Category: Blue Note

More Confessions of a Vinyl Act, Part 3

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OK. The crisis has passed. As relapses go, it was relatively harmless. I did not log onto eBay and search for every missing Blue Note and bid like a madman. I did not head into Manhattan armed with enough cash and credit cards to buy out the Jazz Record Center. I didn’t really do anything except lose a night’s sleep and move a bunch of Jimmy Smith records from one shelf to another.

As I am left to ponder this latest chapter in my ongoing struggle with vinyl addiction, I believe what I had was not a relapse of vinyl addiction but something more akin to a full blown existential crisis. Why am I here, what am I doing, why do I have 10,000 records, why do I care if a single one of those records has a New York USA address on the label rather than a 767 Lexington Avenue address? You know, the usual kind of existential crisis.

The trigger was the cataloging of the Blue Notes and the process of

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Later Pressing Syndrome: One More Example

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To expand upon the point made earlier, we were just watching this record sell on eBay: Jackie McLean, Right Now!, Blue Note 84215. This was a stereo pressing with the Liberty label. The record was M- and the cover VG+. Normally we’d have expected this to sell for $20 or $25 at the most. This copy sold for $59.50. It does seem that some of the later pressings are becoming more valued and collectible. Or maybe, like so many other things in the Jazz Collector world, it is strictly a Blue Note phenomenon.

Are Later Pressings on The Rise?

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I’m still gathering my thoughts to write the final chapter in my Confessions of a Vinyl Addict but in the meantime, I’ve noticed something interesting: For many of the rare records, it seems even early pressings that are not originals are increasing dramatically in value. We saw a few week ago several of the United Artists Blue Notes selling for more than $400, but those were clearly an aberration created by a seller who seems to have discovered some kind of new method of record sales based on the P.T. Barnum theory of a sucker being born every minute. We’re not talking about those $400 United Artists Blue Notes. But here’s one we were watching this week that was clearly not an original pressing: Sonny Rollins, A Night At the Village Vanguard, Blue Note 1581. This one has the New York USA label, so Read more

More Confessions of A Vinyl Addict, Part 2

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ReissuesOK, so I got to the JJ Johnson record and realized it was a New York USA pressing, and then I got to Blue Note 1513, Thad Jones, Detroit-New York Junction, and realized it was a Japanese pressing, and then I got to Blue Note 1515, Jutta Hipp at the Hickory House Volume 1, and realized, hey, I don’t own that record at all.

I knew all of that. I knew I didn’t have a complete original collection of Blue Notes. I knew I wasn’t even close to having a complete collection of original Blue Notes. I knew I never aspired to having a complete collection of original Blue Notes. But I felt compelled to go on, to go through the entire 1500 series and know exactly what I had

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More Confessions of a Vinyl Addict, Part 1

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Friends, my name is Al and I am a vinyl addict. It is necessary for me to confess once again because I have had yet another setback. Remember my mission to pare down my collection, which I have labeled The Great Jazz Vinyl Countdown? Well, as part of that endeavor I decided it would be wise to take inventory of my records so that I would know what I actually have, in intimate detail: Record, condition, provenance, value. I had never actually done this before, so yesterday I set up a spreadsheet and began the process. I started, naturally, with the Blue Notes, the 1500 series, Blue Note 1501, Miles Davis Volume 1. I pulled the record off the shelf, looked at the record, cleaned it, typed the information into the spreadsheet, put it back on the shelf and then pulled the second record, Blue Note 1502, Miles Davis Volume 2. Same deal: Looked at the record, cleaned it, wrote it down, then moved on to the next record.

What a mistake.

I was moving along fine through the first eight records in the

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On eBay Now: Watching Some Blue Notes

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Here are some interesting items on eBay now.

Here Comes Frank Foster, Blue Note 5043. This is an original 10-inch pressing from Euclid Records. The record is in M- condition and the cover is VG+. The price is around $235 with a few hours to go. This is another 10-inch LP from the same seller: Milt Jackson, Wizard of the Vibes, Blue Note 5011. This one is in M- condition for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. The current price is about $190.

Heres another seller with some interesting items, including: Paul Chambers, Bass on Top, Blue Note 1569. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing. Based on the description it looks like the record is VG++ and the cover is VG+. The current price is close to $500. This seller has a bunch of collectibles closing today, many of which don’t have bids yet. Probably worth taking a look

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Updates: $1,000 Bin, Dizzy, Sonny, Trane

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Still updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide. It can be a bit tedious, but it’s important, isn’t it? Let’s hope so. Anyway, here are a few items on the extremes: A couple more for the $1,000 bin and a few that normally don’t make the Price Guide but, for one reason or another, have broken through.

First the big ones: Walter Davis, Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. This was an original pressing and it was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,300. Also, Paul Chambers Quintet, Blue Note 1564. This was an original pressing. The record and cover looked to be in VG+ or VG++ condition. The price was $1,032.

Here are a couple that don’t often get collectible prices: Dizzy Gillespie, Afro, Norgran 1003. This was an original yellow label pressing with a cover design by David Stone Martin. It was only in VG condition and sold for $72. That may not be a Blue Note price, but it is still somewhat surprising. Few of the Dizzy record

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Price Update: 10-Inch LPs by Miles, Prez . . .

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We’ve been updating Prestige and Blue Note. Here are some 10-inch LPs for the Jazz Collector Price Guide:

Miles Davis Sextet, Prestige 182. This was in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. We were thinking about bidding on this because the price was right, but in the end we’re getting rid of records, not adding records. We do have to remind ourselves of this, constantly, each time we see a nice item on eBay, which is several times a day. Anyway, this one sold for $102.50. That’s a pretty attractive price and was in my range. This was in M- condition for both the vinyl and the cover. The price was $233.50.

Howard McGhee Volume 2, Blue Note 5024. This was in M- condition for both the record and the cover and sold for $234.

Here are a couple of nice 10-inch LPs by Lester Young:

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For the Price Guide: A Blue Note Bonanza

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We’ve been quite busy updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so we will do a few posts over the next few days highlighting some of the new entries, starting with some Blue Notes, of course. There are no links to these, FYI.

Kenny Drew, Undercurrent, Blue Note 4059. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address and just one side deep groove. The record was listed in VG+ condition for both the vinyl and the cover and it sold for $285.

Baby Face Willette, Stop and Listen, Blue Note 4084. This was an original pressing with the NY USA label. the record looked to be in VG++ condition for both the vinyl and the cover. It sold for $200.

This one sold for a big price, but it didn’t seem to be an original pressing:

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On eBay: Walter Davis, Wallington, Prez

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Another day, another $1,000 Blue Note on eBay. Today’s entry to the club will be: Walter Davis, Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing and it appears to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover, based on the seller’s description. The current price is $999.95, so it’s a pretty save bet it will sell for more than $1,000. Perhaps a lot more than $1,000.

Atomic Records also has a few nice items on eBay now, including: George Wallington, Jazz For the Carriage Trade, Prestige 7032. This is an original New York pressing. The condition of the vinyl looks to be about VG++ and the cover VG+ or a little better. The current price is more than $300, but it hasn’t yet reached the seller’s reserve. From the same seller is this item:

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