay, and here are some of the jazz records that have caught my eye, starting with Sonny Rollins Plays, Period 1204. This is an original pressing listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. As most of you know, I’ve been collecting jazz records for more than 45 years and Rollins has always been one of my heroes. I’ve had a complete collection of Rollins originals for many years, with this one record as the exception. Somehow in all of these years, perusing all of these record stores, buying all of these collections, Sonny Rollins Plays on Period has eluded me and left a gap in my collection. I realize I can fill this gap through eBay, but I choose not to, at least for now. This copy is priced at $500 already and there is a bidder. I’ll keep looking for a copy that is priced closer to what my sensibilities will allow. It’s not the money, as per my usual, it’s the principle.

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Various Vinyl For a Rainy Tuesday

Kenny DorhamHere’s a nice one for a rainy Tuesday here in The Berkshires: Kenny Dorham, Afro-Cuban Blue Note 5065. This is an original 10-inch Lexington Avenue pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. Not to hype things for the seller, but how many M- copies of this record do you think there are, anywhere in the world? Could there be 100, 200? Doubtful it would be more than that. I have a copy, but the condition is VG for the vinyl, and I was happy to get it for about $35 maybe 25 years ago in a store in Los Angeles.

Charles Mingus, Pithecanthropus Erectus, Atlantic 1237. This was an original black label pressing in VG condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $150, somewhat surprising given the condition. Interesting seller who seems to be selling all kinds of stuff all the time, nearly 110,000 feedbacks. He had a couple of other items I had spotted, but when I went back to search I didn’t have time to go through the various Judge Dredd bikes or Predator wolf masks to find a stray Mingus or two.

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Pepper Prices Nothing to Sneeze At

Art Pepper JAzz VinylLet’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.

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Bud, Ella, Bird, Jackie: A Day on eBay

Bud Powell Jazz Vinyl copyI’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

Spellbound!

Nina simoneJust catching up on my eBay watch list and thought I’d share some items of interest that are still lingering from the past couple of weeks. Not to overly beat an already beaten dead horse, but this one is still in my queue from the Dr. Herb Wong auctions by the seller funkyousounds: Nina Simone, I Put a Spell on You, Philips 600-172. This was a stereo promo pressing in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $530, which was a shocker to me. I took a look at Popsike to get comparables and was surprised to see that this record had sold for $150 to $200 in the past. I didn’t ever think of it as a collectible, but I guess these days I’ll have to readjust because the market seems to be changing before our very eyes. Still, $530 was quite a leap from the previous top price for this record.

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Jazz Vinyl From Some of Our Favorite Cats

The Cats New Jazz VinylI’m cleaning out my eBay watch list so here are various odds and ends from the past six weeks or so, starting with Tommy Flanagan, The Cats, New Jazz 8217. This was an original pressing with the deep grooves and the purple labels. The record and cover both looked to be in M- condition, very nice indeed. Of course, one of the attractions of this record is that it  features John Coltrane. When I acquired this record I filed it with my Coltranes because I was just building my Trane collection and every collectible record with Coltrane was a treasure to me. I hate to tell you when this was, but it was more than 40 years ago. I can’t believe I’m that old. Anyway, now that my Coltrane collection is more robust, this is properly filed with the Flanagans. This copy sold for a very nice $600. Nice for the seller and I’m sure very nice for the buyer, who will have a lovely record for his turntable and collection.

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