Tag: Bethlehem Records

A Trio of Rare Jazz Vinyl From the ’50s

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Here are the results of some jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay:

Sonny Criss Plays Cole Porter, Imperial 9024. This was an original pressing in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $810.

J. R. Monterose, Blue Note 1536. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record was somewhere between VG and VG++, which means the seller said it didn’t look so great but it sounded great. Gotta love those old Blue Notes. The cover was a clear VG. The price as a clear $787.

Betty Blake Sings in a Tender Mood, Bethlehem 6058. This is another one I’ve never seen or heard. How is it? It features Zoot Sims, Roland Alexander and Mal Waldron, among others, so I imagine it is quite interesting. This one was in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $735.55

 

 

 

A Jazz Vinyl Quartet

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Very busy with real work this week, but there’s always time to take a look at eBay for interesting jazz vinyl. Here’s some of the records we’re watching, starting with: Introducing Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1523. This looks to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing listed in VG+ condition,. The start price is around $250 and so far there are no bidders. You’d think there would be bidding for an original Lexington Avenue pressing at $250: Perhaps it’s condition. The seller mentions “minimal light surface noise” and states “No Skips!” with an exclamation point. I think it’s the NO SKIPS PLUS EXCLAMATION POINT that would have me worried as a bidder. The least you’d expect out of a VG+ record is no skips, right? This one is from the same seller, also has the NO SKIPS! in the listing and also has no bidders: Freddie Hubbard, Open Sesame, Blue Note 4040. This one is listed as VG+++ condition for the vinyl and G for the cover. The start price is around $650.

Atomic Records has some nice vinyl on eBay this week, including:

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Jazz Vinyl: Zoot, Newks and More

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Let’s catch up on the results of the latest jazz vinyl auction from the Jazz Record Center. I follow their auctions closely because, to me, they are the most reputable of all dealers and, therefore, I see their auctions as fully reflective of market realities, no hype.

Zoot Sims, Down Home, Bethlehem 6051. This was an original red-label pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $510. I recently picked up my first copy of this record and listened to it the other day. Quite nice: Great Zoot and nice to hear early Dave McKenna. The copy  I purchased is in M- condition for the vinyl and VG+ for the cover. Very pleased.

Sonny Rollins, The Sound of Sonny, Riverside 241. This was an original white label pressing in what looked to be M- condition for both the record and the cover. The price was $426. This one went for a little more than usual: Sonny Rollins, Sonny Boy, Prestige 7207. The record looked to be M- and the cover was probably VG++, with a couple of minor blemishes. It sold for $170.39.

Grachan Moncur III, Evolution, Blue Note 4153. This was an original New York USA pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $688.90. Wow.

Lee Konitz, Tranquility, Verve 8281. This was an original pressing with the trumpeter logo. It was in M- condition for the vinyl and probably VG++ for the cover. It sold for $111.87.

 

Lee Morgan, Hal McKusick and Sonny Clarke (sic)

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Here are some jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay:

Sonny Clark, Leapin’ and Lopin’, Blue Note 4091. What caught my eye about this one is that the seller kept referring to him as “Sonny Clarke” in the headline and in the text.  I mean, can you look at the album cover? If potential buyers have alerts for Sonny Clark or if they are doing searches, would they not find this LP? Interesting question. This one was in VG condition for the record and M- for the cover. It was an original mono pressing. It sold for $289. My bet is that the misspelling did not impact the final price.

Hal McKusick, Bethlehem 16. This was an original pressing with the deep red label and deep grooves. The record was VG+ or perhaps a little better and the cover was VG++. The start price was $275 and when I looked at this there was one bidder. I was a bit surprised anyone was interested at that price so I kept an eye on it to see if the bidding would go higher. It didn’t.

Lee Morgan, Lee-Way, Blue Note 4034. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing that was in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. As I’ve watched this record through the years, it’s typically topped out in the $500 range, although we’ve seen one in the Jazz Collector Price Guide sell for $847. I expect someday we’ll see this regularly in the $1,000 bin given the quality of the recording, vintage, personnel, etc. Not yet. This one sold for $757.

 

Odds and Ends and eBay

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When I was buying and selling regularly on eBay a few years ago I would monitor the listings religiously. Every day I would go through all of the listings, one by one, page by page, and I pretty much never missed a thing. These days, I’m more likely to do occasional searches and focus on items I’m most interested in. Last night I had some time, so I went through my old routine of listing by listing, page by page. Here’s some of the jazz vinyl I watched.

Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz, Diz and Getz, Verve 8141. This was an original pressing with the trumpeter logo. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG+, although it seemed to have original shrink wrap. The start price was $29.95. There were no bidders. Really? When I started collecting this would have been a nice commodity, hard to find, great artists, great collectible label. And it’s got quite a nice cover to boot. Now it’s not worth thirty bucks? Wow. How about Stan Getz and Chet Baker, Stan Meets Chet, Verve 8263. This one says “trumpet logo” in the headline, but there’s no picture of the label so I actually have to wonder if it is original. The record was listed in VG++ condition, close to M-, and the cover was VG+. The price was $57.

