Confessions of a Vinyl Addict, Redux

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Someone asked why I labeled the recent series “More” Confessions of a Vinyl Addict. Well, unfortunately, we’ve been down this road before. I did a search of the Jazz Collector site and unearthed this gem from April 5, 2004 labeled, of course, Confessions of A Vinyl Addict, Part 1. It’s amazing how little I’ve learned and how little has changed. But . . . at the time I had 12,000 records and now I have 10,000, so perhaps that’s progress. I also called eBay insidious, which is still true today, right? Anyway, it’s worth a read, I think. Just give it a click above.

Catching Up: Walter Davis on UA, Jackie, Sonny

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Here are a few items we’ve been watching on eBay. Given our recent interest in later pressings, particularly Blue Notes, we were curious about this record: Walter Davis, Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. An original pressing of this would normally sell for more than $1,000, and we’ve recorded one instance of this record fetching $2,000 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. This record was not of that distinctive lineage: This was a United Artists pressing, similar, unfortunately, to the one in my collection. It sold for $34, which seems about right, unless you’re the seller bobdjukik and can somehow sell it for $400 or more.

This was from the same seller, but it was an original: Jackie McLean, Swing, Swang, Swingin’, Blue Note 4024. This one was in VG+ condition for the vinyl and VG or VG+ for the cover. The price was $273.60.

Here’s one of my favorite Sonny Rollins records, at a reasonable price:

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More Confessions of a Vinyl Act, Part 3

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OK. The crisis has passed. As relapses go, it was relatively harmless. I did not log onto eBay and search for every missing Blue Note and bid like a madman. I did not head into Manhattan armed with enough cash and credit cards to buy out the Jazz Record Center. I didn’t really do anything except lose a night’s sleep and move a bunch of Jimmy Smith records from one shelf to another.

As I am left to ponder this latest chapter in my ongoing struggle with vinyl addiction, I believe what I had was not a relapse of vinyl addiction but something more akin to a full blown existential crisis. Why am I here, what am I doing, why do I have 10,000 records, why do I care if a single one of those records has a New York USA address on the label rather than a 767 Lexington Avenue address? You know, the usual kind of existential crisis.

The trigger was the cataloging of the Blue Notes and the process of

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Later Pressing Syndrome: One More Example

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To expand upon the point made earlier, we were just watching this record sell on eBay: Jackie McLean, Right Now!, Blue Note 84215. This was a stereo pressing with the Liberty label. The record was M- and the cover VG+. Normally we’d have expected this to sell for $20 or $25 at the most. This copy sold for $59.50. It does seem that some of the later pressings are becoming more valued and collectible. Or maybe, like so many other things in the Jazz Collector world, it is strictly a Blue Note phenomenon.

Are Later Pressings on The Rise?

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I’m still gathering my thoughts to write the final chapter in my Confessions of a Vinyl Addict but in the meantime, I’ve noticed something interesting: For many of the rare records, it seems even early pressings that are not originals are increasing dramatically in value. We saw a few week ago several of the United Artists Blue Notes selling for more than $400, but those were clearly an aberration created by a seller who seems to have discovered some kind of new method of record sales based on the P.T. Barnum theory of a sucker being born every minute. We’re not talking about those $400 United Artists Blue Notes. But here’s one we were watching this week that was clearly not an original pressing: Sonny Rollins, A Night At the Village Vanguard, Blue Note 1581. This one has the New York USA label, so Read more

More Confessions of A Vinyl Addict, Part 2

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ReissuesOK, so I got to the JJ Johnson record and realized it was a New York USA pressing, and then I got to Blue Note 1513, Thad Jones, Detroit-New York Junction, and realized it was a Japanese pressing, and then I got to Blue Note 1515, Jutta Hipp at the Hickory House Volume 1, and realized, hey, I don’t own that record at all.

I knew all of that. I knew I didn’t have a complete original collection of Blue Notes. I knew I wasn’t even close to having a complete collection of original Blue Notes. I knew I never aspired to having a complete collection of original Blue Notes. But I felt compelled to go on, to go through the entire 1500 series and know exactly what I had

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On eBay Now: Duke, Fuller, Newk

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In addition to having an occasional existential crisis, I have also been putting some interesting items on eBay that are worth watching. Here are a couple:

The Complete Capitol Recordings of Duke Ellington, Mosaic MD 5-160. I got this a dozen years ago and never even opened it, so I figured it might be time to sell it. The CDs are unopened and the price is close to $100. Also: The Complete Blue Note/UA Curtis Fuller Sessions, Mosaic MD3-166. Similar situation as the Duke, with the CDs unopened. This one is currently at $50, but I’m hoping it goes for a lot more.

I had this one hanging in a frame above my desk: Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This is an original New York pressing. It is

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More Confessions of a Vinyl Addict, Part 1

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Friends, my name is Al and I am a vinyl addict. It is necessary for me to confess once again because I have had yet another setback. Remember my mission to pare down my collection, which I have labeled The Great Jazz Vinyl Countdown? Well, as part of that endeavor I decided it would be wise to take inventory of my records so that I would know what I actually have, in intimate detail: Record, condition, provenance, value. I had never actually done this before, so yesterday I set up a spreadsheet and began the process. I started, naturally, with the Blue Notes, the 1500 series, Blue Note 1501, Miles Davis Volume 1. I pulled the record off the shelf, looked at the record, cleaned it, typed the information into the spreadsheet, put it back on the shelf and then pulled the second record, Blue Note 1502, Miles Davis Volume 2. Same deal: Looked at the record, cleaned it, wrote it down, then moved on to the next record.

What a mistake.

I was moving along fine through the first eight records in the

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On eBay Now: Watching Some Blue Notes

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Here are some interesting items on eBay now.

Here Comes Frank Foster, Blue Note 5043. This is an original 10-inch pressing from Euclid Records. The record is in M- condition and the cover is VG+. The price is around $235 with a few hours to go. This is another 10-inch LP from the same seller: Milt Jackson, Wizard of the Vibes, Blue Note 5011. This one is in M- condition for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. The current price is about $190.

Heres another seller with some interesting items, including: Paul Chambers, Bass on Top, Blue Note 1569. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing. Based on the description it looks like the record is VG++ and the cover is VG+. The current price is close to $500. This seller has a bunch of collectibles closing today, many of which don’t have bids yet. Probably worth taking a look

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