Tracking Prices in an Alternate Universe

Let’s catch up on some of the jazz vinyl we were watching last week. Remember that copy of Miles Davis, Steamin’, Prestige 7200, pictured a few items below?   That was the one from bobjdukic and it was in M- condition, an original New Jersey pressing? It sold for $760. Wow! I’ll put it in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, but it’s hard to imagine that this will now be the going rate for this record. This guy seems to have a customer base that’s in an alternate universe from the customer base buying jazz vinyl from every other seller on eBay. There are many examples, but look at this one as well: Stan Getz, Imported From Europe, Verve 8331. This isn’t even an original pressing and he was able to get $122.50 for it. It leaves me somewhat speechless, but someone, somewhere, was willing to pay the price.

This is from a different seller and more in line with current market realities: Duke Jordan, Flight To Jordan, Blue Note 4046. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd label, deep grooves, ear, etc. It was listed in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $741.

This is a nice record:

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Ebaying: Horace and a Bit of Miles

Let’s take a look at some interesting jazz vinyl we’ve been watching here at Jazz Collector:

This is a new high point in the Jazz Collector Price Guide for this one: Miles Davis, Cookin’ Prestige 7094. This was an original New York pressing that was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. In fact, if you look at the seller’s description, it’s almost as if the record were new. It sold for $789.67. It’s funny, when I first started really collecting collectible jazz vinyl, maybe in the early 1980s, these Miles Prestiges were not so hard to come by, and not nearly as pricey as some of the earlier yellow label Prestiges. But times seem to have changed, and the music on the Miles Prestiges is outstanding, no?

This one was from the bobjdukic batch: Horace Silver, Blowin’ the Blues Away, Blue Note 4017. This looked to be an original pressing in VG++ condition, depending upon how much you trust the seller, and it sold for $125.50. This seems to be around market value these days for this great record. I had a friend over the other day who likes jazz but is not really knowledgeable. I had him sit in my listening seat at home and I put on Sister Sadie and we listened together closely. The music was just perfect and the sound on the Blue Notes, on a nice turntable with a nice system, is just so incredible compared to anything else. It was like listening to it for the first time. Tres sweet.

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Updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide

I’ve been spending time updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide. I hope you guys use it: It does take up a bit of time to keep it going. In any case, as I’ve been going through older watch lists on eBay, here are some of the odds and ends I’ve been seeing.

I would classify this as a bargain: Gene Ammons, The Big Sound, Prestige 7132. This was not an original pressing with the New York address, but it was an early yellow label with the New Jersey address. The record and cover were ion VG+ condition and the price was $32. What makes this record interesting, in my opinion, is the presence of John Coltrane as a sideman. I have to admit I haven’t listened to this record in years so perhaps that will be one of my chores for the day to report back to you on the quality of the music.

There was a seller a few seeks ago with a bunch of autographed records, including: Art Farmer, Modern Art. This was a reissue, worth about $3 without an autograph. With the autograph it sold for $47. There were also a couple of records signed by Dizzy Gillespie, including: Dizzy Gillespie, Perceptions, Verve 8411. This was listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. Without the autograph this would be maybe $10: With the autograph it sold for $60. Did I ever tell you about my copy of AT’s Delight signed by Art Taylor?

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eBaying This Week: JR,Trane and More

Another week, another 7,000 or so jazz records on eBay. Here are some of the ones we’ll be watching for you at Jazz Collector:

As noted, the lovely bobdjukic is back with a lot of superbly hyped records, including: J.R. Monterose, Blue Note 1536. This looks clearly to be an original pressing and it is listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It closes at the end of the week and is already at $510. This will certainly be in the $1,000 bin soon. From the same seller, among others, is John Coltrane, Lush Life, Prestige 7188. I mention this because I have a friend looking for a nice original pressing of this record. This one looks to be in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It is now at $100. I’m sure you all know the great story behind this record, about the trio side which was only a trio side because Red Garland forgot to show up for the date.

This is from another seller: Lee Morgan, City Lights, Blue Note 1575. This one looks to be VG++ for the record and perhaps VG+ for the cover, although part of the top right corner is off. The current price is $485 and there are about three days left.

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Updating the $1,000 Bin, Plus a Few More

Let’s catch up on some of the high-end jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:

Here are a few from the Jazz Record Center auction: Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This one was in beautiful condition, M- all the way around. It sold for $2,380.99. Sonny Clark, Dial S For Sonny, Blue Note 1570. This was another beauty that was M- for the record and probably VG++ for the cover, depending upon how you view things such as small splits and slight wear. It sold for $2,039. Kenny Dorham, Afro-Cuban, Blue Note 1535. This was in M- condition for the record and somewhat less for the cover. The price was $1,613.88. And the big one: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This was an original pressing in M- condition for the record and between VG++ and M- for the cover, depending upon how you grade such things. The price was $3,618.

