Blue Notes & Prestige: A Day at Jazz Collector

Let’s catch up on some of the jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching, starting with: Walter Davis, Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. This was an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding was slow on this one, as you may recall, in the low $100 range with just one day left on the bidding. Well, it may have started slow, but it ended on a high note for the seller. The record sold for $919.99. There are no bargains on Blue Notes on eBay, are there, unless you get lucky with condition.

My friend Dan was urging me to get this record when the bidding was close to $400 with just a few hours to go: Sonny Rollins With Thelonious Monk, Prestige 190. Put in a bid of $700, he said. It’ll be your birthday present. I thought about it, but decided against it. Good thing I didn’t get my hopes up because I wouldn’t have won the record. It sold for $799.55. Speaking of my birthday present, the Lovely Mrs. JC says she’s only gotten one response so far to her request. There’s still time, but it’s running low — birthday is in two and a half weeks. Contact Mrs JC at mrsjc(at)jazzcollector.com.

I thought this one might reach the $1,000 bin, but it came up just short:

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Interesting Prices, Know What I Mean?

I just jumped on eBay to check out a few jazz vinyl auctions before football starts here in the states, and this record was about to close: Cannonball Adderley with Bill Evans, Know What I Mean, Riverside 433. This was an original blue label pressing in M- condition for both the record and VG+ for the cover, still in its original shrink wrap. What struck me was the price tag: It was more than $230, which is really quite high for this record, based on historical prices. The auction just closed at $261. Regular readers will know that this is one of my personal favorites, certainly on my top 25 list of jazz records, and perhaps even in the top 10. But in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, we’ve never captured a copy at more than $100, let alone more than $250.

Our friend CeeDee sent me a link to this record, when the price was in the low $100 range:

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The Blue Notes Keep Coming . . . And Going

Missed this one from last week: Lee Morgan, Indeed, Blue Note 1538. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing that looked to be in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $2,142.01. Wow. Quite a significant price tag for that, although we’ve seen it get even more than that several times in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, topping out at $2,927.

I think I missed this one as well: Sabu, Palo Congo, Blue Note 1561. This looked like an original pressing. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG+.The top bid was more than $400, but it failed to meet the seller’s reserve price. Not surprising that the reserve was higher than that. We saw a copy of this sell for more than $800 just a few months ago. Another one I’ve never owned, but not one I’d place on my want list. Too many other records I’d prefer.

 

 

 

Some More Beautiful Jazz Vinyl

Here’s one I forgot to put on my want list the other day: Lee Morgan Sextet, Blue Note 1541. This one is an original Lexington Avenue pressing listed in VG+ condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. Great crystal clear cover picture that makes the listing quite enticing, don’t you think? This was one of the first Blue Note records I ever purchased, back in the early 1970s, but, of course, in those days the record available in the bins at Sam Goody’s was a reprocessed stereo Liberty pressing. And that’s what I’ve had all of these years. This particular copy will not likely be the replacement: The bidding has already neared $500 and there are are still more than four days left on the auction.

Here’s another beauty from the same era, similar black and white cover with some yellow type: Hank Mobley with Donald Byrd and Lee Morgan, Blue Note 1540. This is also an original Lexington Avenue pressing. This one is in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. The pricing is now at $1,100 but it hasn’t reached the seller’s reserve price.

Let’s get away from Blue Note for the next couple:

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A Blue Note Birthday?

The Lovely Mrs. JC has asked me to write a post for her. It seems that someone quite close to Jazz Collector  has a major birthday coming up in the next few weeks and, when this person, who happens to be typing this post, was asked what he would like as a gift for this momentous occasion he replied, naturally, that he would love an original Blue Note to fill in a gap in his collection. Oh, something like Shades of Redd, or Cliff Craft, or Blowing in From Chicago, or Cliff Jordan, or any of the Thad Jones Blue Notes, or Davis Cup, or John Jenkins and Kenny Burrell, or either of the Louis Smith Blue Notes, or Lou Donaldson Quartet, Quintet, Sextet. Any of those would make quite a handsome birthday gift, don’t you think? Now, despite all of these years of being married to a Jazz Collector, the Lovely Mrs. JC really doesn’t know how to go about finding of these rare items, other than walking into the Jazz Record Center and asking Fred, which she may do when the time comes. However, she also thought that someone out there in the Jazz Collector community might want to help her in this search, perhaps someone who is planning to list one of these records on eBay and would prefer selling it to her at a fair market price, knowing that it would end up in the hands of a most appreciate Jazz Collector. Or perhaps someone with a duplicate copy. In addition to asking me to write this post, she also has set up her own email, mrsjc(at)jazzcollector.com, so that if anyone would wish to take her up on this quest, they can communicate with her directly and not spoil any potential surprise. So, having written this post, I have done my part. After Feb. 4  I will let you know what, if anything, transpires.

