Tracking Some $1,000 — And $5,000 — Jazz Vinyl

My goodness, look what this sold for: Jutta Hipp with Zoot Sims, Blue Note 1530. This was an original pressing that looked to be in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The price was $5,117. That’s one of the highest prices we’ve ever seen for any record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide and about $1,500 more than we’ve previously seen for this record. The seller has commented elsewhere on Jazz Collector as to the legitimacy of the auction, which I don’t doubt at all, since we’ve always seen that bidding wars can drive up prices and we’ve also seen prices going higher and higher for the rarest of the collectibles, of which this qualifies. If I had an original copy, maybe I’d even sell it myself. Really? Nah, I’d keep it for sure.

When I talk about prices going up for the rarest of the collectibles, this is another example: Cliff Jordan, Blue Note 1565. This is an original pressing in VG++ condition for the vinyl and VG+ for the cover, and you can see on the picture that the cover is not completely clean, but certainly looks at least VG+. This record has become a perennial in the $1,000 bin and has sold for as much as $2,400 in M- condition. This copy sold for $1,735.

Today’s Jazz Vinyl: Burrell, Warhol, A Sealed Book

Let’s up date some of the Jazz Vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay this week, starting with: Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1543. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing — the last of the Lexingtons — and it has the Andy Warhol cover. Quite a find. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover, the original framed cover, was also in M- condition. It sold for $2,025 and I’m sure will be a welcome addition to the buyer’s collection.

One of our regular readers pointed this one out to me, thinking the price was inordinately highly, but I’m not sure I agree. For original Blue Notes in M- condition, there seems to be no limit these days: Horace Parlan, Up and Down, Blue Note 4082. This one sold for $665.55.

This one was still sealed, but was it the original seal? If so, how would you be able to tell?

Read more

A Couple for The $1,000 Bin, And one for the $66 Bin

There were a bunch of interesting jazz vinyl auctions that closed last night, to wit: Red Rodney, Signal S 1206. This looked like an original pressing in perhaps VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover? The seller uses a wide variety of grades that don’t necessarily correspond to the grading language we typically use, so it’s up for interpretation. Hopefully the buyer will be pleased. This one sold for a whopping $1,825.55.

Her’s one for the $2,000 bin: Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This was an original pressing that looked to be in M- or VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $2,111. There was another copy of this record that we mentioned the other day, Blue Note 1590, that was in just VG- condition for the record and cover. We wondered about the eventual price for a record that may not be all that playable. The price was $237.65

How the market has changed through the years: Johnny Hodges, Castle Rock, Norgran 1048. This was an original yellow label pressing. It was in VG+ condition for both the record and the vinyl. It sold for $66. When I started collecting jazz, there seemed to be much more interest from collectors in the original Norgrans. A different era, I guess — but also an opportunity to pick up some of these very nice records at reasonable prices.

A Few For the $1,000 (And More) Bin

Here’s a recap of some of the jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay:

Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This was the one that was in M- condition for the record and VG++ or M- for the cover. It sold for quite a hefty price, $4,600, but not a record high. This guy was bid all the way up to $2,720 and STILL didn’t meet the seller’s reserve price. Wow: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. The record was described as being in M- condition and the cover was VG++ or M-.

This one, believe it or not, entered the $2,000 bin: Bill Evans, Waltz for Debby, Riverside 399. The seller didn’t actually apply a grade for either the cover or record, but noted that the vinyl was in “great shape” other than for a paper scratch or two. Somewhat reassuring, but not enough for me to wager $2,075, which is what the winning bidder put up. It was a white label promo copy, but still.

Here are a couple more for the $1,000 bin:

Read more

A New Batch of Jazz Vinyl For The New Year

Happy New Year to everyone. Here are a few more items going into the Jazz Collector Price Guide. No links on these.

Jimmy Raney Quartet, New Jazz 1101. I like this one because of the maroon and white label, which you rarely see. There were just a few 10-inch New Jazz LPs, so they are pretty cool, and pretty rare. This one was probably in VG or VG+ condition for the record and the vinyl. It sold for $157.50.

Now a bunch of Blue Notes:

Lee Morgan, Lee-Way, Blue Note 4034. This was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $600.

Lou Donaldson, Wailing With Lou, Blue Note 1545. This was an original West 63rd pressing in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $688.

Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. Also an original pressing, of course, this one in VG+ condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $1,343.

Dexter Gordon, One Flight Up, Blue Note 4176. This one was in M- condition for the record and VG for the cover. It sold for $200.