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Grand Stans

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To keep the discussion on this a little longer. I was perusing eBay last night and there was another copy of Getz/Gilberto, Verve 8545, also a stereo pressing, also in M- condition. It sold for $37, which is higher than normal. The other one from bobdjukic is at $219 and closing later today. While perusing, I also came upon this nice record: Stan Levey, Grand Stan, Bethelehem 71. It was sitting there at $25 and there were no bidders and I was contemplating placing a bid even though I already own a copy in M- condition. I think the seller missed an opportunity here: This is one of those records where if you know it, and you know the identities of the musicians, it becomes much more interesting. Among the musicians on this record are Sonny Clark and Richie Kamuca and it is, as you’d expect, a terrific record. It’s also not so easy to find, certainly tougher to find than Getz/Gilbert0. This one was in VG+ condition and sold for $27. The highest price we’ve ever seen for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide is $90.

Going Up . . . Up . . . Up . . .

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Here’s some interesting jazz vinyl auctions that closed this week.

We need a new explanation for this one: Horace Silver, Song For My Father, Blue Note 4185. Admittedly this is a great, classic record and this was an original mono pressing in near mint condition for both the record and the cover. Why is there a new explanation needed? Conventional wisdom has said that because of the initial popularity of this record, there has always been a relatively abundant supply of original pressings in decent condition. Conventional wisdom may be changing. This particular copy sold for $405. Our previous high for this in the Jazz Collector Price Guide was $334 and, at the time, we considered that to be an aberration. What’s this?

And this? Gene Ammons, Blue Gene, Prestige 7146. This was from the same seller and it was also in near mint condition for the record and the cover. You’d normally expect this in the $40-$50 range, maybe a drop higher because of the condition. This copy sold for $164.50.

This next one got quite a high price, but not a surprising one:

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Off To The Races, The Chase is On

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We’ll start today’s jazz vinyl watch with a personal favorite that we don’t see that often on eBay: Charles Rouse and Paul Quinichette, The Chase is On, Bethlehem 6021. This is an original red label pressing with the deep grooves. The record is in near mint/ex-plus condition and the cover is VG+. The current price is nearly $300 and there are about 12 hours to go as of this writing. Great record.

Now we go to a conundrum we have mentioned before: How do you value a sealed record without knowing its provenance and then, once you have it, what do you do with it? In this case the record is: Donald Byrd, Off the the Races, Blue Note 4007. This is a mono pressing and the factory seal is still on it. There is no indication of Liberty on the back cover — it looks like an original back cover. The seller, Euclid Records, one of the most credible in our community, makes no claims about the record’s originality and offers no hype. We’ve seen records like this and they’ve been originals, we’ve seen records like this and they’ve been later pressings, New York USA or Liberty. So what would you bid on this record? And, I assume you would open it as soon as you got it, so is there a huge value in purchasing it sealed? This one is priced at more than $150 and there are still three days to go.

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Bethlehem Beauties, Blue Note, Warhol (Again)

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Here’s some of the jazz vinyl we’re watching on eBay.

Let’s start with a couple from the Bethlehem label, which doesn’t always get a lot of attention here: Mal Waldron, Left Alone, Bethlehem 6045. This is an original pressing. The vinyl is VG++ and the cover is only VG. The current price is a little over $300 and there are still 10 hours to go on the auction. This next one is a little tough to figure: Charles Rouse and Paul Quinichette, the Chase is On, Bethlehem 6021. I love this record, but this is a stereo pressing with a blue label. Can’t imagine this was issued the same time as the mono pressing, so it much be a later pressing, right, even if it is the first stereo issue?  In any case this stereo pressing is listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It’s closing later today and is in the $150 price range so far.

Here’s a Stanley Turrentine Blue Note doing quite well:

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Jazz Vinyl To Watch: Parlan, Dex, Mobley, Burrell

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Lots of interesting jazz vinyl to watch on eBay.

Here’s one that will soon enter the $1,000 bin: Horace Parlan, Us Three, Blue Note 4037. This is listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover and it is described as an original pressing, although a close-up of the labels always helps. There are a couple of days left on the bidding for this one and the price is already at $1,000. The same seller his this one: Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. This one is also listed as an original pressing. The record is in M- condition and the cover looks to be about VG+. The price is currently at $850.

Dexter Gordon, Daddy Plays the Horn, Bethlehem 36. This is an original deep groove mono pressing with the red label.  The record and the cover are both listed in VG++ condition. The price is already more than $300. The same seller has this one: Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550. This is an original pressing. It’s only in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover, but it is already bid up to more than $500.

Here’s another Andy Warhol cover:

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