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Would You Pay $5,000 For This Record?

April 28, 2014 Al 28 comments

As promised, here is the original DownBeat review of Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568, perhaps the most valuable and treasured of all the Jazz Collector collectibles. This is from Oct. 30, 1958 and the reviewer is John A. Tynan:

“Hank Mobley — Blue Note 1568: Might Moe and Joe; Falling in Love With Love; Bags Groove; Double Exposure; News.

“Personnel: Mobley, tenor; Curtis Porter, alto, tenor; Bill Hardman, trumpet; Sonny Clark, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Art Taylor, drums

“Rating — Three and a half stars

“One of the nicer things about Al Lion and associates at Blue Note is that they don’t hesitate to present new talent they consider worthwhile. On this set is presented 29-year-0old Philadelphia saxman Curtis Porter, who is equal to the company. Although it is Mobley’s date, the leader allows generous space for the wailing of his fellow reedman, which makes for a high degree of hard blowing.

Not-So-Cool Struttin’

April 27, 2014 Al 16 comments

I happened to be perusing old DownBeats yesterday when I casually opened up the issue of Oct. 30, 1958. The “jazz record reviews” listed on the cover were for Harry Belafonte, Terry Gibbs, Benny Goodman, Earl Hines, Shorty Rogers and Bob Scobey. Nothing too interesting, and I almost passed up on reading the reviews. So I was a bit surprised to see that this issue contained reviews of two of the rarest and most highly treasured records in the entire Jazz Collector pantheon: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588 and Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568.

Let’s start with Cool Struttin’. The reviewer, Don Gold, gave it two and a half stars out of a possible five stars. To put it in perspective, Cool Struttin’ had a lower rating than these records, also reviewed in this issue: Steve Allen All Stars Featuring Terry Gibbs; Danny Alvin and His Kings of Dixieland Play Basin Street: Belafonte Sings the Blues; Paul Horn Plenty of Horn, and Moe Koffman, The “Shepherd” Swings Again. This is what the reviewer had to say about Cool Struttin’:

Recording Record Record Prices

April 22, 2014 Al 6 comments

Spent some time casually perusing eBay for jazz vinyl the other day and here were some of the items I found.

Beverly Kenney Sings For Johnny Smith, Roost 2206. This was an original pressing with the blue label and deep grooves. The record was listed in mint condition and the cover was VG++. There were 18 bids and the record sold for $660. I’m sure there are Beverly Kenney records that have sold for a higher price, but that’s the highest that we’ve ever seen in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

The same seller had several other interesting items as well, including: Steve Lacy, Evidence with Don Cherry, New Jazz 8271. This was an original purple label pressing listed in near mint condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. This one sold for $687, setting another record for the Jazz Collector Price Guide. And here’s another:

A Pair For the Jazz Collector Vinyl Price Guide

April 19, 2014 Al One comment

Let’s just clean up on a couple of the jazz records we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with Roland Kirk, Triple Threat, King 539. This was the original pressing in VG+ or so condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. When we first watched, it had a start price of $1,000 and zero bids. It ended up with three bids and a price of $1,875.

Cliff Jordan, Cliff Craft, Blue Note 1582. This was something, maybe an original, maybe not. No mention of the address on label or the deep grooves. Pictures were not all that clear, but when you looked close up you could see the West 63rd address and what appeared to be deed grooves. The record did have shrink wrap, which could have made it a later pressing. Nonetheless, it was in probably VG condition and the cover was probably VG as well. It sold for $485.

Lou REALLY!!! Takes Off, and More

April 16, 2014 Al 26 comments

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

Lou Donaldson, Lou Takes Off, Blue Note 1591. This was an original pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,499.99. If you ever needed evidence on the increasing value of Blue Note originals, here it is. It has the presence of Sonny Clark on piano, which always seems to raise the value of the records (for good reason, IMHO), but this is quite a hefty price for a Lou Donaldson LP. Very happy to have acquired a mint copy recently. The gift of Baltimore keeps coming for me.

Sonny Clark is on this one as well and, again, the price is somewhat reflective: Curtis Fuller, Bone & Bari, Blue Note 1572. This was an original pressing, probably in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. This one sold for $1,624.99.

