Back in Business Watching Collectible Jazz Vinyl

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Bet you’re wondering if I’m OK. I am. Just been a busy period before the holidays. It’s been so long since I’ve posted on Jazz Collector or even been on eBay that all of the items I was watching are now closed. Which gives me a nice opportunity to give a big review, starting with:

Horace Parlan, Us Three, Blue Note 4037. This was an original West 63rd pressing in what was described as VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It also had the original shrink wrap, if that means anything to anyone. I guess it means the cover was well protected for all of these years. The top bid on this was a very nice one, $1,136. But guess what? It didn’t meet the seller’s reserve price, so it didn’t sell. We’ve seen this one sell for as much as $1,725 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so I guess the seller had certain expectations. I had a copy of this record in very nice condition, mentioned it on Jazz Collector and was offered $1,500 to sell it. I did. Haven’t missed it since, to be perfectly honest.

Similar situation with this one from the same seller: Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. This was an original West 63rd pressing. The record was in VG++ condition and the cover looked to be VG. The top bid was $717 but, again, it failed to sell because it didn’t meet the seller’s reserve price.

This one did sell and I thought it might fetch a higher price: Sonny Clark, Sonny’s Crib, Blue Note 1576. This one was in VG++ condition for the record and probably similar condition for the cover. It was offered by one of the top eBay sellers and sold for $1,405. A nice price, but we’ve seen this one sell for more than $3,000 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

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Three for the $1,000 Bin

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I’ve been so busy with real work lately, I’ve missed a lot of nice jazz vinyl on eBay, including some of the heavyweights that regularly occupy the $1,000 bin. Anyway, here’s an update of some items I’ve missed, all of which will eventually find their way into the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This was an original deep groove pressing with the purple label. It was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover and from the pictures with the listing it looked absolutely pristine. It sold for $2,247.66.

Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This was an original pressing that looked to be in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $1,593.88

Paul Gonsalves, Boom-Jackie-Boom-Chick, Vocalion LAE 587. This was an original British pressing that looked to be in M- condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $1,783.

Dave Brubeck, 1920-2012

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In case you’re just seeing the news, Dave Brubeck passed away earlier today. Are there any Brubeck records that qualify as real collectibles, say more than $100 in value? In looking at my shelves, I probably have more records by Brubeck than any other artist. Between Fantasy, Columbia, Atlantic and Concord, he had an incredibly prolific recording career. Nice that he was able to achieve the Kennedy Center Honors a couple of years ago while he could still appreciate it.

Pick A Pair of Blue Notes

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Here are a few items we’re watching on eBay this week, starting with: Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. This one was sitting at a start price of about $100 for a long time and I thought maybe, just maybe, I might be able to sneak in and get it for a decent price, a decent price being under $300. No such luck. The record is in VG+ condition and the cover is VG and the price is already at $335. It closes later today. The seller did a nice job with the pictures, even (or perhaps especially) the pictures of the bruised corners. To me, the bruised corners make it even more attractive, in some way. It looks more its age and it shows that it has been enjoyed.

This one also has a nice picture to go with the listing: Hank Mobley with Donald Byrd and Lee Morgan, Blue Note 1540. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing and it looks to be in very nice condition, VG++ for both the record and the cover. The bidding is in the $250 range but it has yet to reach the seller’s reserve price. There are still a couple of days to go and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this one get into the $1,000 bin.

 

 

Jazz Vinyl That’s New To Jazz Collector

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Just browsing eBay and came upon a few items I’ve never seen before. I’m always impressed, after more than 40 years of collecting jazz records, that there are still records that are new to me, for example:

Perhaps I’ve seen this before, but I dont’ recall it: Miles Davis, Porgy and Bess, Fontana 662.036. This is a French pressing and the seller says it is a 10-inch record, which makes sense if you look at the number of tracks per side. Why were the French issuing 10-inch LPs in the late 1950s, when those wars had already been fought and the 12-inch format had won? And look at the cover — it’s the same picture that’s on the American Milestones. I have to say, this looks like a pretty cool item to me. It has a start price of about $100 and is listed in M- unplayed condition.

Speaking of French pressings: Pierre Michelot and his Orchestra, Round About Bass, Mercury 125 500. This is an original French mono pressing and is listed in EX+ condition for the record (VG+++ in our terms?), and EX for the cover. This is from the same seller as the Miles LP and is also in the $100 range with no bids yet.

