Adventures in Jazz Collecting: The Auction, Part 5

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All right, let’s do some more of this Jazz Auction stuff. So, by this point in the auction I have purchased eight lots and I am clearly on a roll and forgetting about the 17 percent surcharge and figuring, “What the heck, I’m already paying for shipping, let’s buy some more records.” And so I did.

Gerry Mulligan, Seven LPs. Price: $46.80. Why? There is no good answer to this question. I certainly have all of these LPs, and probably don’t even want to keep all of these LPs, and there is probably not that much of a market for these LPs on eBay. The best of the records, from a collectible standpoint, is The Gerry Mulligan Songbook on World Pacific. There’s also a nice Mulligan on Emarcy with Zoot Sims. There’s a copy of Mulligan and Stan Getz on Verve, but it’s an MGM pressing. Really, there was no rhyme or reason to bidding on these — and actually winning — other than the adrenaline rush of buying more records.

Sonny Rollins, Three RCA Victor LPs and Lester Young For LPs. Price: $93.60. This fits into

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Adventures in Jazz Collecting, The Auction Part 4

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OK. The auction records are here, in a newly created bin on the floor of my music room/office. It’s fun looking through the records, of course, encountering pleasant surprises, but what I am most looking forward to is listening to them. That’s the best thing about getting new records, or even getting new copies of old records: Exploring and discovering (or rediscovering) the music. As I type this I’m listening to Wes Montgomery Full House and it’s probably the first time I’ve listened to this LP in 10 years or more. With 10,000 records a lot of great LPs wind up sitting on the shelf. I remember the first time I heard this record. I was in a car with my friend Dan and we had the radio on and we heard a Wes solo and we knew immediately it was Wes and then the tenor player starting playing and we were both blown away because he was really cooking and we couldn’t figure out who it was. It was, of course, Johnny Griffin. And now I am listening to this beautiful near mint copy of this record again and, ah, what a nice way to start a gorgeous Sunday morning. Anyway, back to the auction items:

The next one I purchased was listed as: Stan Getz, Three Verve LPS with Trumpeter labels. Price $40.95. These turned out to be For Musicians Only with Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Stitt;

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Adventures in Jazz Collecting: The Auction, Part 3

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Guess what came in the mail yesterday? Remember that Jazz Auction in which I participated a few weeks ago. Well the records are here and now I can tell you how I did. Remember, I bid blind on these records, based on the written descriptions, and I gambled on quite a few of the packages. I was competing with a bunch of sellers/dealers who were at the scene and had the opportunity to physically view the records. Also, I paid an extra 17 percent above what I bid because that was the fee taken by the auction house. In any case, here are the results, part one of three: Live vicariously through me if you please. The prices listed below include the 17 percent extra fee, so they are the amount I actually paid for each package. Also, the listings as I describe them below are similar to the way they were listed in the auction itself.

Wes Montgomery, Full House. Price: $70.20. This is an original blue-label Riverside

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On eBay: Johnny Griffin, Art Farmer, Hank Mobley

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Ever think about how many jazz records are on eBay at any one time? When I was perusing the list this morning I checked it out: Today there are more than 142,000 jazz records on eBay, just 33 RPM. Of that, there are about 8,000 up for auction. Here are a few of them:

Here’s a record I didn’t know about: Johnny Griffin, Night Lady, Philips 48071. I should be more specific: I was aware of this record as a U.S. Emarcy pressing but, until seeing this listing, I didn’t realize it was originally issued in The Netherlands. This one looks to be in very nice condition and is at about $340 with several hours left to go.

This one will be getting a nice price: Art Farmer, Farmer’s Market, New Jazz 8203. This is an original pressing with the purple label. It looks to be in near mint condition and is already at more than $300 with a few more hours to go.

