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

Shock and Awe!!!!!!

January 18, 2016 Al 39 comments

Readers continue to express shock and awe at the prices on the funkyousounds auction of the Dr. Herb Wong collection. One missive comes in from Dylan concerning this record: Duke Pearson, The Right Touch, Blue Note 84267. This is a Liberty pressing. An original Liberty, but a Liberty nonetheless. And it is a stereo pressing. This one had a promo stamp. The record was M- and the cover was VG++. The price was $560. And then there was Gerry Mulligan, Night Lights, Phillips 600-108. This is the one we mentioned the other day. Stereo pressing, promo stamp, VG++ condition. We were surprised when the bidding had reached $60. The final price was $434. If anyone has a viable explanation for this one, I’d love to hear it: Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges, Blues Summit Verve 8822. This is a reissue — the type that is very hard to sell on eBay for even $10 or $15. This was a sealed copy and it sold for $349.67. Or this one: Miles Davis, Milestones, Columbia 40837. This is just a plain old reissue. I remember seeing these all the time in $2 or $5 bins. This one sold for $278. I’m going to do a few more, just because I’m sitting here absolutely stunned as I go through the list:

Rare Jazz Potpourri: Classic Trane, Billie’s First

January 16, 2016 Al 14 comments

Here’s a jazz vinyl potpourri for today, starting with John Coltrane, A Love Supreme, Impulse 77. This looks to be an original mono pressing with the Van Gelder stamps in the deadwax and the orange labels. The record is in VG++ condition and the cover is in Ex. The bidding is getting close to the $450 range with a little more than a day left in the auction, as of this writing. Although A Love Supreme has pretty much always been regarded as a masterpiece, I really saw it as a big collector’s item until the last few years. Sort of like Kind of Blue: Even though there may be more copies of these records than some others, there is also much greater demand for original pressings. These records not only appeal to collectors, but pretty much to anyone with a love for jazz.

I find this one really interesting:

Lovely Jazz Vinyl . . . But at What Price?

January 13, 2016 Al 9 comments

I’m watching a lot of rare jazz records on ebay now that have reserve prices. As a seller, I used to occasionally use reserves, but as a buyer I find them annoying. I’d much rather place a bid and know that, if it is the top bid, then I will get the record. Even though I rarely buy on eBay these days, there is a record I’m watching closely, as we are getting close to my birthday once again. I probably shouldn’t mention it here because that will only heighten the interest, but it’s doubtful I’ll actually bid for it so here goes: Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. This is an original pressing that looks to be in VG+ condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. The bidding closes in four days and is in the $150 range, but it has not yet reached the seller’s reserve price.

The seller vinyl.unlimited has a great batch of records on eBay now, but they mostly seem to have reserve prices as well, and many have not yet reached those prices. Some of the listings are:

Catching up On Jazz Vinyl Auction$$$$$

January 11, 2016 Al 18 comments

Here’s an update on some of the jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with Sonny Rollins, Rollins Plays for Bird, Prestige 7095. This was an original New York yellow label pressing. The record was listed in VG++ condition and the cover was VG+. It sold for $430.55. This was one of the records in the batch from the seller carolinasoul, which seemed to capture the attention of a number of readers. A few other items of interest from this auction: Roy Haynes, Out of the Afternoon, Impulse 23. This was an original mono pressing with the orange label. The record was M-. The cover was VG+ and it had a cut-out hole, which always diminishes the record in my eyes. This one was undiminished to others however and sold for $334. Red Garland, All Mornin’ Long, Prestige 7130. This was an original New York pressing with the original cover. The record was VG++ and the cover was VG+ with writing on the back. The final price was $709.99.

Charles Mingus: Sacre Bleu!

January 8, 2016 Al 23 comments

The funkyousounds auction from the Dr. Herb Wong collection seems to have been brought out the Charles Mingus fans. Here’s Charles Mingus, Mingus Ah Um, Columbia 8171. This is an original stereo pressing with the six eyes. The record and cover are both in M- condition and there is some shrink wrap, which for some reason seems to be an enticement to some collectors, although I cannot fathom the reason. This one has more than a day left on the auction and the bidding is now over $400. I resisted the urge to put an exclamation point after the $400, but only barely. The old newspaper editor in me, I guess. Here’s another one worthy of an exclamation point, from the same auction: Charles Mingus, Blues and Roots, Atlantic 1305. This is also a stereo pressing, but not a first press. It is also in M- condition for the record and the cover, and it also has shrink wrap. This one is in the $300 range! BTW, did I ever mention the time I was writing about Mingus here and I left out the “G” and wrote it as “Charles Minus.” I did that and one of our French-speaking readers chastised me with the term “Sacre Bleu!,” which is one you don’t hear very often these days, but was certainly well deserved in this particular instance, don’t you think?

