Search Results for: "the auction"

A Tale of Three Blue Notes

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BennieI find my eyes, ears and eBay searches attracted to Blue Notes today, so that is what I shall write about.

I’m tempted to bid on this one, but I can’t figure out the condition: Bennie Green, Walkin’ and Talkin’, Blue Note 4010. This looks to have the West 63rd Street address and the deep grooves. The seller makes no mention of the ear or RVG. He also says it is a flat-edge pressing, which it’s not. So right away the seller’s credibility and knowledge are suspect. Then there’s the listing itself, whereby in the headline and the description the record is listed as VG-. But elsewhere on the same listing it is listed as VG+ with the additional descriptor that it “plays great!” (his exclamation point, not mine). We are now about four hours from closing and there are still no bids at a start price of around $200. If I knew it was a nice VG+ record and an original pressing, I’d think about a bid. As it is, however, I think I will pass. Obviously, others feel the same way.

I was mentioning 10-inch Blue Notes the other day, and now there is this:

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Some Surprises in the Bidding?

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hankLet’s catch up on some of the jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay:

Hank Mobley, Mobley’s 2nd Message, Prestige 7082. This was an original pressing with the deep grooves and the New York address. It had a promo label stamp and perhaps a small cutout hole, which the seller described as a “worm ” hole, a term new to us in this context. The record was listed in VG++ condition and the cover was VG+. The final price was $1,075.

A lot of people have commented with appropriate surprise at some of the relatively low prices on the auctions we were watching from the Jazz Record Center, including: Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore, Blowing in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This was not listed as a first pressing, but it seemed to clearly be an early pressing, with one side having the original New York 23 label and the other having a West 63rd label. The record and cover both looked to be in M- condition. The price was $373. I’d have paid more if I was paying attention.

On the other hand, this one sold for a higher price that I would have perhaps expected although, to be fair, the prices on these 4100-series Blue Notes have been skyrocketing: Herbie Hancock, Empyrean Isles, Blue Note 4175. This was an original pressing that looked to be in immaculate M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $583.56.

 

 

the Rise and Rise of Blue Notes

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Cliff CraftSomebody mentioned this record in one of the comments, but it is certainly worth repeating in a post and pointing out so that it is searchable: Cliff Jordan, Cliff Craft, Blue Note 1582. This was an original pressing in M- condition, including the possibly original loose bag around the cover. The auction closed yesterday and the final price was $2,500. Wow. That’s the most we’ve ever seen for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, although not the first time the price has surpassed $2,000.

Let’s make it a Blue Note day and look at two other auctions closing in the next few days:

Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This looks to be an original deep-groove West 63rd St. pressing. The record is listed in  VG condition and the cover is VG++. The bidding is in the $300 range and there are four days left in the auction. Wouldn’t be surprised to see this make the $1,000 bin, despite the VG vinyl.

Joe Henderson, Inner Urge, Blue Note 4189. This looks to be an original pressing in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It too has four days left and the bidding is already up in the $250 range. Do yo think people are spending this kind of money for the music, for the investment, or for both? Blue Note prices seem to just rise and rise and rise.

 

 

A Bird in Hand?

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BirdHere are some jazz vinyl auctions to watch and record (for Jazz Collector) on eBay:

Charlie Parker, The Bird Blows the Blues, Dial 901. This is quite a rare find. I’m pretty sure we’ve established here on Jazz Collector that this was the first 12-inch jazz LP ever released, by Ross Russell at Dial as a promo with no cover. This particular copy is on red vinyl and is listed in VG condition with lots of scratches and no skips. The auction closes in less than two days and the bidding is in the $100 range.

Jutta Hipp at the Hickory House, Volume 1, Blue Note 1515. This looks to be an original pressing with the Lexington Avenue address and deep grooves. The seller lists the record and cover in VG+ condition, but if you look at the description in the listing it really reads a lot more like VG, with visible wear and audible noise. There are more than four days left in the auction and the bidding is in the $250 range.

Seldon Powell, Roost 2205. This is an original deep groove pressing. The record is VG+ and the cover is VG. The seller has a start price of around $350 and so far there are no takers. Think it will sell? I don’t. We haven’t seen it sell for more than around $220 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, and that was in better condition.

 

 

 

Three for the $1,000 Bin?

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elmo hopeHere are some jazz vinyl auctions we are watching on eBay, starting with Elmo Hope, Informal Jazz, Prestige 7043. This is an original New York yellow-label pressing, with a promo stamp on the back cover. The record and cover both look to be in M- condition. This record, of course, features John Coltrane and Hank Mobley and was later issued as “Two Tenors.” There will be a lot of interest in this one. There are six days left in the auction, there are already five bids and the bidding is in the $300 range already.

Hank Mobley Sextet, Blue Note 1650. This is an original West 63rd, deep-groove pressing. The record is in VG++ condition and the cover is VG. The bidding is getting close to $700 with three days to go.

Here’s one for the $1,000 bin: Sonny Criss, Go Man, Imperial 9020. This is a weird cover, isn’t it: Two white people, with a lot of nice leg, and no indication that this might be a black artist playing jazz. Anyway, this one was in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $1.292.

