Art Pepper, Modern Art, Intro 606. This looked to be an original pressing in M- condition, the cleanest copy I’ve seen online. This one had 43 bids and wound up selling for $3,926.

Eric Dolphy, Outward Bound, New Jazz 8236. This was an original deep-groove purple label pressing, also in M- condition for the record and the cover. The final price was $1,079.99.

Charlie Parker With Strings, Clef 675. This was an original pressing, also in M- condition. Final price was $1,525.

The Magnificent Charlie Parker, Clef 646. This was an original in M- condition. Price: $1,525.

Charlie Parker, Alternate Masters Volume 1, Dial 904. Another original in M- condition, Price: $787.

I guess reports of the demise of the collectible jazz vinyl record market have been greatly exaggerated.

Here are some 10-inch LPs we’ve been watching, starting with Hank Mobley Quartet, Blue Note 5066. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record and cover were both listed in VG+ condition. The final price was $1,625. A merry Christmas for the buyer and the seller, I presume. Howard McGhee’s All Stars, Blue Note 5102. This was also an original Lexington Avenue pressing, listed in EX condition for the record and the cover. The final price was about $516. From the same seller, Vinyl-House-UK came this one: Illinois Jacquet, Jazz by Jacquet, Clef 167. This was an original trumpeter logo pressing, listed in VG+ condition for the record and EX for the cover. The final price was about $86.

I’m hoping to post once again in 2021, but if not, I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year’s.

Here’s another one that had eluded me for many years: Hank Mobley, Mobley’s Message, Prestige 7061. This is an original New York yellow label pressing that looks to be in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. The start price is $1,000 and so far there are no bidders. I do expect this one to sell, given the personnel, the rarity of the record, the label and the condition. We’ll see in a couple of days.

You don’t see too many Billie Holiday records fetching high collectible prices, but this one exception: Billie Holiday, Jazz at the Philharmonic, Clef 169. This is an original 10-inch pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. Tough to find this record in this condition. Really, it is tough to find any 10-inch record in M-/M- condition these days. This one is especially regarded by collectors because of the great David Stone Martin cover. The price is more than $200, but it has yet to reach the seller’s reserve. The auction closes later today.

Dexter Gordon, Doin’ Allright, Blue Note 4077. This was an original New York pressing. The seller listed it in VG+/VG++ condition for the record and the cover. In the description, he mentioned tape on the cover. To me this immediately marks the condition down to VG+, not VG++. So I would also question the condition of the vinyl, but that’s just me. This one sold for $222.50, which is what I would expect for a VG+ pressing of this record, so I guess others may have had the same sense on the grading.

Here’s one featuring a Johnny Hodges autograph:

Johnny Hodges, Collates #2, Clef 128. This was an original 10-inch pressing with the autograph on the back cover. You can see if clearly if you zoom in on it. The record and cover are both listed in Ex condition, which sounds like VG+ based on the seller’s description. Bidding is in the $90 range with a few hours left. Sometimes the autograph diminishes the value of the record in the eyes of some collectors, which I will never understand. In this case, it seems to be enhancing the value.

Anyway, here are a few that either closed earlier or are closing soon, starting with Art Tatum. Benny Carter, Louis Bellson, Clef 55. This was an original pressing with a nice cover by David Stone Martin. There’s really very little interest in Tatum these days, which I will never understand, so I wanted to watch this and see if it would sell. It did, for $42.12 in Ex condition for the record and the cover, VG+ in my language.

These next two surprised me. They are not records I normally watch because they don’t typically fetch collectible prices. They didn’t here, but they also sold for more money than I would have expected:

Sonny Stitt, The Hard Swing, Verve 8306. This was an original pressing with the trumpeter logo. The record was also Ex (same seller as the Tatum record), and the cover was M-. The record sold for $79.89.

Teddy Edwards, Heart and Soul, Contemporary 3606. This was an original yellow label pressing in Ex condition. The seller is in Australia, so shipping isn’t inexpensive. The record sold for $49.

Here are a couple still to be determined:

Horace Silver, The Tokyo Blues, Blue Note 4110. This looks to be an original mono New York USA pressing. The record is in VG+ condition and the cover is VG. The start price is $49.99 and there are no bidders. Typically, I would expect this record to sell for more than that, even in this condition, but the seller mentions the dreaded phrase “surface noise,” which is likely scaring buyers off. The hope, I think, when you bid on a VG+ record is that it will play well, even if it doesn’t look perfect.

Dexter Gordon, Gettin’ Around, Blue Note 4204. This is a record in its original seal. The seller, very credible, is sure that it is an original pressing. The bidding is in the $125 range and the auction is closing quite soon. It has not yet reached the seller’s reserve price. Do you think bidders may be wary that it is not an original pressing?