Hank Mobley, Soul Station, Blue Note 4031. Record was M- and cover was M-. Price was $1,465.

Read more

Updating the Jazz Vinyl Price Guide

I’ve been spending the entire morning catching up on the Jazz Collector Price Guide and, if time allows, this weekend I will make a lot of additions and finally take the database to more than 5,000 records. Quite impressive, if you ask me, since I’ve logged every one of those by myself, by hand, typing in each entry one by one. Here are some of the recent items that will be added and I hope to do another post before the end of the year with some of the older items I may have missed during the past few months.

Brew Moore in Europe, Debut 127. This is the original Danish pressing, quite hard to find. The record was in VG++ condition and the cover was M-. The price was $373.

Here Comes Louis Smith, Blue Note 1584. This is one of those where you had to look carefully at the listing. The record is listed in Ex+/N- condition and the cover as Ex. The picture shows that the cover has tape all around it, so if I were grading the best I’d give it is a VG-. It would also make me wary about the condition of the vinyl, if the seller considers this cover as excellent. Potential buyers had some of  the same concerns, it seems. The record sold for $495.

Read more

Going Up . . . Up . . . Up . . .

Here’s some interesting jazz vinyl auctions that closed this week.

We need a new explanation for this one: Horace Silver, Song For My Father, Blue Note 4185. Admittedly this is a great, classic record and this was an original mono pressing in near mint condition for both the record and the cover. Why is there a new explanation needed? Conventional wisdom has said that because of the initial popularity of this record, there has always been a relatively abundant supply of original pressings in decent condition. Conventional wisdom may be changing. This particular copy sold for $405. Our previous high for this in the Jazz Collector Price Guide was $334 and, at the time, we considered that to be an aberration. What’s this?

And this? Gene Ammons, Blue Gene, Prestige 7146. This was from the same seller and it was also in near mint condition for the record and the cover. You’d normally expect this in the $40-$50 range, maybe a drop higher because of the condition. This copy sold for $164.50.

This next one got quite a high price, but not a surprising one:

Read more

Cool Struttin’, Giant Steps and Other Jazz Classics

Let’s catch up on some of the interesting rare jazz vinyl we’ve been watching at Jazz Collector. Big Bear apparently put a magnifying glass to this record and found that it was not necessarily an original pressing: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. In addition to the question about the “original-ness” of the record there was also some concern expressed here about the lack of information about the listing. The record wound up selling for $1,913.88 in M- condition, which is probably significantly less than it would have received if it had been offered by a reputable seller with a strong reputation, such as Jazz Record Center or Euclid. Nonetheless, it is still quite a hefty price, particularly if it is not a first pressing. This one came from the same seller and failed to sell: Paul Chambers, Bass on Top, Blue Note  1569. I tried the magnifying glass trick myself but to no avail: Either my magnifier was faulty or my eyes were faulty or, more likely, a combination of the two. I couldn’t figure out if this was original or not. Perhaps other potential bidders had the same problem. Nobody was willing to hit the start price of $500.

Read more

No Holiday For Watching Jazz Vinyl

It may be the holiday season around much of the world, but eBay never takes a vacation. Neither, apparently, does Jazz Collector. Here is some interesting jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay. We’ll start with the $1,000 been. This one is still for sale: Hank Mobley, Hank, Blue Note 1560. This is an original pressing that’s listed in near mint condition for both the record and the cover. The price is already more than $1,100 and there are still two days to go.  This is also a regular to the $1,000 bin: Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This was an original pressing, deep grooves, purple label, and it was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,415. Merry Christmas for someone. John Jenkins with Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1573. This was an original pressing that was either M- or very close to M-, based on the seller’s description. It sold for $1,156.99.

Here are a few interesting items closing in the next day or so:

Read more

Blue Note Jazz Vinyl For the $1,700 Bin

OK, so when did this become a $1,700 record: Donald Byrd, Byrd in Flight, Blue Note 4048? This was an original pressing and it was in M- condition. It was also a review copy. Who would have suspected it would get a top bid of $1,712? I certainly didn’t. Our previous high price for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide was more in the range of $300.

From the same seller came a batch of other nice collectibles, also at top prices, including: Rocky Boyd, Ease It, Jazz Time 001. This was an original pressing. The record looked to be M- and the cover was probably VG++. It sold for $668. I owned this record at one time but don’t recall that I ever listened to it. I wound up trading it for something not nearly as collectible. I know this record benefits from the presence of Kenny Dorham, for both musicality and collectibility. How is the record and what can we learn about Rocky Boyd?

Also:

Read more

1 29 30 31 32 33 51