This an American record, and I assume it’s jazz because it is listed under jazz on eBay and because it is right in the midst of the Atlantic jazz series, but I’ve never seen it:

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Jazz Collector’s Greatest Hits

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I was having trouble sleeping the other night and clicked on to Jazz Collector on my iPad to look and see if there were any comments or any other activity. There wasn’t much, so I started browsing around the site. How did I browse around the site? Good question. It’s not really that well designed for browsing, is it? If I wanted to look at, say, what makes an original Blue Note and original Blue Note, I would have to do a search on “Blue Note,” which would bring up just about every post over the past eight years. At some point I will put the time in to make it more browser-friendly. In the meantime, what I did was I clicked over to the right side of the page where it lists all of the Archives, month by month, and I picked random months and just went down from the top, looking at any article that piqued my interest. It was actually quite fun – particularly looking at some of the articles that generated a lot of comments from the community. It was kind of like a Jazz Collector’s Greatest Hits, going from post to post, not necessarily focusing just on which records are selling for how much money on eBay. I would suggest you do the same thing and see (and share), which posts capture your attention. Here are some of the random posts I settled upon:

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Blue Notes, Prestige, Vinyl, eBay

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Here’s some jazz vinyl I ‘ve been watching on eBay this week:

Phil Woods, Gene Quill, et al, Prestige 7116. This was an original New York yellow label pressing. The record was in VG+ condition and the cover was VG. It sold for $157.50, pretty reasonable for an original Prestige, although the condition was lacking. A Blue Note of the same era in the same condition would have probably fetched double the price.

The Magnificent Thad Jones, Blue Note 1527. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record was listed in VG or VG+ condition, which usually means VG. The cover was listed in VG++ shape, but there were taped repairs, which makes it more like VG+ to me. This one sold for $373.88.

Hank Mobley and His All Stars, Blue Note 1544. This is the first of the non-Lexington Avenue 1500 Blue Notes that was originally issued with the West 63red address. The record was VG++, the cover was VG, the price was $1,259.56, more than 10 times that of the Woods Prestige.

Sing a Song of 78s

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One of our readers has been in a 78-RPM frame of mind recently and has sent me a couple of interesting 78 auctions on eBay, specifically boxed sets. Here’s the latest: Billie Holiday Sings, Mercury C-118. We all recognize this cover from the 10-inch LP of the same title and packaging with the iconic David Stone Martin illustration, but this is a boxed set that includes four 78s. Everything seems to be in about VG+ condition. This is definitely a cool item, particularly if you are into 78s. The price is already more than $200 and the auction closes later today. I do have an issue purchasing 78s on eBay, however, and it has to do with shipping. I’ve purchased 78s on eBay and I’ve sold 78s on eBay and shipping these fragile items in the mail is a challenge. I’ve sent some that I though were packaged perfectly, using recommended packaging material from the industry leader, yet they still broke in the mail. For an item like this, I’d be a little nervous. By the way, I play my 78s on a portable Califone record player, the type they used to use in public schools. The 78s sound really good on them, they are convenient and you can easily buy one for less than $100 on eBay. We haven’t asked this in a while, but are their 78s collectors out there, and how do you handle purchasing/playing your records? Also, what do you collect, and why?

Catching Up on Some Rare Jazz Vinyl

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Looks like everybody’s been busy posting on Jazz Collector this week, except me. I do like to see that, but I like to post as well. So, here goes, with some of the items we’ve been watching on eBay:

Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This was the one with no New York 23 on one side and, to me, is an original, although some sticklers beg to differ. The record looked to be in VG++ or M- condition and the cover was probably VG++. The price was $3,340. Question: What do you think it would have sold for if it had the New York 23 on Side 2?

Lou Donaldson, The Time is Right, Blue Note 4025. This was an original original and it was probably in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The price was $570.

Paul Chambers, Whims of Chambers, Blue Note 1534. This was not an original pressing, but a West 63rd pressing. It seemed to be VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $243.50.

Finally, there was the sealed copy of Waltz For Debby, Riverside 399. It sold for $590. We have seen Waltz for Debby fetch a higher price tag in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, but this is certainly top dollar. Hope the seller is satisfied — if he even opens it.

 

 

Jazz Vinyl: Four For the Money

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I mentioned yesterday that there were a bunch of jazz records I was watching on eBay. Here are a few more, starting with: Paul Chambers, Go, VeeJay 1014. This was an original pressing with the maroon label. We don’t often see VeeJay records getting collectible prices, but this one has appeared before in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. The previous top bid was $189. This one sold for $255, in M- condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. What always excited me about this record was the appearance of Cannonball Adderley as a side man, but the listing highlights Wynton Kelly instead. I guess it worked. The record fetched top dollar. Speaking of Paul Chambers, there is this: Paul Chambers, Whims of Chambers, Blue Note 1534. This is a West 63rd pressing, which makes it a second pressing. Early and nice, and some would even characterize it as an “original” Blue Note, but definitely not a first pressing. I’m always curious to watch the market for these second pressings because they look great and sound great but, for a collector, there’s always the knowledge that, hmmmm, I don’t have an original. This one is in VG+ or VG++ condition for the record, and VG+ for the cover. The price is around $200 and so there there is one bidder, with the auction closing tomorrow.

Here are a couple for the $1,000 bin:

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