How To Organize Your Jazz Vinyl . . . Who Knows!!??!!?

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I’m thinking of reorganizing my records (again). I’d love to have all my Blue Notes in one place and all my Prestiges. Not necessarily in number order — then I’d feel compelled to fill in every number — but at least by artist, by label. It works for Blue Note, Prestige, Riverside, Verve, but what about the off labels — the RCAs and Columbias and Atlantics, and the smaller ones like Bethlehem and Transition. Do you want them all categorized by label in your collection? And can you ever find anything? It’s an endless conundrum, right? Once I had them organized by label and I didn’t like it. Now I have them alphabetically, but not all in the same place. It’s complicated, but I segregate original pressings from before 1970 from any non-original pressings and all pressings after 1970. It may be wacky, but that part works for me. Anyway, I’m thinking about this because I have a few new Blue Notes to incorporate into my collection and because when I watch on eBay my eyes often go straight to the Blue Notes, and I would like to capture that same feeling in my collection. For instance, here are some of the records I’m watching now:

Jackie McLean, Swing, Swang, Swingin’, Blue Note 4024. This is an original pressing that looks to be in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. Great record, right? This one is more than $500 already with a few days to go.

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Mono, Stereo, Blue Note, Riverside

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The Jazz Record Center has an auction closing this week. Not the normal list of heavyweights, but some nice records, including: Bill Evans, Explorations, Riverside 9531. This is the original stereo pressing with the black label. The record looks to be in M- condition and the cover is probably M- as well. The current price is about $110 and there are two days to go. Maybe this is a week of stereo pressings, because there is also this: Blue Mitchell, The Thing To Do, Blue Note 84178. This is an original stereo pressing and it looks to be in M- condition for the record and the cover. The start price is $100 and so far there are no takers. With the Blue Notes, there’s something about the monos that make them feel “more original.” I find with the later Riversides, such as the Evans LP, I don’t have the same preference for the mono pressing.

This one got a pretty high top bid, but did not sell because it didn’t meet the seller’s reserve price:

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Tracking Some $1,000 — And $5,000 — Jazz Vinyl

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My goodness, look what this sold for: Jutta Hipp with Zoot Sims, Blue Note 1530. This was an original pressing that looked to be in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The price was $5,117. That’s one of the highest prices we’ve ever seen for any record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide and about $1,500 more than we’ve previously seen for this record. The seller has commented elsewhere on Jazz Collector as to the legitimacy of the auction, which I don’t doubt at all, since we’ve always seen that bidding wars can drive up prices and we’ve also seen prices going higher and higher for the rarest of the collectibles, of which this qualifies. If I had an original copy, maybe I’d even sell it myself. Really? Nah, I’d keep it for sure.

When I talk about prices going up for the rarest of the collectibles, this is another example: Cliff Jordan, Blue Note 1565. This is an original pressing in VG++ condition for the vinyl and VG+ for the cover, and you can see on the picture that the cover is not completely clean, but certainly looks at least VG+. This record has become a perennial in the $1,000 bin and has sold for as much as $2,400 in M- condition. This copy sold for $1,735.

Jazz Vinyl Today: Keeping Up With The Tempos

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It’s always fun discovering records I’ve never seen before, even discovering them on eBay: Case in point: Victor Feldman and Tubby Hayes, Transatlantic Alliance, Tempo TAP 19. This I assume is a British pressing. The record is listed in VG or VG+ condition and the cover is VG+. The price is already more than $500 with a day to go, so I imagine this is quite a rare record. Along the same lines, from the same seller, another one that’s new to me: Victor Feldman and Tubby Hayes, Swingin’ the Blues, Tempo TAP 21. This one seems to be in similar condition — VG or VG+ for the record and VG+ for the cover. The price on this one is also around $500.

Didn’t realize this one was a $100-plus record: Curtis Fuller, Soul Trombone, Impulse 13. This is an original pressing with the orange label and RVG in the deadwax. It is listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover and the current price is a bit more than $100, closing fairly soon.

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10-Inch, 12-Inch: Does Size Really Matter

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Here’s some of the jazz vinyl we’re watching heading into the weekend:

The Tal Farlow Album, Norgran 1047. This is an original pressing with the yellow label, deep grooves and beautiful David Stone Martin cover. Or is it? My friend Dan, who was Tal’s great friend and protege, has always been a devotee of the 10-inch version of this record based on the crispness of the sound and the fact that it was the original original pressing. I once did a comparison, played the 12-incher and the 10-incher back to back, and it was true: You could hear a difference in the sound. I’m not sure why: Perhaps it was psychological, Dan had planted it in my head and I always trust him when it comes to music.  The 10-incher, Norgran 19, has eight tracks. This one has additional tracks that come from . . . . where? Dan, if you’re out there, please fill in the blanks. Based on the description, this looks to be in VG+ or maybe VG++ condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The current price is around $80.

