Jazz Collector | For Those Who Love Jazz | eBay auction results for Classic Jazz LPs

Another Adventure in Jazz Collecting: A Bronx Tale, Part One

February 18, 2016 Al 4 comments

OK, I have another story. This one starts, as usual, with an e-mail. The first e-mail came back in April 2015. I replied, but nothing ever came of it. Then, just a few weeks ago, there was another e-mail from the same person, totally of the blue. This was the text, verbatim:

“Top jazz artist’s

Cotrane , gerald wilson ,st you’d, ray brown, jimmy smith, felonious monk, Eddie Harris , carmen macrae, jazz laboratorylaboratory, gene Simmons, Dexter gordon , stan gets ext.

Give me good price I’ll sell.

‘Miles Davis,chico hamilton about 80 or more.”

I wrote back, asking for more detail and perhaps some pictures. The first photo came back and it didn’t show much at all. No valuable Coltrane, Stan Gets, or Felonious Monk in the picture. Instead there were a lot of records by Gloria Lynne. I wrote back asking for more details and pictures of the Coltrane or Dexter Gordon or Miles Davis. A few more pictures came back. This was the first one:

Obviously, my correspondent had done a little homework between the first few emails and this one. So, of course it is Jackie McLean, The New Tradition on Ad Lib, and yes my interest was piqued. Who would have thought, one of the rarest of the rare jazz LPs among a collection previously highlighted by titles such as Gloria Lynne Intimate Moments and Miss Lorraine Ellison Heart And Soul?

Features

Free Jazz for the $1,000 Bin

February 16, 2016 Clifford Allen 11 comments

Well, with Al manning the helm frequently in recent months, I haven’t popped in too much with observations of jazz records that are outside the “classic” era of collecting this music. But there have been quite a number of interesting eBay auctions and as with seemingly almost every kind of rare or semi-rare record, the prices keep on climbing.

Let’s start with the recent spate of avant-garde jazz records sold by a sometime commenter on the site, nobbyknucks. The cream of the crop was this 1972 LP by Philly vibraphonist Khan Jamal, Drum Dance to the Motherland. It was an original private pressing on the Dogtown label (Byard Lancaster; Sounds of Liberation) and sold for a whopping $1,705. The vinyl was listed in NM/VG++ condition and the economical, paste-on cover in VG+ condition with light wear. I’ve seen this record sell for a hefty price before but this took the cake. It’s a reverb-heavy, somewhat psychedelic-sounding record in the vein of Sun Ra’s post-1962 recordings, rather free but also groovy in spots, and easy to understand why people are after it.

Speaking of Sun Ra, the same seller got decent prices for a pair of rather well-used Saturns, Jazz in Silhouette and Super-Sonic Jazz. In VG++ or better condition these would probably have broken into the $1,000 bin with ease. However, it’s hard to sneeze at copies in “G” condition getting $461 and $385, respectively.

A little more in the realm of normalcy – or at least not super-sonic pricing – is this copy of Jeanne Lee’s Conspiracy, an all-star date of sorts in the loft-jazz realm, but rendered with captivating and unique lyricism. There were two pressings of this album, one released on Mait Edey’s Seeds label and the other on Lee’s own Earthforms imprint (I think the Earthforms is second). Graded at NM or M- for both the record and cover, this sharp example went for $316.

I’m not sure how many records are floating around with Albert Ayler’s signature and I can’t think that I’ve seen more than a couple in years of collecting, so this first commercial edition of Spiritual Unity on ESP is quite attractive in the sense of being a significant album with a significant autograph. However the condition leaves a little to be desired as both the record and cover are listed as VG (and the cover seems pretty worn). I can’t verify whether the personalized penmanship is Mr. Ayler’s but it seems a forgery would be unlikely, especially since it’s in pen and worn off about as much as the silkscreen printing. The seller had it as a Buy-It-Now for $1400 and there were no takers; maybe at $1300 someone will bite?

As always, happy bidding and happier listening!

End of an Era

February 10, 2016 Al 40 comments

I see there was a mention in the previous post of the impending closing of the Jazz Record Mart in Chicago. Thought it is worth having a separate post if people choose to comment. I had some great experiences at that store. I’m sure I’ve told the story here before, but let me tell it again. Back in the mid-1980s I would go to Chicago fairly often on business and I would typically stay at the Hilton on Grand Avenue. It was just a short walk to the Jazz Record Mart and I always made sure I had extra time to do some record shopping. I think it was the first time I was there, I was looking through the rows of LPs when I noticed that there were also 78s on bottom shelves. I got down on the floor and began looking through the 78s and, to my great pleasure and surprise, there were hundreds of Prestige 78s — all of which looked like they were old store stock and had never been played. I started pulling them out, one after another after another after another. Pretty soon I must have had at least 60 Prestige 78s in various piles next to me on the floor. Read more

Catching Up (Again) On Jazz Vinyl Auctions

February 7, 2016 Al 11 comments

And now I will clean out some more jazz vinyl from my eBay watch list, starting with Louis Smith, Smithville, Blue Note 1594. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing. The seller listed the record and cover as VG++, although the picture of the cover looked less than VG++ to these eyes. Nonetheless, the record sold for $1,677.

Jazz By Sun Ra, Transition 10. This was an original pressing with the booklet. The record was listed in Ex condition and the cover was VG++. The final price was $1,475. In a similar vein there was also Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra Playing Secrets of the Sun, Saturn GH 9954. This was an original pressing. The record was probably VG+ based on the seller’s description and the cover was also VG+. The final price was $1,135.

