A Few of My Favorite Things

Back after a lovely holiday in Costa Rica celebrating my birthday. Now it’s back to reality, which means watching rare jazz vinyl auctions on eBay. But first, I came back to a couple of notes in my inbox with opposing viewpoints on the same record and the same auction. This was the auction in question: John Coltrane, My Favorite Things, Atlantic 1361. The auction was from our friends at the Jazz Record Center in New York. This was listed as the “original mono pressing . . . on the red and purple labels.” The record looked to be in M- condition and the cover was probably VG++. There were four bidders, seven bids, and the final price was $255. Read more

Four Classics From the Golden Age of Jazz Vinyl

Griffin Vinyl copy 2Now that I am back with a working computer, and fully recovered from the shock of the latest surge in prices for jazz vinyl, I can get back to the business of watching rare records on eBay, starting with Johnny Griffin, A Blowing Session, Blue Note 1559. This looks to be an original pressing with the New York 23 labels on both sides. The record is in M- condition and the cover is listed as Ex. There’s about a day and a half left in the bidding, and the price has already reached $1,225. However, it has not yet reached the seller’s reserve, so there’s a possibility this one may not even sell, despite what some might consider to be a pretty high price tag.

The Jazz Record Center  has an auction closing in two days, including John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This is what Fred calls a “P” pressing, although I’m not sure what the “P” actually stands for. It is the one with the deep grooves, ear, RVG stamp and West 63rd Street address, but no New York 23 on one side. I’ve always assumed this is a second press? Anyway,

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Tracking Some Later Blue Note Originals

Blue copyHere’s some more jazz vinyl we were watching on eBay:

Dexter Gordon, One Flight Up, Blue Note 4176. This was an original mono pressing, still in its original shrink wrap. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. It sold for $255. This was among a bunch of later original Blue Notes I was watching from the same era. Others included Blue Mitchell, The Thing To Do, Blue Note 4178. This also looked to be an original mono pressing and was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $280. Also: Wayne Shorter, JuJu, Blue Note 4182. This was also an original mono pressing and was listed in M- condition for the record and VG for the cover, with water damage and tape repairs. Nonetheless, it sold for $265. Here’s another one that seems destined to sell in the same range as these, perhaps even higher:

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Back in Business Watching Jazz Vinyl

ornette colemanI’ve been so busy with real work I haven’t even looked at eBay in more than a week. But today is a holiday here in the states, and then a weekend, so perhaps I will be able to refocus once again on happenings within the whacky world of jazz vinyl. In the meantime, let me clean up some of the sold items on my watch list, starting with some of those records from the Jazz Record Center auction.

Ornette Coleman, Change of the Century, Atlantic 1327. This was an original pressing with the black label. I haven’t seen that many black label pressings of this record, but I never considered it to be that much of a collectible. Perhaps I need to change my perspective. This copy was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $449.

I had mentioned these two in an earlier post: Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. This was an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,291. Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else, Blue Note 1595. This was also an original pressing in M- condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $751.

This one, from a different seller, fetched quite a nice price:

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Rare Insanity

HankWe will ring in the new year with a few nice jazz vinyl auctions we are watching on eBay, starting with a big one: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This is a close-to-original pressing (original in my eyes) in that it has the deep grooves and West 63rd Street addresses on the labels. Some are sticklers and demand that one side have a New York 23 label. This one is in M- condition for the record and Ex for the cover, which is probably VG++ in Jazz Collector parlance. the bidding has already topped $2,500, but it has not yet reached the seller’s reserve price.

The seller bobdjukic as back with another batch of insanely rare records and he brings up an interesting question on this one: John Coltrane, My Favorite Things, Atlantic 1361. He claims this is an original stereo pressing with the blue and green labels and the white fan logo. I’ve actually never know the keys to identifying an original My Favorite Things and I’m certainly not about to trust this guy. Perhaps someone out there can shed some light, mono and stereo? This one is listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The price is already more than $100. Three are additional interesting items from this seller, which I will be watching for future posts. Stay tuned.

 

Three Tenors

Just spent some time rummaging through the high-end bins on eBay and found quite a few interesting items, starting with: Dexter Gordon Quintet, Dial 204. This is an original 10-inch pressing listed in near M- condition for the record and M- condition for the cover. Seller took beautiful clear pictures and the record is quite tempting to this Dexter Gordon and 10-inch LP fan. But the start price is around $350 and, tempting as it may be, it is not tempting enough to entice me at that price. Nobody else is enticed yet, either, but I do have a feeling this one will sell.

