Category: $1000 Records

eBaying With Blue Train and a Rerun of Moose the Mooche

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I mentioned that my watch list runneth over and, as it happens, some of the auctions I was watching have runneth over as well. Let’s see what happened, starting with John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This was an original deep groove pressing, with side one bearing the New York 23 logo. The seller was Funkyousounds and the neglected to mention the labels. But they were clear to see for anyone looking at the pictures. The record was listed in VG++ condition and the cover was VG+. The final price was $5,100. I’ve never thought to ask this before, but have you ever wondered why they called the record Blue Train as opposed to Blue Trane? Read more

Lots of Cool Stuff in this Post

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My watch list runneth over. Let’s look at some new items and then catch up on some of the gems I had been watching. Let’s start with Miles Davis Volume 2, Blue Note 5022. This is an original 10-inch Lexington Avenue pressing listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. Bidding starts at about $320 and so far there are no bidders with the auction closing in about four days. One of the things that caught my eye about this listing is the  presence of an inserted  booklet called “the blue note story.” Of all the Blue Notes I’ve purchased over the years, and there have been many, I have only seen this insert in one other record, a Sidney Bechet 12-inch LP. the blue note story was written by Leonard Feather and dates back to 1955, as Blue Note was transitioning from the 10-inch vinyl format to the 12-inch vinyl format. Fortunately, I have not only written about it before, I recorded the entire text, all in this post from January 27, 2009 titled, of course, The Blue Note Story. You’re welcome. Read more

Catching Up: Sonny Clark, Kenny Dorham +

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I just logged in to eBay and, lo and behold, what do I see: Another primo auction from The Jazz Record Center, including a Sonny Clark cornucopia. Perhaps we will see some new price records set in the next week. Here are a few to watch: Sonny Clark, Dial S for Sonny, Blue Note 1570. This is an original deep-groove, West 63rd Street pressing. The record and cover both look to be in M- condition. As you’ve probably noticed with The Jazz Record Center, they seem to eschew putting condition labels on their listings and instead rely on fairly detailed descriptions, such as the one for this record: “The playing surface is in near-new condition with a beautiful luster and just a single inaudible ¼” scuff; one tic on the second track of Side 2.” To me, that describes a record I would label as M-. The start price is $2,000 and the auction closes in about four days. So far, there are 86 watchers but no bidders. The previous high for this record is about $3,500. Let the bidding begin. Read more

A Jazz Vinyl Christmas on eBay

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Merry Christmas! Let’s look at some jazz vinyl from eBay that may be on the wish lists of Jazz Collectors everywhere, starting with: Sahib Shihab, Sahib’s Dance Party, Debut 141. This looks to be an original Debut Denmark pressing listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The bidding is in the $500 range with nearly four days left on the auction. There are already 13 bidders and more than 30 bids. This record has sold for more than $1,000 several times, with a high of about $1,600, according to Popsike. I’ve never owned a copy of this record, let alone listened to it. I take it the high value placed on the record is a tribute not just to its rarity, but to the quality of the music as well? Read more

What’s Happening With Jazz Vinyl?

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So, I lost the auction for The Unique Thelonious Monk. No big deal. The bigger revelation was the prices on some of the other records on the Jazz  Record Center auction. Having been off eBay for a few months dealing with other things in life, I wasn’t prepared for what I considered to be a fairly drastic change in the market. Or perhaps this has been going on for a while and I hadn’t noticed? Or perhaps this is just an aberration based on the reputation of the Jazz Record Center? Or just one or two sellers with lots of money to spend?  Let me share with you some of the biggest surprises that I encountered, starting with The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery, Riverside 1169. This was an original stereo pressing that looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $787.22. Per Popsike, this is the highest price ever recorded for any copy of this record. But a stereo copy? Read more

Back in Action??????? Really????????

