Category: Blue Note

How We Listen & How We Collect

13 comments

Thanks to all for keeping the site current during my unexpected and prolonged absence. More than 60 comments and counting on the last item is quite impressive. I will try not to do that too often, but I was able to get a much-needed break from life and work and spend some time with The Lovely Mrs. JC in beautiful Provincetown, Ma., where we got to sit on the beach, view the eclipse, eat lobster and marvel at the beautiful sunsets and scenery. Now that I am back I feel compelled to at least catch up on some of the ongoing conversations and items I was watching before I left.

Let’s start with the riff on listening or not listening to our records. I don’t begrudge anybody their preferences on how to collection. As far as I’m concerned, it’s your money, your time, your enjoyment. Do whatever you want. As for me, I find that, in reality, my approach is somewhat mixed. I have no problem at all putting any of my records on my turntable and, in fact, take tremendous pleasure in listening to the real rarities in their original form and format. Just the other day I put on my beautiful mint original pressing of Saxophone Colossus, poured a glass of Porter and listened from beginning to end. Sheer ecstasy. And a few days before that, I took my portable Califone record player out to the porch here in The Berkshires and brought out a bunch of original 78s — Fats Waller, Louis Jordan, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday and Lester Young. Again, sheer ecstasy.

Read more

Promo Day

63 comments

Promo records have never seemed to be a big thing in the Jazz Collector world, at least not compared to other genres, but there are some promo records that seem to catch collector’s eyes, including Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, Columbia 1355. This looks to be  an original mono pressing with the red and white promo labels and the 6-eyes. The seller talks about the record being in “nice shape” but doesn’t actually give a grade and mentions a scratch that cuts across side B. All of that would be somewhat OK for gamblers, but it is also a seller that does not accept returns. A lot of risk to ask, IMHO, for a record that has a start price of $600. So far there are no takers. A quick view over at Popsike shows that a promo copy of Kind of Blue recently sold for $2,700, so the seller is probably not coming from left field with that price tag. We’ll keep a watch and see if it sells. My bet? Yes, it will.

Read more

Time For Bigger Bins?

18 comments

I know others have commented on the previous post, but I can’t let this one pass without at least one more word: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This was an original pressing in some kind of condition, perhaps VG+ or a little better. Hard to tell, because the seller used a stock photo as the main picture and then supplemented it, I suppose, with pictures of the actual record, which shows some obvious wear on the front cover, although the overall condition looks OK. You would think the lack of clarity on the description would cause bidders to be hesitant. And perhaps they were. Nevertheless, there were 16 bidders and 27 bids and a whopping final price of $5,035.75.

Read more

Happy Holy Grail Day

21 comments

Catching up on my watch list after a few days off eBay, starting with Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing listed in M- condition and Ex for the cover. Looks like there was a three-way bidding war for this LP and it wound up selling for $2,700.

Here’s one for those of you who like to use the term “Holy Grail,” although it is a term I normally avoid, except for a few seconds ago: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This one is listed in Ex condition by the seller and, based on his key, that seems like it would be a very strong VG+ using standard Goldmine grading. This one is already in the $1,360 range with more than a day left on the auction. It will at least join Peckin’ Time in the $2,000 bin and will probably sell for quite a bit more, based on past history with this record.  Read more

Some Jazz Vinyl for Our Files

15 comments

Just looking at some random items from my watch list, starting with Clifford Brown and Max Roach, Study in Brown, Emarcy 36037. This was described as an original pressing, but clearly it isn’t, with the black writing on the back cover instead of the blue. Also, the cover was graded at M-, but it’s not that either, with both a sticker and writing on the back. So perhaps it was not surprising that the record did not sell at a start price of $300. But it’s back again. I just wanted an excuse to run a picture of the cover. And pose a quick question: I keep all of my Brown and Roach records filed under Brown, and I assume those that file by artist do the same. Does anyone file these under Roach? Drummers, anyone?

