Explorations in Jazz Vinyl

12 comments

I had some time a few evenings back to sit down and listen with The Lovely Mrs. JC. With my wife, I know I can’t go wrong with Bill Evans and I put one of my favorites, Explorations, on the turntable. The music was great of course, but there were some ticks and some static in my copy that were just a bit annoying. To me. The Lovely Mrs. JC didn’t care, or didn’t notice. Anyway, my immediate thought was this: I have to get a better copy. But you look on eBay and you’re easily talking $500 or more for a clean copy. I can afford it, but I still have some very old and some would say very dated notions about how much I am willing to pay for a record. Read more

Jazz Vinyl, Sun Ra and a Sax Played by Trane; Welcome Back

4 comments

Lots to catch up on. Let’s start with a few things that are for sale on eBay now and segue into news and comments from readers and see where that takes us. Here’s one that’s closing later today: J. R. Monterose, Blue Note 1536. This looks to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The seller has a complicated grading process, but he does mention a slight warp on the record, so I’m thinking VG+ if I were to bid, which I won’t, and maybe VG++ for the cover. The bidding is in the $550 range and I don’t think anyone would be surprised to see this end up in the $1,000 bin. Read more

Heavy Hitter$

17 comments

I went a few weeks back to clean out my eBay watch list and found a few items to share before moving forward. Here are some high-end items from the seller 1molecularrman, starting with Webster Young, For Lady, Prestige 7106. This was an original New York yellow label listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $2,175. I didn’t recall ever seeing a higher price for this record, but I don’t watch eBay every day the way I used to. Checking with Popsike . . . .  yes, this is the highest price ever recorded for For Lady. Read more

Rare Jazz Vinyl, Sonny Rollins, MOMA, Me & Bob Porter

9 comments

I just logged in to my eBay watch list and the first three items were recent sales from the seller 1molecularrman. Prices seemed really high to me, so perhaps he has a great reputation, or a magic touch, or maybe he is just bobdjukic incognito. Anyway, these were the records: Thelonious Monk/Sonny Rollins, Prestige 7075. This was an original New York yellow label. The record was listed in VG++ condition and the cover was VG+. The final price was $1,375. Based on a quick look over at Popsike, that is the highest price ever recorded for this record. And, to note, neither the record nor the cover was in near mint condition. Read more

Happy Birthday, Sonny Rollins

23 comments

Yesterday was Sonny Rollins’ birthday. 92.

The first time I saw Sonny play was in 1972. He was coming off one of his intermittent hiatuses. He was doing a week at the Village Vanguard. The first night, Tuesday, it was pouring rain. Dan and I waited on 7th Avenue. We had no idea what Sonny would sound like on his return. One of us said that we hoped he was playing more straight-ahead, not too outside like Pharoah Sanders or Arche Shepp. The guy in front of us turned around and gave us a look, half smile, half sneer. It was, of course, Pharoah Sanders. He was just one of many famous musicians in the audience that night, all to witness the return of Sonny. It was triumphant, as you would have expected. Albert Dailey on piano, Larry Ridley on bass, Dave Lee on drums. Lots of straight-ahead music. St. Thomas, It’s Easy to Remember, A Nightingale Sale in Berkeley Square, some blues. Maybe Green Dolphin Street? I don’t remember everything, but I remember the energy in the Vanguard, and it was explosive. One standing ovation after another. My recollection is that Dan and I went back every night during that gig, and every night for the next gig that followed just a few weeks later. Read more

Starting Points for Rare Jazz Vinyl

8 comments

I haven’t been watching eBay as diligently during the summer as I normally do, and I haven’t actually sold anything on eBay in more than a dozen years, so this observation may be dated, but . . . . is it just me, or are sellers consistently putting a higher start price on their auctions of rare jazz vinyl? I was just updating my watch list and flagged several titles that had high starting prices and no bidders. At first I assumed it was all from a single seller. But when I opened up the listings, they were all from different sellers. Here are some of those records, starting with Mal Waldron, Left Alone, Bethlehem 6045. This was an original red label pressing. If you can read through the seller’s tome and ‘tude, eventually you can find the condition of the record, which was listed as NM-. The cover was described as “pretty nice-very nice” and the picture shows a pretty clean front cover, with wear on the top and some old tape on the back. To me, pretty nice-very nice translates to VG+. The bidding start at $800 and so far there are no takers. Read more

Not Selling on eBay

2 comments

Took a lovely holiday with The Lovely Mrs. JC and was off eBay for quite a bit. Now I am back and looking over my eBay watch list, and I am somewhat surprised to see that a lot of the items I had put on the list did not sell. A few examples: Jackie McLean, Makin’ the Changes, New Jazz 8231. This was an original purple label pressing in VG+ condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The start price was $500, when I looked at it. It is back again on eBay now for $400 and there are still no takers, yet. This was from the seller 1molecularman, who has had quite a lot of success with his recent auctions, so I expected it to sell. Another from the same seller: Read more

Heavy Hitters, Hefty Prices

11 comments

All of the jazz vinyl auctions I was watching in my queue are now over, so let’s start catching up with those, starting with Roland Kirk, Triple Threat, King 539. Although I’m a big Kirk fan, this is a record that has eluded me over the years. This was an original pressing listed in VG condition with “light noise hiss, crackle & an occasional pop.” Cover was listed as VG, with shelf wear and a partial seam split. This was from the seller 1molecularrman, who’s been on quite a run for the past few months. The run continues. This one sold for $1,300 on the noise. Read more

Red, White and Blue Note

13 comments

I appreciate all of the advice on what to do with my collection, how much it’s worth, who will buy it, etcetera, etcetera. One of these days, something will happen, but I don’t know when and I can’t imagine I’ll go the Lennib route, at least for as long as I can put Coltrane on the turntable and know that it’s Coltrane that I’ve put on the turntable. In any case, I am watching jazz vinyl with renewed interest and ready to do my normal work here of writing about what I’m watching and, on occasion, writing about what I’m listening to and, on rarer and rarer occasions, what I’m buying. So, let’s start with Red Rodney, Signal 1206. This looks to be an original pressing, listed in VG+ condition for the record and VG- for the cover. Quite a rhythm section on this record with Tommy Flanagan, Oscar Pettiford and Philly Joe Jones. Question: Can anyone think of another record with that rhythm section. Off the top of my head, I can’t. So we have the record VG+ and the cover VG- and a final price of $1,324. Hmm. Read more

Updates

13 comments

The seller of the U.K. Esquires we were watching did all right. I guess the buyers did too. Miles Davis, Miles His New Quintet, Esquire 32-201. This was in M- condition for the record and Ex for the cover. When we wrote about it, the bidding was in the $55 range.  It sold for $533.99. I find myself siding with Maarten on this one. I like the cover design. It is an artwork, at least to my eyes. In fact, I tend to like the cover designs on most of the Esquire Prestige releases. Case in point: Elmo Hope, Informal Jazz, Esquire 32-039. This one was listed in Ex+ condition for the record and cover. It was also in the $55 range when we posted. It sold for $338. Even this cover has a simplicity that is appealing, although they probably could’ve put a little more effort and oomph into it, Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Esquire, 32-045, particularly considering that they had two years to work on it after the U.S. release.   This was listed in Ex+ condition for the record and Ex for the cover, with a partial seam split on the top. It sold for $356.12. Read more

1 … 14 15 16 17 18 … 214