Eric Dolphy in Europe, Debut 136. This is the original Denmark mono pressing, listed in VG/VG+ condition for the record and Ex for the cover. Bidding is in the $235 range with less than a day left on the auction. This seller, vinyl-house-uk, has a lot of nice records closing soon on eBay, including Kenny Dorham, Whistle Stop, Blue Note 4063. This is a mono pressing with the RVG and the ear. I’m a little hesitant to call it a first pressing because the seller doesn’t mention the deep grooves and the pictures don’t seem to show the deep grooves. This is a knowledgeable and reputable seller and he is calling it an original first US press, so perhaps it is me missing something and not the seller?

Bill Evans, Waltz for Debby, Riverside 399. This is a mono pressing with the green label. The copy that I own and listen to also has the green label, and I can vouch for the quality of the pressing. This one is in VG+ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover, which is in shrink wrap. The bidding is getting close to $200 with a little more than a day left in the auction. For the record (pun intended), I do have an original blue label Waltz For Debby, but the condition isn’t great and this is a record I listen to often, it being the very favorite of The Lovely Mrs. JC out of all the records that I own. So the blue label is for posterity and the green label is for listening. Seems to work just fine.

I don’t have an original copy of this record after many years of searching: Lou Donaldson, Quartet, Quintet, Sextet, Blue Note 1537. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record is listed in VG condition, with the proviso that it “looks” VG, but sounds better. That is often the case with these original Blue Notes, in my experience. The cover is VG- and it looks it. Bidding is in the $180 range with more than a day left on the auction. I’ll still be looking for a cleaner copy. After acquiring Shades of Redd last year, this record may be at the top of my wish list, along with the Cliff Jordan Blue Notes.

We were also watching a bunch of auctions from the seller vinyl.unlimited and most of them got fairly decent bids but did not reach the seller’s reserve price. Here are some of the ones that did not sell:

Barney Wilen Quintet, Guilde du Jazz 1239. This was listed in VG++ condition for the record and the cover. The top bid was $810.

Lou Donaldson, Lou Takes Off, Blue Note 1591. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. This one had a top bid of $404.

Sonny Red, Out of the Blue, Blue Note 4032. This was in VG++ condition for the record and probably VG+ for the cover. The top bid was $755.

Kenny Drew, Undercurrent, Blue Note 4059. The top bid for this was $1,325 and it still didn’t meet the reserve price.

Johnny Griffin, The Congregation, Blue Note 1680. This one also received a top bid of more than $1,000 — $1,025 to be precise — and did not meet the reserve price.

What was I thinking when I traded away a copy of the following record more than 30 years ago?

Sonny Red, Out of the Blue, Blue Note 4032. This looks to be an original mono pressing. The record and cover are graded at VG++, but one look at the picture of the back cover will tell you that it is not VG++ and is no better than VG+. I think sellers lose credibility when they do this, but this seller has been doing very well lately. It’s the same seller as the first Barney Wilen record mentioned earlier.

Anyway, my history with this record: Many years ago, I would guess 1984 or so, I was visiting my aunt and cousins in Hicksville on Long Island. There was a store called Titus Oaks just around the corner. It was housed in an old Wetson’s, which was one of the first fast food hamburger restaurants anywhere. On the East Coast I think Wetson’s preceded McDonald’s. Anyway, I told the family I had to run out for a bit and, of course, went to Titus Oaks. Boom, I hit the jackpot. Someone had just come in with a huge batch of original Blue Notes, all in perfect, unplayed condition. I don’t know if the person worked for Blue Note or just collected. All I knew was that these were beautiful, every single one of them, and the clerk at the store was literally putting them into the bins as I walked in.

One of the things I loved most about Titus Oaks at this time was that they had NO IDEA what they were doing. Nobody at the store understood the jazz market at all. So they priced each of the Blue Notes the same: Five dollars apiece. I walked out with about 30 titles, Blakeys, Silvers, McLeans, Dexters and, among others, Sonny Red Out of the Blue. It was one of my best scores ever.

At the time, I was trying to build out my collection of original Prestiges. I wound up trading the Sonny Red and a couple of other nice Blue Notes for a few original Prestiges, but not the really hard to get titles. Titles, in fact, that one would scoff at today and would certainly not consider in a trade for original Blue Notes. I’m embarrassed to say these titles and I’ve tried to blot them from my memory, but I think there were maybe a couple of Miles records, but also a couple of Gene Ammons and maybe even an Arnett Cobb.I didn’t know what I was doing and wound up making a couple of bad trades that I have regretted ever since. And, of course, all these years later I still haven’t replaced the Sonny Red record.

I don’t expect too many of the records I’m currently watching to end up in that stratosphere, but you never know. Here’s one that is certainly a possibility: Barney Wilen, Barney, RCA 430 053. This is an original French pressing and is certainly one of the heavy hitters in the world of rare jazz vinyl collectibles. In our (admittedly dated) Price Guide, we’ve seen one sell for as much as $2,700. This one looks to be in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover, so it probably won’t end up that high. Then again . . . As of now the price is $855.

Lee Morgan, City Lights, Blue Note 1575. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing that was listed inn M- condition for both the record and the cover. This one sold for $775 and that’s another “just” because this record has surpassed the $1,000 mark several times in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. Are we seeing a temporary dip in the market as we head into the summer? I don’t follow exchange rates closely — is that an issue that would drive prices down?

Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. This looks like an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address and deep grooves. The record was listed in VG+ or VG++ condition and the cover was VG or VG+. When I’m bidding on a record such as this, I would take the lower rating as the grade, unless I knew the seller and he was very conservative. This one sold at a price more in line with what you would expect, if not higher than expected. And that price was $865.55.

