Category: Blue Note

A Bird Signature?????????

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Don-Lucky, if you are out there,  we need you. Or any other autograph experts. I was just perusing eBay on this lovely but chilly Sunday morning in the beautiful Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts and I came upon this listing: Rare Signed By Charlie Parker + Coleman Hawkins 1947 Norman Granz #6 78-RPM Set. And when you open this listing there, indeed, are signatures bearing the names Charlie Parker and Coleman Hawkins. They are clearly signed with the same pen at the same time. The question is: Do they seem legitimate? I’m not expert enough to know. The reality is, I think, for the seller and any potential buyer, it would be very difficult to authenticate something signed before Bird died in 1955 if it hasn’t been authenticated already. Plus, this is not a program from the JATP at which they were both in attendance, but a pair of signatures on the record, which came out many months later. So, someone would have brought this record to a concert or club where both Bird and Hawk were at the same time, and would have gotten them both to cooperate for an autograph signing. I don’t have the expertise of Don-Lucky, but color me skeptical. In any case, the seller has an asking price of more than $2,400 and the auction closes later today. My guess is that even if the signatures were fully authenticated, that would still be a price beyond market value, although, I have to admit, if the signatures were authenticated, it would be an item of interest to me personally. A real Bird autograph, actually signed by Bird. Yeah, I could enjoy having that in my collection. Read more

Jazz Vinyl on eBay: Lots of Lee Morgan and a Rare Bird

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I just ventured over to eBay, did a quick search of some of the more expensive items for sale on the site now and, voila, up came a Lee Morgan Blue Not Bonanza right at the top: Candy, Indeed!, City Lights, Lee Morgan Sextet, and Lee-Way, all auctions closing today, all at prices at more than $1,000, and all being sold by the Jazz Record Center. Without being too redundant, let’s look at the one that is currently at the highest price and, in all likelihood, will end up at the highest price. That would be Candy, Blue Note 1590. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing, that looks to be in M- or VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding is in the range of $2,550. Digging deeper into the listing, there are 19 more Lee Morgan records for sale, all auctions ending in about four hours after this post will be posted here at the Jazz Collector site. Read more

A Cornucopia of Jazz Vinyl Classics

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Let’s follow up on some of the items we were watching,  and then look at a few more that are on eBay now. There was that copy of Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590 from Chick Corea’s personal collection, sold by the eBay seller Carolina Soul. This was an original pressing in VG+ condition for the record and the cover. When we last tuned in the bidding was at $3,050. The final, final price was $3,350. From that same auction there was an original pressing of Donald Byrd, Byrd in Hand, Blue Note 4019. This was also from the Chick Corea collection, with the record listed as VG/VG- and the cover graded as VG+. This one sold for $452.99. Read more

eBay Auctions from Chick Corea’s Collection (And More)

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Back on eBay after a slight delay to spend some family time in New York City (and celebrating my birthday). First thing that popped up when I hit my search the other day was Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The sellers are my friends at Carolina Soul and, based on my experience, they tend to grade very conservatively. Not only that, but this record comes from the personal collection of Chick Corea, the auction for which is being conducted by Carolina Soul. Congratulations to them. The bidding on this record is already at $3,050 with more than a day left on the auction. Some readers may recall that I once owned a mint copy of Lee Morgan, which I sold 35 years ago to buy a boat. Yada, yada, yada . . . the boat sank, and I haven’t ever replaced my original pressing of Lee Morgan Candy. Read more

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

Eric Dolphy Autographs (?), Blue Notes and Other Stuff

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Now that I am back looking at listings on eBay more regularly, I’m reminded of some of the reasons I was turned off a couple of months back. So many sellers who clearly don’t know what they are doing, asking for ridiculous prices. So many records in poor condition and so many sellers clearly misgrading what they are selling. So many come-ons and promotions from eBay, pointing to other listings that I am not interested in seeing, pointing to sellers who are paying extra money to get additional eyeballs. Anyway, that’s my rant. But I’m still here and I’ve found a few items of interest among all of the other BS. Such as Eric Dolphy, Outward Bound, Prestige New Jazz 8236. This looks to be an original deep-groove pressing with the purple labels. Moreover, it seems to be signed by Eric Dolphy and Jaki Byard. Of course, it would take an expert to determine if the signatures are legitimate (Dan, are you still out there?), but to these untrained eyes, they seem legitimate. The record is graded VG+ and the cover is VG. The record has been listed previously, the current price is about $160, the auction closes in about five days, and the seller’s reserve price has not yet been met. Interesting, because if the item was in mint condition and did not have the autographs, it would likely sell for a higher price. In my experience, autographs don’t always add to the value of the record and, in many cases, they seem to detract, particularly if they are not easily verifiable. 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

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