Here’s a $1,000 record that was not sold by the Jazz Record Center:

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Some Top Collectibles, Some Top Prices

We could be looking at some record prices for jazz vinyl this week. The Jazz Record Center has a significant auction of some very high-end collectibles in beautiful condition. With two days to go several of these are more than $1,000 and $2,000 and at least one will certainly surpass $3,000 and perhaps $4,000. Here are a few to watch:

Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This is one of the rarest of the rare, and it already owns the top price in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. This copy is in beautiful condition, M- for the record and the cover. The current price is $2,981.

Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. Here’s another one that looks to be in beautiful condition, with a little bit of issues with the cover. This one is priced at $1,575 as of this writing.

Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550. This is another original pressing. The condition looks great, perhaps not M-, however. This one is currently at $2,036.

eBaying: Phil Woods, Cliff Jordan, Ray Draper

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

Phil Woods, Woodlore, Prestige 7018. This is one of those great early Prestiges that, somehow, I’ve never been able to find an original pressing for my collection, despite 40-plus years of trying. I do have a Japanese pressing, which sounds good, but an original with the kakubushi cover, how can you ever compare? This was an original pressing from Atomic records. The record looked to be n M- condition and the cover was VG+. The price was $493.88, pretty reasonable in today’s market I would say.

Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore, Blowing in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This is another in the same category as Woodlore, I’m still searching for an original pressing for my own collection. Gives you a sense how rare these are — in all of my 40 years of exploration to have never come upon a reasonably priced copy of either one of these records. This one was sold by my friend Steve at Roundagain records in Providence and it was in VG++ condition for the record and what looked to be VG- for the cover. It sold for  $632.

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Jazz Vinyl Update: Some Warhols, Blue Notes & Miles

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

This one was described in “like new” condition and, based on the picture and description, it looked like an original pressing: Sonny Clark, Sonny’s Crib, Blue Note 1576. The seller said he turned down a “buy now” request and let the bidding continue, which it did, topping off at $1,713.

This one wasn’t in nearly the same condition as Sonny’s Crib: Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This looked to be an original pressing and it was listed in VG+ condition for the record and VG MINUS for the cover. It sold for $1,115.

This is the highest price we’ve ever seen for this record: Miles Davis, Cookin’ Prestige 7094. This was an original pressing that was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $665.

How about a few records with Andy Warhol covers:

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A Potpourri Of Collectible (And Not) Jazz Vinyl

Here are some odds and ends we’ve been watching:

Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1543. This was an original pressing with the Lexington Avenue address, the last of the Lexington Blue Notes. It also has the cover by Andy Warhol. The seller has his own grading system and he labeled the record and cover in the VG++ range, but based on the description of the record and his system, it sounded to me like the record was more like VG and the cover was somewhere between VG and VG+.  It sold for $510.

I’d have thought this would see more action, but it didn’t: Stan Getz, Interpretations, Norgran 1000. This was an original pressing with the deep grooves and yellow label and it was listed in M- condition for the vinyl. The cover looked to be about VG+. The start price for this was $50 and there was only one bid and it sold for $50. Someone got a great record for a nice price.

Here’s another great record often available at a nice price: Sonny Stitt, 37 Minutes and 48 Seconds, Roost 2219. The early Stitt Roost LPS like this and Sonny Stitt and the New Yorkers feature

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Rare Jazz Vinyl: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Here are some items we’ve been watching on eBay, and then not watching on eBay.

What are we thinking with two recent auctions that were ended early? One was by the seller  yollie97, who doesn’t have a long history on eBay. He had a couple of nice records we were watching, including: Horace Parlan, Us Three, Blue Note 4037. When we were tracking this last week it was already at $1,000, but then the auction was ended with the explanation that the item is no longer available. The same thing happened with other records we were watching from this seller, including Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550 and Hank Mobley Soul Station, Blue Note 4031. Sometimes a seller will end auctions early if he gets a high price from a potential buyer. Perhaps that’s what happened here, perhaps there was another reason. Perhaps yollie97 sees Jazz Collector and would like to offer an explanation. The other one that ended early was from the seller Amatti 1000 from Italy, a seller with only 19 feedbacks in the past year. He also had a few beauties for sale, including Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’Time, Blue Note 1574. This one was at $850

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