Tag: Booker Little

Autographs, Autographs, Autographs

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I heard back from the reader who sent me the original link to the auction for the autographed copy of John Coltrane Ballads, Impulse A-32. The one that sold for more than $5,000 a few weeks ago. His name is Bill and, it turns out, he has a passion for collecting autographs—as well as an impressive collection. With his permission, here is a copy of our correspondence after I replied to his initial note.

Al:

My jazz collecting the past 25 years has morphed mainly to jazz autographs. There is something about a genuine signature that makes an item come alive: This was actually in the hands of Billie, Bird, Trane, etc. One must be careful to not obtain a fake, but I have mainly dealt with reputable dealers, and over time, I have become more savvy in finds on sites such as eBay.

I did bid on this Coltrane item, but exited the bidding when it went above $2000.

The prizes of my collection are signed photographs, some contracts, some personal letters, etc. To give you an idea of some of my prized items, here is a partial list: Read more

A Little Hope For the Hipp

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Booker Little Jazz VinylHere’s one you don’t see too often on eBay: Booker Little and Friend, Bethlehem 6061. I guess in this case the friend was Booker’s trumpet. The record and the cover are both in VG+ condition and the start price is $350. Thus far there are no bidders with about a day and a half left on the auction as of this writing. We’ve seen this record sell for more than $700 a few times in better condition than this, so the seller might have expectations of the record selling for this price.

Here’s another seller that is optimistic with a start price of more than $1,400 for this record: Elmo Hope, Meditations, Prestige 7010. This is an original New York yellow label pressing listed in EX+ condition for the record and Ex/Ex+ for the cover. I’m like Bill W. on the previous post. I’m never sure what Ex or Ex+ means, although I’m assuming for this record the condition is either M- or pretty darn close to it.

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A Few Non-Blue Notes; A Flat Market?

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Is it just me, or is there a softness in the market these days? To expedite my posting I  sometimes do a search of jazz records for sale filtered through the highest prices first. There are often $1,000 records and many in the $500-plus category. Lately, however, the searches in that range have been coming up short. Are prices relatively flat at this point or is there just less good stuff on eBay now? These things go in cycles so I wouldn’t put any meaning into it either way. In the meantime, here are some of the rare jazz records that came up on my latest search.

Red Rodney, Signal 1206. This is an interesting one because of the condition. There’s a nice clear picture of the cover, which may give the impression that the cover is in nice condition. However if you look closely and read the description, the cover is in only G condition. And the vinyl is only VG. Despite the condition issues, however, the bidding is already more than $400. I guess this LP is in greater demand than I would have realized.

This is another one that’s getting up there in price, somewhat to my surprise: Booker Little, Time 52011. This is an original mono pressing with the deep grooves and gatefold cover. The record is in M- condition and the cover is VG+. The bidding has already topped $250 and the auction closes later today. Perhaps my previous comment about a soft market was premature.

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Today’s Jazz Vinyl: Burrell, Warhol, A Sealed Book

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Let’s up date some of the Jazz Vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay this week, starting with: Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1543. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing — the last of the Lexingtons — and it has the Andy Warhol cover. Quite a find. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover, the original framed cover, was also in M- condition. It sold for $2,025 and I’m sure will be a welcome addition to the buyer’s collection.

One of our regular readers pointed this one out to me, thinking the price was inordinately highly, but I’m not sure I agree. For original Blue Notes in M- condition, there seems to be no limit these days: Horace Parlan, Up and Down, Blue Note 4082. This one sold for $665.55.

This one was still sealed, but was it the original seal? If so, how would you be able to tell?

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Jazz Vinyl Today: Jackie, Newk, JJ, Booker Little

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Let’s catch up on some jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay, shall we?

I expected this to fetch a higher price but, as I said earlier, I think the picture of the back cover was out of synch with the description: Jackie McLean, Capuchin Swing, Blue Note 4038. This was listed in M- condition and sold for $331.

This is a real nice record that doesn’t have the cachet of a Blue Note or a Prestige, but has excellent personnel, a nice cover, deep groove, etc.: Booker Little Four, United Artists 4034. This was an original pressing in VG++ condition for the record and the cover. The price was $118.25.

This is one of those that can stir up more debate about what, exactly, is an original pressing:

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Today on Ebay, January 12, 2009

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Another slow, slow, slow day on eBay. So slow, in fact, that we only found a couple of records to watch. So slow that we looked all the way ahead until Wednesday to make sure no one inflicted mischief on our computer to prevent it from viewing collectible jazz records. Fortunately, as we looked ahead, we found some nice collectibles from some of the reliable sellers in the Jazz Collector world, including Euclid Records, Atomic Records and the Jazz Record Center. As for today, the nicest record we found is already closed: The Marty Paich Quartet, featuring Art Pepper, Tampa 28. This was an original red vinyl pressing. The record was VG+ and the cover VG++. The price was $260.  Also of interest today: Zoot Sims and the Modern Art of Jazz, Dawn 1102. This is an original pressing, with the record and cover both listed in M- condition. Current price is about $70. That’s really it for today, but tomorrow will be better, we promise. Stay tuned for that post. In the meantime, here’s an update on some of the other items we’ve been watching:

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Today on eBay, January 9, 2009

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Things are slow again on eBay, although there are a few decent items coming up, and a few nice items that recently closed. Coming up: The seller gonerrecords has a few nice items closing in a few hours including Lou Donaldson, The Time is Right, Blue Note 4025. This one is in VG+ condition and is in the $170 price range. Also from this seller: Lou Donaldson, LD + 3, Blue Note 4012. This one is also in VG+ condition and is now in the $85 price range. If you click these items, also look at the vendor’s other items for more jazz vinyl collectibles. Not much else on the high-end later today, but you might want to keep an eye on this one: Lucy Ann Polk, Lucky Lucy Ann, Mode 115. This is currently at about $50. We’ve seen it go for as high as $103 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.  Getting a jump on tomorrow, take a look at this one: Booker Little Four, United Artists 4034. This is an original pressing, and the price is still pretty low.

Among some of the nice items that just sold today are:

Bud Powell, Bud!, Blue Note 1571. This was an original pressing. The record was M-, the cover was VG++, the price was $271. Read more