 

 

 

From the Jazz Collector Inbox

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hankSorry I haven’t posted in a few days. I have a house full of guests in The Berkshires and have surrendered my office for several days. But I am back with a new feature. This one we can refer to as “stuff from the email inbox.” At Jazz Collector, we do get more than an occasional email. Sometimes it’s readers to point out particular records on eBay that either surprise or anger or intrigue them. Often, we get inquiries from readers looking to assess and/or dispose of collectibles. Sometimes this turns into a nice opportunity for us, as was the case with the Irving Kalus collection I purchased last year, In Memory of a Jazz Collector. To give you an idea, here’s what’s come in during just the past few days:

Louis Armstrong Autograph: “Hello. I stumbled on your site while researching values for 78 records and an autograph of Louis Armstrong and his band at the time (late ’30s, early ’40s) and wondered if you could help me find a place that I could get a value on these items?”

Jazz Book Collection: “My father was a massive jazz connoisseur, collector and discographer but sadly passed away in April, Age 92. Attached is a list of his books, which we wish to sell.  We have done some EBay etc. research but would prefer a deal for the job lot via a dealer, or at least a select job lot. A number of the books have been signed by the authors and dedicated personally to my father.”

Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568: Hi Al, Great blog! I post every once in a while. Here’s a recent eBay experience about 1568

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Lee Morgan, Right Off the Shelf (Sort Of)

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lee morganLet’s start this lovely Friday morning with a lovely Blue Note: Lee Morgan Sextet, Blue Note 1541. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing in M- condition for the record and VG for the cover. There are more than two days left in the auction and the price is in the $725 range, on it’s way to . . . somewhere in the $1,000 bin. This was one of the first Blue Note records I ever bought back in the early 1970s when I started collecting. I bought it at Sam Goody’s, right off the shelf. Unfortunately, what was on the shelf in those days was a Liberty pressing with reprocessed stereo. In all the years since, I still haven’t been able to upgrade my copy, which I still own. But one of these days . . . .

We did a post a few weeks ago about collectible records by female musicians (not singers) and, if I recall, this one topped the list: Lorraine Geller at the Piano, Dot 3174. This is an original deep groove pressing in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The price is in the $100 range with just more than a day left. We have seen this sell for as much as $1,580 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Three Tenors

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SonnyThere were many records we were watching this past week on eBay, so let’s get right to it, starting with Sonny Rollins Plays, Period 1204. This was an original deep groove pressing in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. There were just two bids, but the record sold for $542.10. I am a big Sonny fan, as most of you know, and I think this is the only 12-inch Rollins record from the ’50s or ’60s where I am still looking for an original pressing. I’ll keep looking because the price of this one was too much for me.

Not sure when this became a $240 record, but apparently it did: John Coltrane, Live at the Village Vanguard, Impulse 10. This was an original orange-label pressing we presume, although the information in the listing was all screwed up. It was listed in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover, assuming that was the description for this record. Someone took a chance and won the auction at $239.

And, for the $1,000 bin we have Cliff Jordan, Cliff Craft, Blue Note 1582. This looks to be an original deep groove pressing with the West 63rd address. The record and cover are both in VG++ condition. The record sold for $1,275.

 

 

24 Hours on Ebay, Redux

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monkSo while perusing my 24 hours on eBay I found two listings so tempting I had to place a bid. Well, I didn’t have to, but if you’re reading this site you know exactly what I mean. Here’s one of the records: Thelonious Monk, Genius of Modern Music Volume 2. This was clearly an original 10-inch pressing. The seller described it as being in VG++ condition for the record and “very good” for the cover, although the cover looked quite nice in the listing. There were about four hours left in the auction when I came upon the listing and there were no bidders with a start price of $85. I looked again at the listing, and I couldn’t figure out why there was no interest. Then I looked at the shelves in my office and, alas, there is no copy of this record in my collection. Perhaps, I figured, I could get this record at what I would consider to be a reasonable price, which would have been anything under $125 or so. So I put in a snipe bid, waited, waited some more, went onto eBay and, tada, I won the auction at $90. Three bidders came in at the end, but the second highest was only $89. This will be a nice addition to my collection: Another 10-inch Blue Note to fill in a gap. Hopefully my guess about the condition is correct.

I bid on this next record purely for the reason that the bidding seemed to be so low:

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24 Hours on Ebay

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TatumI spent 24 hours on eBay. Well, not really. What I did was I looked at 24 consecutive hours worth of jazz records listed on eBay. I used to do this every single day, particularly when I was active buying and selling. But it’s not the way I look anymore. It was kind of fun. I put a few records in my watch list, which I will share momentarily, and I even bid on a couple of records, which will be the subject of another post. The thing that was most striking was the staggering percentage of records listed on eBay that just will not sell. This is primarily because there is no market for them, but there are others priced so ridiculously out of sync with the market that the seller is just wasting his time and money listing them. What is it, 90% of the records won’t get any bids? That’s my guess. It would be interesting if someone spent some time and did a study.

Anyway, here are a few that either closed earlier or are closing soon, starting with Art Tatum. Benny Carter, Louis Bellson, Clef 55. This was an original pressing with a nice cover by David Stone Martin. There’s really very little interest in Tatum these days, which I will never understand, so I wanted to watch this and see if it would sell. It did, for $42.12 in Ex condition for the record and the cover, VG+ in my language.

These next two surprised me. They are not records I normally watch because they don’t typically fetch collectible prices. They didn’t here, but they also sold for more money than I would have expected:

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