This one also didn’t seem to suffer too much from a dip in the market, although we have seen this one sell for much higher prices in the past: Barney Wilen Tilt, Swing 30.058. This was an original French pressing listed in VG+ condition for the record and M- for the cover. It sold for $1,592.89.

Barney Wilen, Barney at the Club St. Germain, French RCA 430.053. This is an original pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding is at $350 but, again, it has not yet reached the seller’s reserve price.

Here’s another rare one that may not sell: Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This looks to we an original West 63rd Street pressing. The seller lists it in VG+ condition for the vinyl and VG for the cover. There’s clearly some damage on the cover, which may be a turn-off to would be buyers, particularly since the start price is approximately $1,400. So far there are no takers, with just a few hours left on the auction.

Here’s one that will sell: Hank Mobley, Jazz Message #2, Savoy 12092. This is an original pressing with the red label. The record and cover are both listed in VG++ condition and the bidding is in the $250 range. The auction is closing today and there is no reserve price.

This one will sell as well, perhaps by the time many of you read this post: Ray Bryant Trio, Prestige 7098. This is an original pressing with the yellow labels and New York address. The record is listed in M- condition and the cover as VG++, although I may be skeptical based on the picture of the cover. Looks like it may be more like VG+. Still, it’s a nice record and it will fetch a nice price. The bidding, as of this writing, is in the $350 range.

I always like to find records I’ve never seen before, and here is another: Jimmy Forrest’s Night Train, United Record Company 002. This looks to be an original 12-inch LP in VG condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. I have a bunch of 78s on the United label, but no LPs. Apparently the label was in existence from 1951 to 1957, out of Chicago. According to Wikipedia it never issued 12-inch LPs, but this would seem to prove Wikipedia wrong? Unless the seller is mistaken? Somebody out there should know this, right? Anyway, the start price for this record, whatever the format, is about $150 and so far there are no takers. Looks like a nice piece of history to me.

I’ll be curious to see if this record sells:

Art Farmer, Art, Argo 678. This is an original pressing with the grey labels and deep grooves. The record is in M- condition and the cover, which looks quite beautiful in the photos, is listed in VG++ condition. I happen to be a huge fan of this record, but I’ve never seen it as a $125 record, which it will be if anyone bids on this copy.

For as long as I’ve been collecting, it’s nice to know that there’s always something new to learn. Here’s a record I’ve like for a long time: John Lewis and Sacha Distel, Afternoon in Paris. I’ve only owned this as an Atlantic recording, black label, of course, and I frankly had no idea that it was originally issued in France under the Versailles label, Versailles, MDX 12 005. I just checked out the liner notes on my Atlantic pressing and it makes no mention of Versailles. It does mention that Barney Wilen was only 19 years old at the time of the recording, which is pretty incredible considering how well he plays on this record and how mature he sounds. Anyway, this copy was in VG++ condition for the record and M- for the cover, which was the soft cover that seemed to be typical of the European pressings in those days. This copy sold for $630. The highest price we’ve recorded for the Atlantic pressing in the Jazz Collector Price Guide has been $121.

This is by far the highest price we’ve seen for this record: Bennie Green, Soul Stirrin’, Blue Note 1599. This was listed in M- condition for both the record and seemed to attract a bidding war among three or four potential buyers. The winning bid was $825.67. I’m sure the presence of Sonny Clark helps to inflate the price. I always liked that they used “Jug” as a pseudonym to hide one of the tenor players, obviously not worrying too much that anyone would be able to identify Gene Ammons, and not worrying too much about contractual obligations. It’s as obvious, but not quite as creative, as the use of Buckshot La Funke to disguise Cannonball Adderley on one of the Louis Smith Blue Notes.

Lee Morgan, Volume 3, Blue Note 1557. This was an original West 63rd pressing that looked to be in VG+ condition, perhaps a little better, but not nearly mint. It sold for $1,704.

Here’s another copy of Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This was an original pressing in VG+ condition. It sold for $1,425.

Art Pepper, Modern Art, Intro 606. Based on the description it sounds like this record was VG+, although it was listed as VG++. The price was $1,300.

Pretty cool so far: Three records for the $1,000 bin and none of them

in mint or near mint condition. This one came close to the $1,000 bin, but note quite there: Barney Wilen, Tilt, Swing LDM 30,058. This was an original French pressing also in VG+ condition for the vinyl and the cover. The price was $910.

Here’s a 10-incher: Thelonious Monk Trio, Prestige 142. This one was in M- condition for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. The price was $698.70.

Lee Morgan, City Lights, Blue Note 1575. This one was pointed out earlier by one of our readers.  It was in M- condition by a credible seller and it was an original pressing. It sold for $2,655.

Barney Wilen, Tilt, Swing Vogue LDM 30.058. This was an original French pressing. The record ws what we would call VG++ and the cover was M-. This one sold for $2,250.  This one is not new to the $2,000 club: It has previously sold for $2,700 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Sonny Criss, Jazz-USA, Imperial 9006. This was a surprise to see in this category, simply because

we’ve never seen it approaching the $1,000 mark before. In fact, we’ve never recorded it selling for more than $300. This one looked to be in VG+ condition, perhaps a bit better, but not M-. It sold for $1,125. I have a copy of this one at home. Perhaps I’ll be looking to put it on eBay, but somehow I don’t see it selling for that price again too soon.

Finally, there is this one, $1 short of the $1,000 bin, so we’ll make it an honorary member: Bill Evans, Explorations, Riverside 351. This was an original pressing and it was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. This one was $999. It’s clear that some of these records in M- condition are setting new highs. Previously, our high for this was also less than $300. I think I’m going to rush home and start listing my M- records on eBay, so keep an eye out. Seriously.