A Tale of Two Covers

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I’ve never been one to collect European pressings of original American LPs but I have to admit my heart fluttered a bit when I was browsing eBay this morning and came upon this: Sonny Rollins, Worktime, Esquire 32-308. Now this is an awesome cover. The drawing is reminiscent of David Stone Martin. I, frankly, hadn’t seen this cover before so I’m hoping someone out there has more knowledge about it and can share it. I just think it’s a terrific cover all the way around, and clearly some bidders on eBay agree with me: The record and cover are in about VG condition and the price is already more than $300 with 10 bids. It will be interesting to see what this goes for, and to learn more about it as well. I did a quick Google search and didn’t find anything, but I’ll take a longer look later if no one in the audience has the info.

Another record with a very interesting cover closing today is:

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Price Guide Update: Some More Blue Notes

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Here are some of the items we’ll be entering into the Jazz Collector Price Guide:

Ike Quebec, It Might As Well Be Spring, Blue Note 4105. This was an original New York USA mono pressing. The record looked to be in VG++ condition and the cover was VG+. The price was $387, which sets a new high not only for this LP but for any of the Ike Quebec Blue Notes. It’s a bit of a surprise to us, frankly, but a clear indication of the power of the Blue Note market.

Although . . . you look at this record and are a bit surprised it sold for so much less than the Quebec record: Jackie McLean, New Soil, Blue Note 4013. This was an original West 63rd mono pressing and it was listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $192.28. I have a weird explanation for this as a longtime observer of eBay auctions: On the Jackie record, instead of listing the record as VG+, the seller listed it as VG plus. I’m not sure some people may have just looked at it as VG. Normally, you’d expect this record to sell for at least $300 or so, even in VG+ condition. Sometimes little subtleties in the listings can make a difference.

Here’s another Blue Note:

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New JRC Auction: Nice 10-Inch Blue Notes

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Jazz Record Center sent us an email with a new auction on eBay. It’s always interesting to watch their auctions, since they tend to get top dollar because of their strong and well-deserved reputation. One thing I’m noticing with this auction is that some of the starting prices seem a bit lower than usual. Here’s an example: Gigi Gryce and Clifford Brown Sextet, Blue Note 5048. This is an original 10-inch pressing that looks to be in either near mint or VG++ condition. The start price is $100. My sense is, a couple of years ago, JRC would have started this more in the range of $250. I personally think a relatively lower start price is a better way to go for most records, since it gets more bidders involved in the process. In the end, I’ll bet this record sells for at least $300-$400, if not higher. There are some other nice records on this list as well, including Clifford Brown Quartet, Blue Note 5047. I’ve rarely seen that one either on eBay or live and up close. The price on that is also at $100 and we’ll expect it to fetch quite a bit more.

Updates: Overseas, Hipp & Zoot, Shades of Redd

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The seller bluenipper had some nice items close yesterday, including:

Tommy Flanagan Overseas, Prestige 7134. This was an original New York pressing. The record was VG++ (or better) and the cover was M-. The price was $2,126.33. Our top for this in the Jazz Collector Price Guide is around $2,400, so this is certainly within the range.

Jutta Hipp With Zoot Sims, Blue Note 1530. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record was listed as VG++ and the cover as somewhere between VG+ and VG++. The price was $1311. The most recent copy we’ve seen of this in near mint condition sold for $3,343, but that was from Nautiluso, the Jazz Vinyl Fraud perpetrator, so we’re not sure how to count that. It’s legitimate in that the bidding got it to that price, but were there tricks that spiked

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Jazz Vinyl Countdown: For Love or Money

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I’m still doing my Jazz Vinyl Countdown: Selling more records, writing about them a bit less. However, I did make a couple of interesting decisions in the past couple of weeks I’d like to share. In the course of doing the Jazz Collector Price Guide I logged a copy of this record: Zoot Sims and Joe Newman, Lockin’ Horns, Rama 1003. It sold for $260 in near mint condition and had sold for more than $400 in the past. I happened to know I had a nice copy of this record, a promo, and I happened to know that I had not listened to it in 25 years, since I bought it. So the question was: Keep it or sell if for the bread. I listened to the record and it’s actually very nice. But, I thought to myself, would I ever listen to it again: Not likely. I have a lot of Zoot records that I prefer, so this one probably wouldn’t make it off the shelves. So I put it up on eBay with a start price of around $50, no reserve, and it sold for about $215. That was fine by me. The second recent incident involved a rare Blue Note and a higher price tag:

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Jazz Vinyl Giveaway: Milestones by Miles Davis

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Time for another Jazz Collector giveaway. Let’s go with another classic this time: Miles Davis, Milestones, Columbia 9428. This is a stereo pressing, a later pressing, not an original. It is, however, in near mint condition. I have it on the turntable now and I’d guess this is the first time it’s been played. Considering that it is marked as “electronically re-channeled for stereo” it sounds quite good actually. I’m listening now to Cannonball Adderley’s solo on the track “Miles,” which most of us think of as “Milestones.” Anyway, this is a great record, recorded a little before Kind of Blue, with much of the same band, although no Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly or Jimmy Cobb. This one features Miles and Adderley and John Coltrane, with Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. The tracks are Dr. Jekyll, Sid’s Ahead, Two Bass Hit, Miles, Billy Boy and Straight, No Chaser. We have one copy of this LP to give away Read more

Jazz Vinyl Fraud: No News, More Comments

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Here’s an update on some of the stuff going on in the Jazz Collector world.

Nothing new from eBay on the Nautiluso Jazz Vinyl Fraud. I had sent a follow-up note asking specifically what eBay was doing about paying off victims of the scam and I haven’t gotten a response. I’ll follow up sometime today or tomorrow. I’m sure they’re sick of hearing from me. Also, there’s no new feedback on the profile page for Nautiluso. Frankly, I’m surprised eBay still has the page up and available.

Some of the Jazz Collector readers have commented offline about the fraud, presumably because they wanted to be anonymous on the site. I will share excerpts here:

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On eBay Now: Jackie, Mobley & a Sealed Dolphy

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Some interesting items on eBay this weekend. Let’s take a look:

Here’s a beauty: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This one looks to be in beautiful condition and is a promo copy. How many promo copies do you think there are of this record? I do have to say, for a very rare record, it comes up fairly often on eBay. I guess that’s just a function of eBay. I’ve been going to record stores all over the world for 40 years and never saw this in a store, although I did own the record at one time and sold it. On eBay, it seems there is a copy at least once a week, sometimes more. Of course, some of these may not be real — Nautiluso anyone? — and some may not be in very nice condition. This one is and the current price is $1,500 and it still has not reached the seller’s reserve.

Here’s a rare Blue Note that may be difficult to judge, based on the seller’s description:

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Opening Up The $3,000 and $2,000 Bins

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It looks as if the fallout from the Jazz Vinyl Fraud of 2009 hasn’t had much of an impact on the prices of high-end vinyl in the past few weeks. Here are a few records that will be entering the $1,000-plus bin in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. If things continue like this, we’ll have to create a $3,000 bin as well as a $2,000 bin. Take a look at these:

Dexter Gordon, Dexter Blows Hot and Cool, Dootone 207. This was an original pressing with the red vinyl. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was VG++. The price was $3,371. This sets a new high price for this record, as far as what we have recorded in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. Our previous high was $3,059.

This was one of the items on eBay this week from the seller Blue Nipper, who received a lot of unsolicited praise from members of the Jazz Collector community who commented on the site: Tina Brooks, True Blue, Blue Note 4041. This was

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