This is another nice one that is also lacking bids at the moment: Sonny Rollins, Way Out West, Contemporary 3530. this is an original promo copy in M- condition for both the cover and the record. Looks like a real gem, also with nice pictures from the seller. There is a start price of about $500 and a buy-it-now price of about $700. If any copy of Way Out West would set a new price high, this would seem to be it, an original promo in M- condition. But the start price is up there. In the Jazz Collector Price Guide we’ve never recorded a copy of this record selling for more than $300.

One more:

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Various Vinyl Odds and Ends

Haven’t been on eBay in a few days. Here are the results of some of the jazz vinyl auctions we missed:

John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic 1311. This was an original black label pressing. It was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $510. It’s nice posting Giant Steps every once in a while so I can put a picture with the post and just take a look at it again — inspiring me to put the record on the turntable.

Perhaps I owe CeeDee an apology for this one: Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams, Out of this World, Warwick 2041. This was an original pressing in what looked to be VG+ condition for the vinyl and probably VG+ or VG++ for the cover. It sold for $159.99, higher than I would have expected. CeeDee and I made a trade involving this record and Dexter Calling a few months ago and at some point I may have made some kind of disparaging remark about the Byrd/Adams record. No doubt, it had more to do with the quality of the recording than the quality of the music. My copy just sounded very dull and flat, particularly compared to a Blue Note pressing from the same era.

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Tracking Some Very High End Jazz Vinyl

While we were busy buying the Irving Kalus collection, a lot of rare and valuable (and high priced) jazz vinyl was being sold on eBay. Here are some of the high-end items we’ve missed.

Tommy Flanagan, Overseas, Prestige 7134. This is one of the major rarities and it sold like one. The record and cover were both in M- condition. The price was $3,216.66. That’s the first time we’ve seen the record surpass the $3,000 mark in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

While we’re on the topic of $3,000 records: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This was an original pressing listed in M- condition for the record and the cover. This is the listing that mentioned Jazz Collector as a pricing/value source, which we appreciate. The sale price was $3,600.

This didn’t quite make the $3,000 bin, but it gave it a good run: Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This was an original purple label pressing in near mint condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $2,650. Do you think there’s a distinction between a record described as “near mint” versus one described as “mint minus?” Just thought I’d ask. “Near mint” has a nicer ring to it, IMHO.

One more:

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John Coltrane Autograph (And More) On Ebay

Oh, it’s a nice time on eBay when we get to watch auctions from both the Jazz Record Center and bobdjukic.

How much would you like a John Coltrane autograph? I know I would. This is from the Jazz Record Center: John Coltrane, Bags and Trane, Atlantic 1368. This is listed as an original mono pressing with the red and purple labels — although, for the live of me, I still can’t get the original Atlantics straight once they are past the black labels — but the key to this record is that it is signed by Coltrane, Milt Jackson and Hank Jones. The record and cover appear to be in about VG++ condition. The price is around $750 with more than two days to go. From the same auction is a Jazz at the Philharmonic program from 1956 with a bunch of cool autographs, including Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Connie Kay, Milt Jackson, Roy Eldridge and Flip Phillips. There’s one bidder for this one, so far, and the price is $100.

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Catching Up On Some Rare Jazz Vinyl

Let us finally catch up on some of the rare jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:

The Fabulous Fats Navarro, Volume 2, Blue Note 1532. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing with the Lexington Avenue cover. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was VG+. The price was $390. From the same seller, in the same vein: The Fabulous Fats Navarro, Volume 1, Blue Note 1531. This too was an original pressing with the original cover. It was in M- condition for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. It also sold for $390. I was watching these records because I recently acquired copies of each of these that are duplicates for me. They are both in VG++ condition for the vinyl and the cover, and they both have the Lexington Avenue addresses on the label, deep grooves, etc. They have the West 61st Street addresses on the cover, so they are a drop less than original originals. I will probably wind up selling these on eBay, unless someone here wants to make me an offer I can’t refuse.

This one received a bid of nearly $2,000, but failed to meet the seller’s reserve price:

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