Spreading the Insanity

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miles DavisSo here it is — now we have sellers ripping off bobdjukic to make their auctions look like his and, apparently, to try to weave the same brand of black magic that apparently results in insane prices. And perhaps it works. Take a look at this auction: Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, Columbia 1355. It’s not exactly laid out like one of the bobdjukic auctions, but it’s clearly evocative. And the listing starts with the oh-so-familiar phrase “INSANELY RARE” in all caps, of course. This must be the most widely circulated insanely rare record of all time. The record is graded at near mint minus, whatever that means, and the cover is graded at VG+, which seems highly generous given the obvious ring wear on the front cover and the big signature of a previous owner on the back. But despite whatever flaws we may see in the record and/or the listing, it seems to have that black magic sheen to it and the bidding has already surpassed $260. We didn’t think insanity was a contagious condition, but perhaps we were wrong.

Blue Notes, Real and Surreal

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hank mobleyHere are a couple of jazz vinyl listings sent to us by loyal readers for your perusal.

CeeDee sent this one: Jutta Hipp With Zoot Sims, Blue Note 1530. This was in M- condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. It sold for $371. Not bad, right? Except this is a UNITED ARTISTS pressing. I know we’ve commented on some of these before, but this is really surprising, isn’t it? I had the United Artists pressing and the cover was pretty flimsy and the record sounded fine, but nothing special. I think I sold mine for $20, and was happy to get that. Ah well.

Michael send us a heads-up on this one, under the subject “this should be a doozy:” Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This is the original original pressing, with the New York 23 on one side and the West 63rd on the other. The record looks to be in VG++ condition, based on the seller’s description, and the cover is probably close to M-. There are more than eight days left on this auction and the bidding is already in the $2,400 range. Certainly one to watch.

From The Jazz Collector Newsroom

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Zemanta Related Posts ThumbnailHere are some news items that have come into my mailbox that may be of interest to loyal readers of Jazz Collector.

You know those cool, inexpensive record shelves produced by Ikea, the Expedit line? Well, if you want any, you better stock up now. They are discontinued, which apparently has caused something of a brouhaha among record collectors. A spokesman for the company says there is a new line in place to replace Expedit, called Kallax. For its part, Ikea is stating that it is updating and improving the Expedit line, but record collectors don’t seem appeased, judging by the outcry. I took a look at the Kallax line, here, and, frankly, I don’t see what the fuss is about. I own one large Expedit unit and if I had to replace it with a Kallax I think I would survive.

There’s a lot of Blue Note activity going on. The company is launching what it calls a 75th Anniversary Vinyl Initiative by which it is

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A Prestige-eous Day

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MantecaLet’s start the day with a couple of Prestige records we are watching on eBay, starting with Red Garland, Manteca, Prestige 7139. This is an original pressing with the New York address. When I started collecting, this record was fairly common, but most often with the New Jersey address. You don’t see that many with the New York address perhaps because it was at the end of the New York cycle. The latest number I’ve seen with a New York Address is Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, The Cookbook, Prestige 7141. I’ve never seen a New York Soultrane, which is Prestige 7142. This copy of Manteca is in VG+ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The price is in the $160 range.

Art Farmer Quintet Featuring Gigi Gryce, Prestige 7017. This is an original pressing with the yellow label and New York address. The record is listed in M- condition and the cover is Ex. The bidding is now in the $200 range and there’s a bit more than a day left on the auction, as I type this. This is a terrific record, so I would expect the bidding to rise as the auction gets closer to the end.

Here’s a great Prestige record that did not sell:

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In the Eye of the Beholder

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juttaHere’s some more jazz vinyl on our eBay watch list, starting with: Jutta Hipp at the Hickory House Volume 1, Blue Note 1515. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing in VG condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The bidding is in the $335 range and the auction closes in about 12 hours. These records are so hard to find in any condition, that VG and playable still commands quite a high price. I recall buying my copy of this record at one of the record shows on Long Island, probably 20 or 25 years ago. The seller had price tag of $50 on the record, which seemed like a very high price in those days. I had never seen the record before and I bought it. It was in M- condition for the record and VG+ or so for the cover. I was walking around carrying the record when I ran into my old buddy Red Carraro. He had been to the show well before me and had seen the record and passed on it. He sees me with the record and says “Lit, always hustlin’, huh? Fifty bucks for that record. That’s a lot of money.” I guess it’s all in the eye of the beholder, isn’t it? And, fortunately for me, I was the one beholdin’ that record. And I still beholdin’ it, right here on my shelves.

