Phil Woods & eBay Existentialism

I have a friend who is a big fan of 10-inch LPs and a big fan of 1950s Phil Woods. I was looking at eBay today and sent him this photo and this listing: Phil Woods New Jazz Quintet, Prestige New Jazz 1104. This one is only in VG condition, but I knew he would love it. Sure enough he wrote a reply: “You know me too well.” I love this one too, particularly the red and white New Jazz label, which you don’t see too often and, if I recall, doesn’t appear on 12-inch LPs at all. It is now in the $50 price range. So I’m picturing my friend now sitting at home pondering: To bid, or not to bid. The essential existential e-Bay question on a sultry summer day in New York. My bet on the answer? To bid.

Miles, Introducing Trane, On eBay, In Metronome

I was perusing eBay early this morning and came across this beautiful item: Miles, The New Miles Davis Quintet, Prestige 7014. I’ve always loved this LP, not just for the music and the great cover, but for the historic value as well: The introduction of the great Miles Quintet of the ’50s and, in particular, the introduction of John Coltrane. So, I put this item on my watch list and took a further look and it turns out to be a listing from Rudolf, our faithful friend and commentator. So we are happy to help Rudolf publicize this listing on the Jazz Collector site, but we also noticed a nice teaser in the listing, which notes that they album will be offered with a copy of Metronome’s July 1956 review of the album. Furthermore, the listing notes that the Metronome review is

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The $1,000 Bin Welcomes an Old Friend

When I first became aware many years ago that there was actually a sub-culture of jazz collecting and collectible jazz records, one of the first of the “rare” jazz records I heard about was Tommy Flanagan Overseas, Prestige 7132 (I was not aware of the Metronome version). In all the early years of collecting and searching for records in the bins of hundreds of record stores around the world, I never saw a copy of this record. By the time I did find a copy, by then the collectibles market had taken off and the price tag was out of reach. I’ve looked on eBay for affordable copies, but, somehow the words “eBay” and “affordable” don’t always go together. I’m content now to watch the record sell and listen, if I desire, to my very fine Japanese pressing. This is all a long way toward getting to the point, which is:

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No Summer Slump Yet: Lots Of $1,000 Records

We have quite a large number of items to add to the $1,000 and even $2,000 bins on this beautiful Monday morning in sunny New York. If there is a summer lull in prices on eBay, it hasn’t much made a dent in the prices of some of the high-end collectibles, such as these:

Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1550. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing in beautiful M- condition, for both the record and cover. It was also sold by the seller Roverd-90, who had the Johnny Griffin the other day and also had a few others, such as the Lee Morgan Candy I’ll cover below. Quite a nice week for Mr. Roverd-90. This record sold for $1,825.

As mentioned, Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This is one of the rarest of the rare and was in beautiful M- condition, both record and cover. It sold for $1,900.

We had pointed out the Jazz Record Center’s auction of Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This one was listed as mint condition — not even mint minus and we had predicted that it would sell for at least $2,000 and perhaps as much as $3,000. We were right the first time: This one fetched a price

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New JRC Auction Includes Mint Saxophone Colossus

There’s an auction this week from the Jazz Record Center and it’s always fun to watch their auctions because they generally get top dollar. One of the items we’re watching this week is Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This one is listed as being in MINT condition — not even mint minus — and the cover is described as “extraordinary.” I have a feeling the price will be extraordinary as well. Right now it is at about $1,200, but I think the first number of the final selling price will be at least a two or quite possibly a three.

A Couple of Nice 10-Inch LPs For The Price Guide

Just catching up on some recent interesting eBay sales to add to the Jazz Collector Price Guide. Here’s a nice 10-inch Blue Note: Lou Donaldson, New Faces, New Sounds, Blue Note 5021. This was in VG+ condition, both the record and the cover. The price was $339. I love these old records with titles like “New Faces, New Sounds” or “Introducing.” They really put the timing of the release of the records in a nice context. This one also has a great cover.

Here’s another 10-incher from the same era with a great cover and a great title: Thelonious Monk Quintet Blows For LP, Prestige 166. This is another title that really dates itself: The concept that

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For the Price Guide: A Blue Note Batch & A Prestige

Here are a few more big-ticket items we’ve been watching. All of these will be entered into the Jazz Collector Price Guide as soon as we get a chance.

Jackie McLean, Lights Out, Prestige 7035. This was an original pressing with the yellow label and New Jersey address. The record and cover both seemed to be in VG+ condition. The price was $599.95.

Walter Davis, Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing in M- condition. It sold for $790.

Freddie Hubbard, Open Sesame, Blue Note 4040. This too was an original pressing and it was in M- condition, both the record and the cover. The price was $636.  This was actually surprisingly low — we’ve seen this record sell for more than $1,000 several times, and reach as high as $1,590 for a record that  was not in M- condition.

Paul Chambers, Bass on Top, Blue Note 1569. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing. The

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One For the $2,000 Bin & One For The $1,000 Bin

We were watching a couple of new items that have crossed the four-figure plateau on eBay. They are:

Jutta Hipp, Blue Note 1530. This is the one featuring Zoot Sims. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The seller did a very good job of presenting it, with nice, clear, close-up pictures. It was listed in VG++ condition, for both the record and the cover. It sold for $2,030.

Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This was an original pressing with the purple label and the deep groove. It looked to be in nice shape: The record was listed as M- and the cover looked like it was VG+, based on the pictures. The price was $1,225.

More Peak Prices, Plus Miles, Sonny, Trane For Sale

In mentioning records reaching new price peaks, I inadvertently left out a couple of records among the ones I’ve sold recently. These aren’t records we’ve tracked often, but we haven’t seen higher prices for either of them:

Granchan Moncur III, Some Other Stuff, Blue Note 4177. This was a New York USA pressing. The record was M- and the cover was VG++. It sold for $223. 70.

Anthony Williams, Spring, Blue Note 4216. This was also a New York USA pressing in beautiful condition, M- for the record and VG++ for the cover. This one sold for $202.50.

We have a bunch of records up on eBay now, although none will fetch those kinds of prices. Here are a few of the records that are available:

John Coltrane (et al), Wheelin’ and Dealin’, Prestige 7131. This is an original pressing, with the New York

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Is The Market Slowing? Not Based on These Prices

Sometimes, as summer approaches, eBay slows down. Not so far this summer. We’ve seen a lot of rare jazz records setting new highs for prices over the past few weeks, as we’ve been upgrading the Jazz Collector Price Guide. If you look at the prices of some of these records, you’ll get an idea:

Kenny Drew, The Kenny Drew Trio, Riverside 224. This was an original white label pressing. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was listed as VG++. The price was $898.88.

Kenny Dorham, Whistle Stop, Blue Note 4063. This was an original West 63rd Street mono pressing that was listed in M- condition, both record and cover, and it was posted by a reputable seller. It sold for $898.89.

Jackie McLean, 4, 5 & 6, Prestige 7048. This was an original Yellow label pressing with

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