Tracking Some Original (And Not) Jazz Vinyl

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

Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This was an original pressing with the purple label and deep grooves. The record was listed in M- condition, unplayed, while the cover was VG+. The price was $1,691.78, relatively low for this record considering the condition of the vinyl.

Jackie McLean, Jackie’s Bag, Blue Note 4051. This one was listed as an original because it had the ear and Van Gelder stamp and West 63rd address. However, there were no deep grooves. Original? I think not. So what is it worth in VG++ condition where it’s a sort-of-but-not-quite-original? This one sold for $231.38.

Dexter Gordon, Dexter Blows Hot and Cool, Dootone AUL 207. This is another one that looks sort of close to original but may not be. From the picture it does not look like colored vinyl to me, which would add value to this record, right? This one was in VG++ condition for the record and cover and sold for $455. With colored vinyl it sells for over $1,000 and sometimes more than $2,000.

Jazz Vinyl Today: Signal, Norgran, New Jazz

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Here’s some jazz vinyl we’re watching on eBay that is not Blue Note, starting with: Duke Jordan, Jazz Laboratory Series, Signal 101. This is an original pressing that looks to be in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. You don’t see these too often. This one is priced at about $130 with a couple of days to go.

Here are a couple of nice Norgrans: Lester Young, Lester’s Here, Norgran 1071. This is an original yellow label pressing and it is listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The current price is about $180. Then there’s this gorgeous one with the David Stone Martin cover: Lester Young, Norgran 1022. This one is also an original yellow label pressing and is in VG++ condition for the vinyl and VG+ for the cover. The price is about $160. I do have one small nit-pick for the seller, who I believe is Looney Tunes up in Boston, where I have spent many an idle afternoon and many a dollar. I wish they would use the whole picture of the cover, back and front, on their listings. I get the sense the use a scanner, which doesn’t show the whole image. I’d prefer seeing the whole thing as a potential bidder and also, as Jazz Collector, I’d like

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Blue Note Gapping With (And Without) Thad Jones

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So here’s the problem with organizing all of my original Blue Notes in catalogue order. I have the first 12, even the Jimmy Smith,  either original or in one case a West 63rd. So now there’s this gap at 1513. And here, on eBay, is this: That Jones, Detroit-New York Junction, Blue Note 1513. And look at the condition on this one: Beautiful, near mint, with a cover that looks the same. The start price is $700 and it will probably sell for quite a bit more than that. So when I look at my collection, I don’t see the first 12 pressings, all I see is the missing gap, the 1513 hole, and the temptation to throw a bid out on this one is quite appealing. But I won’t. Patience will out. From the same seller, another gap for me: The Magnificent Thad Jones Volume 3, Blue Note 1546. This one is also an original, but the condition is not quite so nice, in the area of VG and VG-. Still, the start price is $250. If I were to fill the gap, and pay close to dollar, I’d want one in better condition.

Some Jazz Vinyl For the $1,000 Bin

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Yesterday we talked about some lower priced collectibles: Today, let’s go in the opposite direction.

Donald Byrd, Byrd Jazz, Transition 5. This was an original pressing that looked to be in M- condition, although the seller described it as being in very good condition. He seemed unfamiliar with the grading system most of us use. The record sold for $2,370.67, so others expected that it is in M- condition as well.

Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This was an original pressing in M- condition for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $1,915.

Sonny Clark, Sonny’s Crib, Blue Note 1576. This was an original pressing in VG+ condition for the record and VG++ condition for the cover. It sold for $1,650.

Sonny Rollins Plays, Period 1204. This one was in M- condition for the record and VG for the cover. It sold for $1,191.88. I think this is the only Rollins record from the 50s I don’t own in an original pressing. Hopefully one day we can correct that oversight. But not for $1,200.

Guys and Dolls and Jazz Vinyl

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Sorry I haven’t posted for a few days, but, judging by the comments, you guys seemed to do pretty well without me. In any case, I return with some items I’ve been watching on eBay, starting with some jazz vinyl that seems to indicate the clear split in the market between the super-collectibles, i.e., original Blue Notes et al, and the many other records that were collectible at one time but seem to have lost some of  their market/cachet. Starting with Eddie Costa, Guys and Dolls Like Vibes, Coral 57230. This was an original pressing, in VG++ condition for the record and probably about VG+ for the cover. We’ve covered this in the past for the Jazz Collector Price Guide and it has sold for as much as $136. The seller did not do himself any favors by failing to mention in his listing that the pianist on this date was Bill Evans. It’s also a terrific record. There was one bidder who got this record for $30. From the same seller was Johnny Hodges and Duke Ellington, Back to Back, Verve 8317. This was an original pressing with the trumpeter label in M- condition for the vinyl and probably the same for the cover. Again, there was one bidder and a price of $30. Is there so little interest in Hodges and Ellington these days? One more, also Guys and Dolls by the Manhattan Jazz All-Stars, Columbia 8223. This was an original stereo pressing inVG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It is also a nice album, was somewhat collectible at one time, and features Zoot Sims, Phil Woods, Dave McKenna and others. This one didn’t get a single bid at $20.