 

e-Baying, One More Time

We don’t usually harp on the sales from one seller for so long, perhaps with the exception of the Jazz Record Center, but those auctions from the seller zero.street were quite enlightening, so let’s keep the discussion going. Among these, what were the biggest surprises:

Sam Rivers, Fuschia Swing Song, Blue Note 4184. This was an original mono New York USA pressing with the ear in the deadwax. The record was in M- condition and the cover was probably VG++. The price was $711.01.

Duke Pearson, Profile, Blue Note 4022. This was the one WITHOUT the deep grooves or the ear in the deadwax. It was not an original pressing, probably a Liberty pressing that used the old West 63rd labels. It was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $777.45.

Dave Brubeck Quartet, Time Out, Columbia 1397. This was an original mono pressing with the 6-eye label. It was in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $305.

Andrew Hill, Black Fire, Blue Note 4151. This was an original mono pressing that did have the ear in the deadwax. It was in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $461.78.

There were many more on this seller’s list. Click on one of the above links and then look at the other auctions. Feel free to list other items of interest in the comments.

 

 

 

Are We Seeing Market Shifts?

If you’re on eBay now, it’s hard not to watch all of those auctions closing today from the seller zero.street. There are all of the later Blue Notes I mentioned yesterday. The prices on these have gone even higher, some in the $300-plus range. How about this one: Dave Brubeck, Time Out, Columbia 1397. This is an original pressing that looks to be in quite nice condition, probably M- or VG++ at the worst. The price has been bid up to $137.50. This is not that rare a record, even as an original pressing. Is it because Brubeck just died? Or will this record achieve some new cachet as a collectible, sort of like Kind of Blue, because it is so iconic. Weird to see this one fetching collectible prices after all of these years.

This one is also of interest from the same seller: Art Farmer Quintet Featuring Gigi Gryce, Prestige 7017. This is an original New York yellow label pressing. The cover is in nice VG++ condition and the record is VG or VG+, with a hairline mark that is said to cause some surface noise. I imagine the condition is a killer on this one, because under normal circumstances I wouldn’t expect it to sell for a price so far below those later Blue Notes, which apparently it will. The bidding now is in the $110 range. Unless the market is starting to shift more to the ’60s from the ’50s? Is that possible?

 

 

Tracking Later Blue Note Pressings From the ’60s

As noted in the comments on the previous post, the seller of the questionable Duke Pearson LP has a large number of jazz vinyl listings closing this weekend. In watching the auctions, I’m noting a surging interest in a lot of later Blue Notes, such as these:

Bobby Hutcherson, Components, Blue Note 4213. This looks to be an original mono pressing with the NY USA label. It looks to be in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The price is in the $150 range with more than a day left before the auction closes.

Andrew Hill, Compulsion, Blue Note 4217. This also looks to be an original mono pressing in similar condition as the Hutcherson LP, M- for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. The bidding on this one is also in the $150 range.

Sam Rivers, A New Conception, Blue Note 4249. This is an original Liberty pressing. It is in VG++ condition. The price is more than $100.

Here are a few more that may surprise you:

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And Starting 2013 With Jazz Vinyl

Happy New Year, all. Hope you get all the vinyl of your dreams this year. We start the year watching eBay, as we are wont to do. It actually seems kind of slow to us, probably not unexpected at this time of year. We’re not seeing a lot of action on the auction from the Jazz Record Center and there’s not the usual frenzy over some items you would expect. But there’s still plenty to watch, starting with: Duke Pearson, Profile, Blue Note 4022. This record looks to be in M- condition for the record and the cover,  and it has already been bid up to $273 with 14 bids. Quite impressive with five days left in the auction. More impressive still when you look at the questions below and realize it has neither deep grooves nor the ear in the deadwax.

Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. This is an original pressing that looks to be in VG++ condition for the vinyl and VG or VG+ for the cover. This one has the ear, has the deep grooves, yet, unlike the Pearson LP, it doesn’t have any bids. Start price is around $300. There are five days left. It will sell.

This one is closing soon at it has a lot of bids: Read more

Closing out 2012 With Jazz Vinyl

Here’s an update on some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay as 2012 comes to a close, starting with Johnny Coles, Little Johnny C, Blue Note 4144. This was one of Rudolf’s listings. It was an original pressing and was interesting because it looked as if one side had deep grooves, which seems kind of odd because it was issued after the deep groove era, wasn’t t? This looked like a beauty in M- condition and it sold for $615, so it was not a bad time to be listing this record.

This used to be an item that would regularly sell for more than $1,000 and often more than $2,000, but its value seemed to have been dropping in the past few years: Fred Astaire, The Astaire Story. This is the beautiful bound set that includes the four records, David Stone Martin Prints, photos, booklet and, of course, the original Astaire signature. This one looked to be in beautiful condition and sold for $1,009.

One more that we don’t often track here at Jazz Collector:

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