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Well, what do you know? I felt like going on eBay today. It’s kind of a bleak, rainy day here in the beautiful Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts, I’m caught up on my work, taped my radio show yesterday (Roy Haynes, Memorial, Part 2), and I’m sitting at my computer and thinking to myself, man, you haven’t been on eBay in a long, long time. Months, I would guess. If any of you regular readers are still out there, what have I been missing? Here’s what I’m seeing today

Not a good start as I pore through some of the higher priced jazz vinyl. The first is Walter Davis Jr., Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. This is an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address. Great record. I, for one, have never owned an original pressing of this record, but I did purchase a United Artists copy from my old friend Red Carraro for $10 back in the 1970s or 1980s. I still have it. This copy on eBay looks totally beat. The seller didn’t have the nerve to describe the condition. But he did have the nerve to put a price of $1,500 on the record. Read more

Catching Up on Some Rare Jazz Vinyl

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Here are a few jazz vinyl auctions we are watching from The Jazz Record Center. All of these auctions close later today. Clifford Brown Memorial Album, Blue Note 1526. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing with the frame cover. Record is listed as in “near new” condition and the cover is probably M- or VG++, depending how you feel about superficial “dings.” Bidding is at $500.  On one of my Horace Silver radio shows/podcasts I tell the story of how Alfred Lion and Art Blakey drove down to Wilmington, Del., to hear Clifford Brown for the first time and brought him back to New York to record those legendary Blue Note records at Birdland. Great stuff. Read more

Another Jazz Vinyl Perusal

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As you can probably tell, I no longer peruse eBay with the same vigor and excitement as I have done in the past, particularly when I was buying or selling jazz vinyl with any regularity, which I have not done for a quite a long time. But I still like to peruse and write about my perusals, so here we go with another live edition of Al perusing rare jazz vinyl on eBay. My normal course of action involves looking at current auctions, starting with highest prices first. Right at the top are three records I have seen before doing this, none of which has sold at the prices asked by the dealers. These are: Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This is an original pressing listed in “excellent” condition for the record and the cover. The start price is $3,500. Chet Baker Sings, Pacific Jazz 11. There is no condition listed for this 10-inch record. Cover looks to be about VG+. Starting price is $1,800. Not a serious seller, IMHO. And from the same seller as Lee Morgan Candy, we have Introducing Lee Morgan, Savoy 12091. This looks to be an original red label pressing, also listed in “excellent” condition for the record and the cover. The start price is $1,500. I’ve been watching these records for a long time on eBay and the fact that there are no bidders at the starting price doesn’t seem to dissuade or discourage the sellers. Read more

More Jazz Records, More Record Prices

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Back to perusing rare jazz vinyl on eBay. Last I looked, I had a bunch of items on my watch list from The Jazz Record Center. They’ve had at least two other auctions of rare jazz vinyl since then, so let’s do a fairly comprehensive overview of some of the more interesting and/or expensive items. We’ll start with Miles, the New Miles Davis Quintet, Prestige 7014. This was an original New York yellow label with the green cover. The record was listed in “new condition, with a high luster” and the cover was listed in “extraordinary” condition. Sounds like it was as it was sitting on a record store shelf in 1956. This one sold for $2,155. Is that a new high? Let’s head over to Popsike and . . . yes it is, by a lot, nearly $1,000 more than the previous high. Condition counts. See below. Read more

Record Record Prices for the Record

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I should get that $12,600 copy of Blue Train on the record, pardon the pun: John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This was an original pressing with the New York 23 label on Side One and the West 63rd Street label on Side Two. It was sold by our friends at the Jazz Record Center in New York. The record looked to be in M- condition. There were nine bidders, 24 bids and in the final hour or so the bidding went from $4,300 to the final price of $12,600. Wow. I think this is the highest price I’ve ever seen for a jazz record. Does anyone recall anything that sold for a higher price. Whilst perusing the Jazz Record Center complete listings, I came upon several other high-ticket items that will be of interest to our Jazz Collector community, including: Read more

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