This one did sell:

Read more

Covering A Couple of Classics

11 comments

Let’s catch up with a few more from our watch list, starting with a pair of Newks: Sonny Rollins, Tenor Madness, Esquire 32-058. This was an original U.K. pressing listed in VG+ condition, although there was surface noise mentioned in the description, so there was some risk involved by the buyer. I guess it depends on your tolerance for noise. The cover was listed in Ex- condition. The final price was about $266. Seller describes the cover artwork as much better than the U.S. edition, which is certainly in the eye of the beholder, but I do tend to like the cover art on these U.K. Esquires as well. As for these two covers, I don’t have a strong preference one way or the other, although, if forced to choose, I’d probably opt for the U.K. version. Along the same vein there was:

Read more

Stuffing the $1,000 and $2,000 Bins

15 comments

Welcome, Mr. President

My goodness, the $1,000 bin is overloaded, including all four of the records I was watching last week (A New Crowd For the $1,000 Bin?). They were:

Sonny Rollins Plays, Period 1204. Final price:$1,300

Kenny Dorham, Cafe Bohemia, Blue Note 1524.  Final price: $1,482

John Jenkins and Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1573. Final price: $2,025.01 (wow!)

Paul Chambers, Bass on Top, Blue Note 1569. Final price: $1,126

And then there were:

Read more

A New Crowd For the $1,000 Bin?

47 comments

Just a reminder, that auction we wrote about last week (An Old Fashioned Jazz Vinyl Auction) is taking place tomorrow. I spent some time looking through the list and I didn’t see that much of interest to me, although there were a few lots. I may place a few bids just for the experience of doing it. If any of you do participate, please share the experience with us here at Jazz Collector.

Now back to the “normal” eBay auctions that we watch, starting with a record that is near the top of my own want list, since it is the only rare Sonny Rollins records missing from my collection: Sonny Rollins Plays, Period 1204. This is an original pressing that looks to be in about VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. Looks like a nice copy but, alas, it will not be mine. The bidding on this has already exceeded $900 with more than a day left. So it seems pretty safe to say this one will reach the $1,000 bin and perhaps even higher.

Read more

An Old Fashioned Jazz Vinyl Auction

15 comments

Here’s an interesting opportunity: An auction house in the U.K. is auctioning a private jazz collection on Tuesday June 27 and there are options for individuals to bid live, either online or by telephone. The auction house is Omega Auctions and music is one of the areas in which they specialize. The collection belonged to a collector named B.W. Duncan and, of you are interested, you can read his bio here. As for the records themselves: There are quite a large number of Blue Notes, offered as individual pieces, such as Eric Dolphy Out To Lunch or Herbie Hancock My Point of View. There are also Blue Note packages sold in lots, such as an Art Blakey lot or a Horace Silver/Lee Morgan lot. Many of the records in the collection are U.K. pressings. It looks like there are 260 lots in all. It’s worth taking a look at the auction, but make sure to read the instructions if you want to bid because you have to set things up in advance and you have to pay some fairly hefty fees. Read more

Blue Note Vinyl, Continued

10 comments

Just back from a brief holiday in San Francisco and lovely Creede, Colorado, where my son directed a play. I seem to be picking up exactly where I left off, with another note from Ceedee bemoaning, in a jocular way, the latest adventures in Blue Note prices. Let’s start with Miles Davis, Volume One, Blue Note 1501. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing listed in M- condition for the record and Ex for the cover. The final price was $1,125. No surprise there. I have to admit to you all that I recently passed on a lovely collection that contained a copy of this record in even better condition. The records in the collection were in beautiful condition but, unfortunately for me, there weren’t enough records that I didn’t already own to make it worth my while. I would have had to spend months on eBay to get back the return on my investment and I would have added some gems to the collection but, as you can probably surmise, I am just too busy with my regular work to devote my energies to selling records these days.

Read more

1 … 22 23 24 25 26 … 129