Here’s a fine looking Blue Note for you: J. R. Monterose, Blue Note 1536. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The auction closes in three days and the bidding is in the $565 range. Can’t imagine this will sell for less than $1,000, so the question is how much more than $1,000 will it fetch.

This one isn’t regarded as a collectible anymore (clearly), but I kept an eye on it wondering if anyone would even want it at all:

Count Basie, Basie Jazz, Clef 633. This was an original pressing. The record looked to be in VG+ condition and the cover perhaps VG++. When I started collecting, anything on the Clef or Norgran label  had collectible cachet, and a record like this, with an awesome cover, would certainly have been in demand. This week on eBay, nobody would even pay six bucks for an original pressing. Something sad about that. I also had my eye on this record because, with just a few hours left in the auction, there weren’t any bids at all: The Artistry of Tal Farlow, Norgran 1014. This too was an original pressing from the same era as the Basie, it has a similar cover (also great), and it is a terrific album. This one was listed in VG+ condition for the record and probably VG for the cover with seam splits. Eventually there were three bids for this record and it sold for $49.50. At least someone wanted it.

Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. This was an original West 63rd pressing that looked to be in at least VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,525. We’ve seen Sonny’s Crib and Cool Struttin’ consistently break the $2,000 and even the $3,000 barrier, but this is the highest price we’ve recorded for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.   

Jutta Hipp With Zoot Sims, Blue Note 1530. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing that looked to be in beautiful M- condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. The price was $2,678.

Lester Young Collates Number Two, Clef 124. This was an original 10-inch pressing with the nice cover by David Stone Martin. It looked to be in M- condition for the record

and probably VG++ for the cover. It sold for $227.50. I had a side interest in this one: Last year around this time, much to the chagrin of the lovely Mrs. JC, I bought a collection of mostly traditional records for $500. There were also some nice 78 boxed sets, as well as the three Mosaic Commodore sets, as well as a lovely 10-inch copy of The Tal Farlow album, original Norgran, which I gave to my friend Dan as a birthday gift. This Lester Young record was also in the collection, so it is pleasing to me to see it go for so high a price and, in retrospect, further helps to justify the temporary discord it helped to create. Although, blaming the Lester Young record as opposed to my own impulsiveness for the discord is a bit of a stretch, wouldn’t you say?

First one of the heavyweights: Lee Morgan, Indeed, Blue Note 1538. As noted this was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. This one looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover and was described by the seller as “museum quality,” which is an interesting term we don’t see very often. We predicted that this one would make the $2,000 bin and speculated that it would perhaps even hit the $3,000 bin. It sold for $2,450.

Another really nice one that fetched top dollar: Lou Donaldson, Lou Takes Off, Blue Note 1591. This was also an original pressing, also in M- condition for the record and the cover, also described as a “museum copy.” It sold for $766.99, which is the top price we’ve seen for this one in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

I’ve never seen this cover on this record:

After Hours With the Prestige Jazz All Stars, Prestige 7118. This is clearly a second press, with the New Jersey address on the label rather than New York. It was described as an original pressing in VG+ condition. It sold for $78.70.

If I were buying these days, I would have bid on this: Bob Brookmeyer Plays Bob Brookmeyer, Clef 644. Not that I am a huge Brookmeyer fan, although I do like him, but it’s an original Clef with a great cover by David Stone Martin, and I do value those. This one was in VG+ condition and sold for just $46, so I might have even won it.

Blue Mitchell, Blue Soul, Riverside 309. This was one of the ones from the recent bobdjukic auction. It was listed in VG++ condition for both the vinyl and the cover and it looked to be an original deep groove, blue label pressing. It sold for $275. One of the reasons I was watching this is that I just bought another small collection and a nice original mint copy of this record was in the batch. There were also a few original Blue Notes so, if I ever get back to selling records on eBay, I’ll have some nice items to start with . . . . or if I have Jazz Collector readers come to the house, as previously proposed.

Harry Carney With Strings, Clef 640. This looked to be an original pressing, although there was no picture of the label, with a beautiful cover illustration by David Stone Martin. It was listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover and sold for $110.50. You have to wonder how much longer there will be a market for Harry Carney LPs. Case in point: The Astaire Story. This was the original Mercury boxed set in beautiful condition, signed by Astaire, with the Stone Martin illustrations and the exclusive photos. In M- condition, this would have sold for somewhere in the range of $2,000 just a few years ago. Now, the seller had a start price of $800 and there were no bidders.

Bill Perkins, Just Friends, Pacific Jazz 401. This was an original pressing, featuring Art Pepper and Richie Kamuca. The record looked to be M- and the cover was VG+. The price was $113.50.

Zoot Sims and Bob Brookmeyer, Whooeeee, Storyville 914. This was an original pressing that was listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $170.27.