Here’s one that’s been bid up past $500 but still has not yet reached the seller’s reserve price:

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Shades of a Dilemma

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Here is one of the dilemmas in doing Jazz Collector and being a jazz collector at the same time. In the course of perusing eBay for the site, I sometimes run into records that I may want myself. Do I write about them or do I watch them in silence, place my bid and pray like everyone else? Here’s a case in point: Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. This seems to be an original pressing and it looks to be in very nice condition, at least VG++ and perhaps even better. The current price is just $70. The only copy I own of this record is a Japanese pressing. Actually, I own two Japanese pressings because it is one of my favorite records. I also own the Mosaic CD, but that is beside the point. The point is I would like to own an original pressing. I mean, that is why we’re here, isn’t it? Anyway, I’m sure this will

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The Rise of the Second Pressing, Redux

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We’d been talking a few weeks back about how second presses — and even third presses — are starting to get some traction as collectibles. Or, to put it more aptly, how later presses are starting to sell more often at collectible prices. Here’s one we happened to notice yesterday on eBay: Jackie McLean, 4, 5 & 6, New Jazz 8279. In the listing, the seller lists this as an “original” purple label pressing, which is somewhat accurate, I guess. It is an original version of this pressing, but the issue itself is a reissue of the original Prestige, so it is a bit of a stretch to call this an original pressing. Nonetheless, I’m not sure whether the description has that big an impact on the bidding because you would think the people bidding into three figures on these records would have some knowledge of what they are doing. Except, of course, those

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Some Top Prices: Getz, Jackie, et al

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Hmm, prices seem on the rise again. Here are some records we’ve been watching this week:

Sonny Clark, Dial S For Sonny, Blue Note 1570. This was the one listed as Sonny Clarke. The record and cover were in VG++ condition and it seemed to be an original pressing. The price was $1,413.

There was also this: Stan Getz Plays, Norgran  1042. This was in M- condition for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. The seller was Euclid Records. The price was $432. We thought this might be the highest price we’ve ever recorded in the Jazz Collector Price Guide for any Getz record, but, surprise, a copy of this same record in M- condition once sold for more than $700. Still, $432 is a pretty high price for this record. Do you think that our coverage here at Jazz Collector, and the clip we played, had anything to do with the bidding?

This is the highest price we’ve ever recorded for this LP: Jackie McLean, Jackie’s Bag, Blue Note 4051. This one was in M- condition and sold for $702.

This one would have made the $1,000 bin, but it didn’t meet the seller’s reserve price:

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A Few More For the $1,000 (and $2,000) Bin(s)

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This one has been breaking the $1,000 barrier pretty consistently: Louis Smith, Smithville, Blue Note 1594. This copy seemed to be in VG+ condition for the record and VG condition for the vinyl, based on the seller’s description. Still, it sold for $1,148.

Jazz Record Center had a few more in the $2,000 bin, including: Tommy Flanagan Overseas, Prestige 7134. This one was in beautiful M- condition and sold for $2,650.07. One of the nice things Fred often does in the listings is provide little details that help to expand our knowledge of the market. In this case the little tidbit is that there is no address on the cover because Prestige at the time was transitioning from New York to New Jersey.

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On eBay: Getz, Anita O’Day, Sonny Clark(e)

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Speak of the devil, here’s a copy of Stan Getz Plays, Norgran, 1042, on eBay now courtesy of our friends at Euclid Records. The record is listed in M- condition and the cover is VG++ and the words “beautiful” and “gorgeous” are thrown in as well. The price is around $140 and there are still more than two days to go.

Don’t usually expect to see this one at $100 or more, but this copy is there already: Anita O’Day Sings the Most, Verve 8259. This is an original pressing with the trumpeter logo and it is in M- condition.

If someone is doing a search of Sonny Clark, will this record come up:

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A Short Clip: Jimmy Raney With Stan Getz

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I was thinking about what Bethellodge stated on the earlier post about Jimmy Raney. I set up some new software yesterday making it easier to record from my turntable into the computer, so I’ve been playing with it and decided to try it out here and provide a service to the community as well. The idea was to post something from the Jimmy Raney Ensemble 10-inch LP, pictured here, and I was recording Stella By Starlight when I realized if Bethellodge and others were not aware of Raney, it would also mean that they were probably not aware of one of my very favorite records in the world, which is Stan Getz Plays, Norgran 1042. Raney is pretty much a supporting player on this LP — I think he has just one solo — but Getz is in absolutely top form on this LP and Getz in top form is as good as anyone who ever held a tenor sax. So, from Stan Getz Plays, here is The Way You Look Tonight, with some supporting guitar work by Jimmy Raney in the ensembles. Enjoy.

The Way You Look Tonight

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