This is another one, closing as I type this, where condition is an issue:

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Appreciating Those 10-Inch Blue Notes

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wytonI’ve been spending the past few days listening to some of the 10-inch Blue Notes from the recently acquired Baltimore collection. Man, are these great, especially because they are in such nice condition, pretty much M- for all of them. It’s not just the sound that I am appreciating, but the fact that they are right “of the era.” Pure bebop and early hard bop, rhythm sections right in the groove not trying to do too much, young and brilliant musicians finding their voices. It’s a real treat and doing it all at once is a lot of fun. So, when I was searching eBay this morning, this is one of the first records that came to my attention: Wynton Kelly, New Faces – New Sounds, Blue Note 5025. This is an original 10-inch Lexington Avenue pressing that looks to be in what I would probably consider VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover, although the seller seems to use more plus signs than a CPA during tax season. This one was not in the Baltimore collection, so it represents a hole in my collection. The price is now about $160 with about 12 hours left in the auction. I’d perhaps be interested, but the wacky grading scares me off a little, even though the seller has lots of feedback and a 100% rating.

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Records That Are Not Quite Records

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wallington new jazzLet’s catch up on a few more jazz records from our watch list, starting with: George Wallington, New York Scene, New Jazz 8207. This was an original pressing with the deep grooves and the purple label. The record and cover both looked to be in VG++ condition. The price was $698, which we though was the highest we’ve ever seen for this record until we looked at the Jazz Collector Price Guide and realized that we’ve seen this one sell for as much as $865. I literally bought a copy of this record for a quarter many years ago, when one of the young workers at Mr. Cheapo in Mineola mistakenly threw it into the bargain bin, for which I have been forever grateful.

That copy of Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’ that we were watching would up selling for $3,507, also not a record, but a pretty hefty price indeed.

I just sold a copy of this record to a dealer, and I would have expected it to get a higher price than it did here:

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A Question of Ridiculous-ness

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wes and jimmyI told you there’s always excitement when we’re watching the bobdjukic auctions. CeeDee is back with this note:

SUBJECT: who is paying this kind of bread for these readily found LPs?

BODY TEXT: Al, I give up. I thought I could figure out “what sells and what doesn’t” but I’m finding I have no freakin’ idea!

RECORD IN QUESTION: Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith, Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes, Verve 8766.

CONDITION: Sealed

PRICE: $455

So, for today’s quickie quiz: Which sale is more ridiculous, the Jimmy and Wes one above or the other one cited in the earlier post, namely John Coltrane, The Other Village Vanguard Tapes? This was also sealed and sold for $237.50. Or is there perhaps another that we missed? I vote for Jimmy and Wes being more ridiculous, although it was a close call. At least the Coltrane is a double record and sold for a price that was more than $200 lower than the Jimmy/Wes record.

A “Rare” Evans And Really Rare Blue Notes

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bill evansCeeDee is back with another missive under the subject “Bob dj strikes again!!!!!” Attached is a link to the following record: Bill Evans, Trio 64, Verve 8578. This was an original stereo pressing. It has never really fetched collectible prices, being a later Verve and pretty readily available for many years. It is a terrific record, however, one of my personal favorites among the Evans trio records. This one happened to sell for $153.50, due, of course, to whatever black magic it is that bobjdukic uses to get higher prices than anyone else selling jazz vinyl in eBay. The record was in M- condition and the cover was listed as VG++. Point of fact, for those of you interested: When I write about bobjdukic auctions, which I do just as a matter of course, the traffic on Jazz Collector tends to spike a bit. Why do you think that is?

I imagine Mr. Djukic would have liked to be selling this one: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding is already at $3,100 and there’s still nearly 20 hours to go. Wow.

This one also fetched quite a nice price:

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For What It’s Worth (Or More)

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freddie hubbardI’m way, way behind on my posting. Let me catch up on a little on some of the items I was watching, and then we can move forward with some new stuff. Sorry about that. Promise not to wait that long between posts anymore.

Freddie Hubbard, Open Sesame, Blue Note 4040. This was an original West 63rd pressing listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $1,136.22.

Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. This one sold for $1,555. As many of you may recall, I recently purchased a copy of this in the Baltimore collection. I have been going through this weird process of putting a label on each of my records, describing the condition, whether it is an original and assigning a value to it. Why am I doing this? Well, if I were to die suddenly, it would prevent my kids from getting ripped off. Anyway, for my copy of this record, in M- condition for both the record and the cover. I had put in $1,000. Perhaps it’s time to make an adjustment.

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