 

Blue Noting on eBay

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I tentatively put all my original Blue Note together on two shelves, in catalogue order, and I must say it is a nice way to organize them. It does make me notice some of the holes in the collection, but it also makes me appreciate how many I have. Here are a few I’ve been watching on eBay that could fill holes in my collection, but the prices . . .

Duke Jordan, Flight to Jordan, Blue Note 4046. This was an original pressing in VG++ condition for the record and M- for the cover. It sold for $755. I do own this record, a Japanese pressing, which is not on the shelf with the originals.

This one I have, but could use a condition upgrade, one of my favorites: Jackie McLean, Swing, Swang, Swingin’, Blue Note 4024. This one was in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover and sold for $833. It’s interesting how the market has changed since I started doing Jazz Collector nearly 10 years ago and began recording prices. When I started, this record routinely sold in the $300 to $400 range in this condition. Now, it rarely goes for less than $600 in this condition and has already passed $1,000 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. That seems fairly typical of the collectible Blue Notes — prices doubling over the past few years.

The Van Gelder Stamp

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Interesting article in The Wall Street Journal on Rudy Van Gelder, New Jersey Jazz Revolution. Here’s an interesting quote about Alfred Lion that kind of summarizes why Blue Note tends to be the more collectible label versus Prestige:  “Alfred was rigid about how he wanted Blue Note records to sound. But Bob Weinstock of Prestige was more easygoing, so I’d experiment on his dates and use what I learned on the Blue Note sessions.”

A Tale of Two Sonny’s

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Here’s another conundrum for you (and for me). I recently acquired a copy of the Sonny Rollins Volume 1 record on Blue Note, Blue Note 1542. The copy I just picked up is an early pressing, not a first pressing: It has the 47 West 63rd address, deep grooves, heavy vinyl, etc. It is in M- condition, with a cover that is VG++. The copy that I already own is a Lexington Avenue pressing, clearly an original. It is in VG condition. I have it on the turntable now. It is definitely a listenable copy, although there is clear surface noise. The other West 63rd copy plays cleanly with no surface noise. So, what do I do? Do I keep the original, even though the sound is not as good? Do I keep the later pressing, even though it is not an original? Do I dare to keep both and, if so, why would I do that when I can sell either one on eBay and use that money to purchase a Blue Note I don’t already own?  I tell you, it’s hard giving up that 767 Lexington Avenue script in the label, even thought the condition is not so great.  Especially knowing this LP is the next to last in the series with that address on the label.

Some Stereo Jazz Vinyl, Some Big Prices

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Yes, as Mike F notes on another post, did you see the price of that Bill Evans Explorations record we were watching from the Jazz Record Center? It was a stereo pressing, black label original. It sold for $896. Great record, but that’s a pretty incredible price. It shows that the market for some of these collectibles is just so elastic. If someone wants the record, and he wants it in mint condition, the price is not necessarily an issue. I looked at all of the other results from this Jazz Record Center auction and none seemed quite so out of the ordinary as this one, although there were also some top prices paid for some nice records, including: Bobby Hutcherson, Dialogue, Blue Note 4198. This was an original mono pressing in M- condition. It sold for $491. Also, Jackie McLean, One Step Beyond, Blue Note 84137. This was an original STEREO version in M- condition. It sold for $237.50. That’s pretty high for a stere pressing, even an original, isn’t it? One more: Blue Mitchell, The Thing To Do, Blue Note 84178. This was also a stereo pressing, an original, and it was also in very nice M- condition. The price was $233.50. I guess the market for original Blue Note stereo pressings is now getting more interesting as well.

Updating the $1,000 Jazz Vinyl Bin

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Here are some nice additions to the $1,000 bind of the Jazz Collector Price Guide:

This is part of that nice batch of British Tempo LPs: Jimmy Deuchar, Pal Jimmy, Tempo TAP 20. This one was in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,802.77. Frankly, I’ve never heard of Jimmy Deuchar, but I imagine it is the presence of Tubby Hayes that defines the real value of this record. There’s a nice picture on the cover with Tubby looking . . . well . . . just a little bit tubby.

Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550. This was an almost original — NY  23 just on side 2? — and was in M- condition, part of the beautiful batch of records recently sold by Jazz 5060/Music Matters. It sold for $1,691.55.

Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else, Blue Note 1595. This looked to be an original pressing in M- condition for the record and probably VG++ condition for the cover. It sold for $1,136.11.

 

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