Jazz Vinyl Pricing Trends: Three Altos
Today is the Independence Day Holiday here in the states but, as usual, we at Jazz Collector never rest. Here are some of the items we’ve been watching on eBay lately:
Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This was an original pressing, of course, and it was listed in VG++ condition. The price was $2,627. The seller was a collector from Japan, not a dealer. Haven’t seen that so often.
Jason did that story on Boston jazz the other day and, coincidentally, this record was available on eBay from Euclid Records: Charlie Mariano, The New Sounds From Boston, Prestige 130. This was an original 10-inch LP and it was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. With a few hours to go before the bidding closed, this record was sitting in the $30 range. I though I might be able to get it for a cheap price and , not owning a copy, it had quite an appeal for me. So I used my sniping software, which is BidNip, and I
put in a bid around $80. I was almost sure I would win the record, based on some of the other prices of similar records. Hah! I looked at the final bidding and the price was $191. This was one out of a bunch of 10 inch LPs Euclid had up this week. Another was this: Charlie Parker Quartet/All Stars, Dial 202. This was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the vinyl. The final price was $710.
“a Japanese private seller”….
cashing in on his investmnts?
A new trend? Japanese selling off. That would be the end of the game.
An implosion like the Dutch tulip bulb market in the 17th Century??
…Sounds like our friends in Japan have finally completed their collections and have since become restless now that the cache has worn off ! After all, anyone who has been to Japan will tell you how much space is at a premium there, even more so than in NYC, and amassing a large collection of any kind can really take its toll. Especially for those who have spent a lifetime collecting Jazz LP’s to the point of owning complete catalogues. I often wonder how long that feeling of euphoria lasts once the collector has reached the finish line before it’s time to move on ? Perhaps “the Japanese collector turned seller” is the proverbial seventh sign ! I spoke with some longtime Jazz radio hosts / Jazz collectors at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival recently (many of whom are well into their “golden years” to be polite) and they told me they eventually reached a point when they realized it was time to downsize their collections, mainly because they didn’t want to leave their wives or families with the burden of liquidating it for them after they are gone. More importantly, they wanted to ensure it would be well taken care of and be of some use to the public at large. In many cases, succeeding generations are just not as interested, and it seems that the new trend is to donate them to music department archives at various universities or institutions… As noble as this may be to many of us, I am sure we all know that when the time is right, we probably won’t be donating that prized Jackie McLean or Hank Mobley we have stashed away, as it may pay for the kids college or that new condo in Seinfeld’s famed “Del Bocka Vista” Florida (aka. gods waiting room). Based on the average age of today’s Jazz festival-goer, one also wonders how long we will be able to ride this crest along the high-water mark before the market crashes and recedes. Even now, Jazz festivals across the country have been witnessing a noticeable decline in attendance and have even had to resort to adding mainstream entertainment to the bill just to keep the numbers up as more and more living legends and patrons themselves disappear. A case in point, The Montreal Jazz Festival, who are renowned for eclectic bookings, recently hosted Cindy Lauper of all people in their lineup ! What’s next, a David Hasselhoff revival ??? …Could this be the beginning of the end for Jazz as we know it ??? Personally, these acts could only drive people away, except in Germany, I hear they love “the Hoff” and adding Cindy to the same bill, would most certainly be worthy of closing the schools, but I digress. There really is no accounting for taste right. Our only hope now lies with the young cats of the new school. Artists like Christian Scott, Javon Jackson and all the rest that were weaned by the legends to carry the torch… As for the Japanese seller, at least he offered free shipping !
…which reminds me: what ever happened to your Jazz Vinyl Countdown Al?
Geraint, my Jazz Vinyl Countdown will be revived some day, I’m sure. Currently my real job, the one that pays the bills, is taking more time than I had anticipated and I haven’t had time to put records up on eBay. Also, summer is tight for selling records because I split my time between New York and the Berkshires. Of course, all of this doesn’t necessarily prevent me from BUYING records, as you can see from this post wherein I bid for but lost out on the Charlie Mariano record. Somehow, acquiring records has always been a lot easier and more fun for me than selling records. I’m sure most of you out there are dealing with the same affliction.
To Rudolf and Don-Lucky. It is just one guy in Japan selling a few records, yes?
Don’t Hassle the Hoff! Don-Lucky, I loved your self-professed digression of a post, all the way down to the Del Boca Vista (Phase II?) reference!
Hey,Don-Lucky..come back in off the ledge,man! One guy in Japan unloading a vintage JayMac lp does NOT mean it’s time to sell,sell,sell! Or maybe it is,but it should be for reasons other than anything related to that Mclean sale. Besides,a closer look at the sellers history shows a sizable number of rare goodies(both lps and 78’s) among his recent PURCHASES. So any conclusions drawn previously seem premature. Anyway,selling off doubles-or lps seldom listened to in,say,25 years-makes perfectly good “$en$e” to me!
…Sorry for the long-winded rant there guys. It was a slow day back at the office and I was procrastinating. Not to mention the fact that we are in the midst of yet another heat wave here… Let’s tack it up to that. (p.s. – Japhy, in order to upgrade into Phase II, we would definitely have to sell off both the Hank & the Jackie ! heh heh)
al, just read your bit on prlp 130 – charles mariano, the new sounds from boston. today i was given that in a box with some other less interesting records. condition isn’t great. no record player these days, so can’t tell how well it plays. also some writing on the sleeve. not really one for the collectors – but if you were interested i could post it. see what you think.