These have all been mentioned in previous posts, but now we have final prices to consider:

Milestones and More

February 6, 2016 Al 5 comments

I don’t want to interrupt the discussion on the previous post, so please keep it going. With all of the action the past few days, we’ve reached somewhat of a milestone here at Jazz Collector. According to the statistics compiled by WordPress, yesterday we went over 2 million page views since we began tracking such things back in the fall of 2008. Our first month we had 296 page views and last month we had about 40,000.We are now averaging more than 1,350 page views every day. In all we’ve had 1,557 total posts, of which I have written all but seven (although, to be fair, we’ve had several guest columns in which I have been the poster, but it’s been someone else’s words). Anyway, I feel pretty good about all this, how we’ve been able to build the community organically all these years and how we’ve been able to keep the site independent and fun and still just a hobby. No plans for any major changes from my end.

Now, back to jazz vinyl. I see that our friends at the Jazz Record Center have a new auction with a few nice items, including:

Collectible Jazz Vinyl Through the Years

February 3, 2016 Al 57 comments

I’ve been saving this note from Rich (DG Mono) with the idea that someday I would address his questions. That day is today:

“After reading your collecting stories, Al, it’s clear that you’ve been collecting since at least the ’70s. Relatively speaking, where are the biggest spikes in average value over the years? Is the biggest one in the past decade? If so, why do you think that is? eBay? A ‘rediscovery’ of vintage jazz vinyl? Also, when comparing the relative value of a Prestige vs. a Blue Note, do you feel those average proportions have changed, meaning do you think demand for Blue Notes has disproportionally increased in comparison to demand for jazz records on other labels?”

Indeed, Rich, I have been collecting since the ‘70s. 1970 to be precise. When I started out, I was just buying music I liked and didn’t think in terms of prices or value. I didn’t have much money anyway, so a lot of my shopping was in the bargain bins at Sam Goody’s. There came a point where I realized that a lot of the music I liked was out of print and not so readily available. My friend Dan was a jazz guitarist and had “discovered” the great Tal Farlow records from Norgran and Verve from the 1950s and was on a perpetual mission to find and accumulate each of these records. That led him into the world of collectible records, and I followed. Read more

Spellbound!

February 1, 2016 Al 14 comments

Just catching up on my eBay watch list and thought I’d share some items of interest that are still lingering from the past couple of weeks. Not to overly beat an already beaten dead horse, but this one is still in my queue from the Dr. Herb Wong auctions by the seller funkyousounds: Nina Simone, I Put a Spell on You, Philips 600-172. This was a stereo promo pressing in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $530, which was a shocker to me. I took a look at Popsike to get comparables and was surprised to see that this record had sold for $150 to $200 in the past. I didn’t ever think of it as a collectible, but I guess these days I’ll have to readjust because the market seems to be changing before our very eyes. Still, $530 was quite a leap from the previous top price for this record.

Recent Jazz Vinyl Sales, Random Comments

January 29, 2016 Al 6 comments

Sorry for the entirely unexpected break in the action. Back to business: Walter Davis Jr. , Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record was in M- condition and the cover was listed as Ex. The final price was $1,104. Welcome to the $1,000 bin, which is getting quite crowded these days. I remember seeing Walter Davis Jr. many times in the early 1970s. When Sonny Rollins made one of his “comebacks” from retirement, Davis was in his regular band, along with Al Foster and Bob Crenshaw. He often also had a Japanese guitarist by the name of Yoshiaki Masuo. Anyway, Davis was always a terrific soloist and accompanist and had a very positive vibe. I don’t have an original pressing of this record, just the United Artists reissue, but it is definitely one I’d love to own someday. Just not for $1,100.

Sometimes here at Jazz Collector we get interesting and random comments on older articles. Or comments get buried under newer comments. There’s a tab on the right size of the home page (and subsequent pages) for “Recent Comments.” I’m not sure if many of you ever click it, but it’s a good idea. For example, I’m not sure how many of you

A Rare JAzz Vinyl Quartet

January 21, 2016 Al 15 comments

Here’s a nice 10-inch Blue Note you don’t see very often: Tal Farlow Quartet, Blue Note 5042. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The seller describes the record as being in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The pictures of the record look horrendous. I assume that is just the flash, but as a seller, you’ve got to be more careful when posting pictures. This has a start price of $99 and there are no bidders. Not sure if that is a function of the start price being too high or the poor quality of the pictures. I’d like this record, but not sure I’d be willing to take the chance.

Here’s another one that appeals to me: Elmo Hope, Meditations, Prestige 7010. This is one of the few early Prestiges I don’t own. The record and cover are both in Ex condition, which translates to VG+ in my lingo. It’s an original New York yellow label. There’s shrink wrap and a price label, and I don’t quite know what to make of that because they weren’t using shrink wrap when the record first came out. Probably doesn’t mean anything. There are 10 bids, but it’s still only in the $100 range, which would be quite a bargain for this record. Of course, the price will go up, but by how much? We’ll see tomorrow.

Back to Reality (Sort of)

January 20, 2016 Al 7 comments

I see that everyone is quite focused on the Dr. Herb Wong collection from the seller funkyousounds, so please feel free to continue the discussion on the previous post. For me it’s time to move on to some other records on eBay, starting with a batch from the seller vinyl.unlimited. You may recall that this seller had a bunch of very nice jazz vinyl, seemingly from the top of my want list, but the bidding wasn’t reaching the reserve prices. Well, that changed as the auctions closed and most of the records did wind up selling, and fetching top prices as you might expect. A couple of examples: Cliff Jordan, Cliff Craft, Blue Note 1582. This was an original pressing that was described as VG++ for both the record and the cover, although, IMHO, the dirt on the back of the cover and the labels precluded this record from being VG++. Hopefully the seller was more scrupulous with the vinyl. This one sold for $1,275. Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This was an original purple label pressing with a promo stamp. The record was listed as M- and the cover was VG++. The final price was $3,284.56.

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