Jutta Hipp with Zoot Sims, Blue Note 1530. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing and it looks to be in very nice condition, M- for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. The bidding is already quite high for this, in the $1,500 range with more than two days to go.

Watching Jazz Vinyl Prices on The Rise

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Been away from eBay for a few days. Here’s some of the jazz vinyl we missed:

Hmm, this one doesn’t normally get the Jazz Collector  prices, particularly the stereo version: Jimmy Heath, The Thumper, Riverside 1160. This was the original black label stereo version. The record was in M- condition and the cover was probably VG++. It sold for $163.50 but there were only two bidders, which raises a bit of an alert with me. This one was from the same seller: Cannonball Adderley Quintet at the Lighthouse, Riverside 344. This was an original deep groove mono pressing. The record and cover were in M- condition and, again, there were two bidders. The top bid was $88.

There were still a few more we were watching from the jazz5060/Music Matters auction, including a few that went for quite high prices, compared to what they normally fetch. For example:

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Jazz For A Snowy Saturday

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Up here in The Berkshires, where it’s snowing and quite lovely. Anyway  . . .  The folks at jazz5060/Music Matters have been posting quite the jazz vinyl collection on eBay in recent weeks. They have a bunch of nice items up there now, and a bunch more that already sold for very nice prices this week, including: Lou Donaldson, Lou Takes Off, Blue Note 1591. This was an original pressing in M- condition for the record and the cover.  This one sold for $909.99. I finally, finally, got an original copy of this record for my own collection in that collection I purchased from Canada a few weeks ago. These guys at jazz5060/Music Matters seem to be doing quite well with their prices. Perhaps I need to charge them more (charge them something, actually) for the ad that keeps running here on Jazz Collector.

Sometimes you see these Prestiges go for top dollar, sometimes they go relatively cheaply. This one was top dollar: Gene Ammons All Stars, Prestige 7060. This one was in M- condition for the record and cover and sold for $707.

Today’s Jazz Vinyl: Burrell, Warhol, A Sealed Book

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Let’s up date some of the Jazz Vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay this week, starting with: Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1543. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing — the last of the Lexingtons — and it has the Andy Warhol cover. Quite a find. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover, the original framed cover, was also in M- condition. It sold for $2,025 and I’m sure will be a welcome addition to the buyer’s collection.

One of our regular readers pointed this one out to me, thinking the price was inordinately highly, but I’m not sure I agree. For original Blue Notes in M- condition, there seems to be no limit these days: Horace Parlan, Up and Down, Blue Note 4082. This one sold for $665.55.

This one was still sealed, but was it the original seal? If so, how would you be able to tell?

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A Couple for The $1,000 Bin, And one for the $66 Bin

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There were a bunch of interesting jazz vinyl auctions that closed last night, to wit: Red Rodney, Signal S 1206. This looked like an original pressing in perhaps VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover? The seller uses a wide variety of grades that don’t necessarily correspond to the grading language we typically use, so it’s up for interpretation. Hopefully the buyer will be pleased. This one sold for a whopping $1,825.55.

Her’s one for the $2,000 bin: Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This was an original pressing that looked to be in M- or VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $2,111. There was another copy of this record that we mentioned the other day, Blue Note 1590, that was in just VG- condition for the record and cover. We wondered about the eventual price for a record that may not be all that playable. The price was $237.65

How the market has changed through the years: Johnny Hodges, Castle Rock, Norgran 1048. This was an original yellow label pressing. It was in VG+ condition for both the record and the vinyl. It sold for $66. When I started collecting jazz, there seemed to be much more interest from collectors in the original Norgrans. A different era, I guess — but also an opportunity to pick up some of these very nice records at reasonable prices.

An Afternoon Soul Stirrin’ in Paris

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Let’s catch up on some interesting jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay.

For as long as I’ve been collecting, it’s nice to know that there’s always something new to learn. Here’s a record I’ve like for a long time: John Lewis and Sacha Distel, Afternoon in Paris. I’ve only owned this as an Atlantic recording, black label, of course, and I frankly had no idea that it was originally issued in France under the Versailles label, Versailles, MDX 12 005. I just checked out the liner notes on my Atlantic pressing and it makes no mention of Versailles. It does mention that Barney Wilen was only 19 years old at the time of the recording, which is pretty incredible considering how well he plays on this record and how mature he sounds. Anyway, this copy was in VG++ condition for the record and M- for the cover, which was the soft cover that seemed to be typical of the European pressings in those days. This copy sold for $630. The highest price we’ve recorded for the Atlantic pressing in the Jazz Collector Price Guide has been $121.

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