Here’s another Blue Note from the same era, although no Sonny Clark:

A Triple Threat of Jazz Vinyl

April 12, 2014 Al 20 comments

Here’s some jazz vinyl we’re watching on eBay, starting with Roland Kirk, Triple Threat, King 539. This looks to be an original pressing listed in Ex condition for the record, which I’m taking to mean maybe VG+, and VG++ condition for the cover. It’s a rare record, but I’m getting pretty tired of the term Holy Grail, aren’t you? Anyway this grail, holy or not, has an starting price of about $1,000 and there are no takers so far. I’m a big fan of Kirk, and I don’t own this LP, but at $1,000 it doesn’t even come up on my radar.

Wes Montgomery, Full House, Riverside 434. This is a promo pressing with the white label. I can’t tell from either the pictures or the description whether it is an original pressing, but there is definitely a lot of action on the record so perhaps it is. The record and cover are probably in VG++ condition. The bidding is in the $340 range and the auction closes later today.

This seller can use a lesson in photo management:

Big Prices, A Missing Record & a Cutout Hole

April 8, 2014 Al 16 comments

Was away for the weekend. Time to catch up on the jazz vinyl auctions I was watching on eBay:

Cliff Jordan, Blue Note 1565. This was an original pressing with the New York 23 labels on both sides. Nice. The record was listed in VG++ condition and the cover was VG+. There were 13 bids and it sold for $1,525. In better condition it would certainly have broken the $2,000 barrier, as we have previously seen for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

This one did make it into the $2,000 bin, with plenty to spare: Tommy Flanagan Overseas, Prestige 7134. This was an original New York yellow label pressing listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $2,314.

Roy Haynes, Cracklin’ with Booker Ervin, New Jazz 8286. This was an original purple label pressing in M- condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $408.33. Anyone find my copy yet? I’m sure if I sold it (which, of course, I still don’t remember), it was not for more than $400.

Update: Record Shows, Vinyl Revival, Blakey

April 4, 2014 Al 6 comments

Let’s catch up with some of the items in our inbox.

I just received a note that the 40th annual Jazz Record Collector’s Bash will take place June 27 and June 28 at the Hilton Woodbridge in Iselin, N.J. Not a lot of details yet, but there are always sellers with lots of records and there are usually films and discussions and music as well. I used to attend regularly and scored some nice records, but I haven’t been in years. June 27 and June 28 are prime bass-fishing season up in The Berkshires, so nature calls. I will, however, be at the WFMU Record Fair, which will take place this year May 30-June 1 in New York City. I will have a booth for Friday only, selling some of the duplicates from my recent score in Baltimore. Normally I would also be bass fishing on that particular weekend, but I have a personal engagement in Manhattan, so I’m stuck. But I’ll also have some nice records with me.

A Tale of Four Blue Notes

March 31, 2014 Al 17 comments

Here’s some more jazz vinyl we’re watching on eBay, starting with Kenny Drew, Undercurrent, Blue Note 4059. This looks to be an original pressing with the West 63rd address and the single side deep groove. The record is only in VG or VG+ condition and the cover is VG. Bidding is only in the $50 range now but there are five days left in the auction and I would expect this to sell for several hundred dollars despite the condition. We’ll see.

Hank Mobley, Roll Call, Blue Note 4058. This listing mentions almost everything about the record, except with it has deep grooves. Curious. If you look at the pictures it’s not conclusive. If I were interested in this record, which I’m not, I’d certainly query about the deep grooves before bidding. The record looks to be in VG++ condition and the cover is probably VG++ as well, although the labels have some staining, which will be a turnoff to some bidders. Bidding right now is in the $170 range.

Blue Note

Candy, An Autograph and 10-Inch Vinyl

March 29, 2014 Al 11 comments

Here are a few more items from our watch list on eBay, starting with Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This is an original pressing that looks to be in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. As a bidder I would be careful of the “light background noise” part of the description because the cleanest copies of Blue Notes don’t typically have background noise, at least not the original 12-inch pressings. Other bidders seem to be more sanguine about the description. The bidding is now in the $1,800 range with two days left.

Dizzy Gillespie Volume 1, Atlantic 138. This looks to be an original 10-inch pressing signed on the front by Dizzy Gillespie. I’m sure Don-Lucky or one of our other readers will weigh in on the authenticity of the autograph. The cover looks to be in VG+ condition and the record is described as VG+ as well. Bidding is in the range of $110 and there’s more than a day left on the auction.

Speaking of 10-inch records, we also had our eyes on these: Read more

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