Blue Note

A New Year’s Adventure in Jazz Collecting

January 6, 2016 Al 30 comments

I actually started the year with a nice record score. In fact, I filled in one of the most gaping holes in my collection. After 45 years of collecting jazz records, I finally have a black label copy of Giant Steps on my shelf. And it is in beautiful M- condition for the vinyl, and at least VG++ for the cover. I just listened to it, sitting on my sofa with a big Cheshire Cat grin on my mug. I’m sure it’s totally psychological, but it has never ever sounded better, even after hundreds of prior hearings. It’s interesting because almost to the day exactly a year ago a wrote a post expressing my desire to get a black label Giant Steps for my birthday. I even dropped a couple of hints to The Lovely Mrs. JC. And here we are a year later – Happy Birthday to me (actually it’s still a few weeks away). So, I’m sure you’re all interested in how this record came to be in my possession. I will tell you the bare bones of the story, since I’m hoping it’s not actually over yet and there are potentially more records to come. The gist is that it involves a contact in South America, a carry-on

Features

No Clowning Around: What’s Going On?

January 5, 2016 Al 16 comments

I’ve been perusing eBay this morning and a few items caught my eye, including Art Blakey, Blue Note 4003. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing and it looks to be in very nice condition. Based on the seller’s description, probably VG++ for both the record and the cover. There is a start price of $200 and so far there are no bidders, even though the auction closes in just one day. Just last week a copy of the same record, probably a little bit cleaner, sold for more than $1,000. What gives?

This one also startled me: Charles Mingus, The Clown, Atlantic 1260. The record is in M- condition and the cover is in M- condition and there is some torn shrink wrap. The bidding is now at $455. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention — it’s not an original pressing. It’s a later pressing with the purple and orange label. What gives here? You’ll notice that it’s part of the sale of the collection from the late Dr. Herb Wong, but surely that can’t be enough to vault a second (or third) pressing into a new stratosphere, can it? It can’t be the shrink wrap, can it? Help me out here: $455 (and counting) with five more days to go?

A Jazz Potpourri for the New Year

January 3, 2016 Al 31 comments

Here’s a jazz potpourri to start the new year. This one came in from CeeDee under the subject “another for the $1k club” and it was John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This was an early (second?) pressing with the West 63rd Street able, deep grooves, RVG, ear, etc. An original original would have the New York 23 label on one side, which would make it a potential $2,000 record. This one was in M- condition for both the record and the cover and it sold for $1,000.01. It’s not a first pressing but, in that condition and given the state of the Blue Note market, the inclusion into the $1,000 club is, for me, not a big surprise. CeeDee also sent me this one, which is a surprise: Earl “Fatha” Hines, Here Comes, Contact CM-6. This was an original pressing with the gatefold cover. It was part of the Dr. Herb Wong collection being sold by Funkyousounds. The record was listed in VG++ condition for the vinyl and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $192.50. I really can’t recall any Fatha Hines records attracting collectible prices, or even collector interest, so this is a surprise. It does have Richard Davis and Elvin Jones and a pretty cool cover, so perhaps that drove the interest. Any other thoughts?

High Prices (What Else is New?) & Happy New Year

December 31, 2015 Al 20 comments

I’ve been getting a lot of email and there have been a lot of comments about prices going through the roof, particularly on some of the records from the late Dr. Herb Wong. Here are some of the ones that have been sent to me, and a few of my own observations, starting with Johnny Griffin, The Congregation, Blue Note 1580. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing from the Wong collection and it was in just VG condition for the record and VG- for the cover. Despite the condition it sold for $555.99. Then there was this one, which I had mentioned in an earlier post: Johnny Griffin, The Kerry Dancers, Riverside 420. This was an original white label promo copy. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. When we first noticed this record it was in the $300 range. It ended up selling for $915.

Later Pressings and Rising Prices: Merry Christmas

December 25, 2015 Al 13 comments

CeeDee sent a note last week with a few links, including the Red Garland Manteca we mentioned the other day. Another one from the list: Stan Getz, The Steamer, Verve 8294. This also came from the Herb Wong collection. I love this record, but this was a second pressing with the MGM logo. It was in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $97. An aberration or a shift in the market? Seed’s comment was that it “looks like even the more commonly seen LPs can bring in a haul these days.” That’s true to an extent, although it’s hard to say that even the MGM presses are commonly seen. We’ll keep an eye on this trend. I saved a lot of the MGM pressings from the Irving Kalus collection. I grew my collection on these pressings, almost all purchased from my late friend Red Carraro, who had boxes and boxes in his basement for many years. No doubt, Irving purchased them from the same place.

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