More Collectible Jazz From eBay

wright copyTo catch up on a few lingering items. That Charlie Parker Limited Edition Swedish record from The Jazz Record Center wound up selling for $248.50. I promised to check my collection to see if I have a copy and, alas, to my pleasant surprise, I do. I usually know all of my records, but having bought a couple of collections in the past two years has left me with many items unawares and unplayed. This one, I recall, came from the Irving Kalus collection, still very near and dear to my heart. My copy of the Bird record seems to be an original in every way, except it is not a numbered edition. It still describes it as a “Limited Edition: This Record is Issued in 1000 Copies. This is Copy.” And there’s no number after that. Anyway, I have it on the turntable now. The fidelity is not great as you would expect, but the music is great. Bird started out with Anthropology, on which he played a very energetic and imaginative solo. Next is Scrapple From the Apple. Yeah, definitely some nice Bird. Really nice Bird. Ooh, now he’s playable Embraceable You. Great.

Also from that auction: John Wright, South Side Soul, Prestige 7190. This was

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A Rare Bird, Indeed

Bird copyWow — 49 comments and counting on the previous post. Glad you all have been keeping the conversation going while I’ve been out making a living. Been gone so long my own Web site wouldn’t let me back on without having to sign up. So much to catch up on, and I will start with the current auction from The Jazz Record Center.

Charlie Parker in Sweden, Limited Edition, Sonet SLP 27. This is, apparently, a rare limited numbered edition, of which this copy is number 734. Until reading this listing I wasn’t aware that there was a limited edition of this record. I’m pretty sure I have some copy of it, but I will have to look to see if mine is numbered. This one looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. There are about three days left in the auction and the bidding is nearing $200.

Beverly Kenney With Jimmy Jones and the Basie-Ites, Royal Roost, 2218. This is a nice record and I could use a clean copy, which this is, at least for the vinyl, which looks to be M-. The cover looks to be about VG or VG+ depending upon how you feel about tape stains, about which I personally don’t feel to good. This one is in the $60 range.

Here’s an interesting package of Hank Mobley records on Blue Note:

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Some Surprises From Jazz Record Center Auction

gerry mulligan jazz vinylOur friends at the Jazz Record Center had an auction last week and here are some of the results:

Gerry Mulligan Meets Johnny Hodges, Verve 8367. This was an original pressing with the trumpeter logo and it was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. I was surprised to see this one sell for $148.37. Neither Hodges nor Mulligan is typically all that collectible, and this is one of the later Verves among those with the trumpeter logo. Any theories as to why this would sell for nearly $150? Is the market shifting back to Verves a little?

I’ve never seen this one before: Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, A Nite at Carnegie Hall, Black Deuce. This was the full set of 78s capturing the historic September 29, 1947 concert. As noted in the listing, this was a pirated record release, but it was the first of the issues in any form. The set looked to be in excellent, near mint condition. They sold for $688.

This one almost made it into the $2,000 bin:

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Another Adventure in Jazz Collecting, Baltimore Part 7

Blue TrainSo I was back on the phone with Dan and poring through a box of Charlie Parker 78s. There were a bunch of Dials, some Mercurys and Savoys. I had never had much luck securing Charlie Parker Dials, so this would be a very welcome addition to my collection. Then I went into another one of those Capital mailers and it was filled with Blue Notes. A bunch by Miles Davis and Lou Donaldson, including “If I Love Again,” which Dan put on in the background to accompany me. These, too would be a welcome addition to the collection and they made me realize how pleased I was that this collection ended up in my hands because I would really treasure and appreciate these records. There aren’t that many people who collect and appreciate 78s anymore and I, fortunately, happen to be one. They also seem to fit quite nicely into my collection, filling in a lot of the gaps.

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Another Adventure in Jazz Collecting, Baltimore Part 6

Zemanta Related Posts ThumbnailSo now some of the best records from the Uncle Bruce Baltimore collection were in my apartment and it was about 1 in the morning and, of course, I couldn’t sleep knowing the records were sitting there waiting to be perused. I moved the records from boxes to crates and began just looking through them one more time, this time with no hurry, no rush. It was a great moment, a man, a dog and his score. I didn’t listen to any of the records at this point. There was just something about keeping them as a whole and letting the feeling linger that I didn’t want to disturb.

When morning came I had to get ready for the WFMU Record Fair. I already had 14 boxes of other records in my cramped apartment. I started looking through the Baltimore collection to see if there was anything obvious I could pull out and possibly sell at the record show. I found a few items: There were three Sonny Rollins Blue Notes I now had in triplicates; the copy of Mating Call was an upgrade from my copy; I already had two mint copies of Study in Brown, so I could sell a spare. Same with John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio, Prestige 7123, and one of the Bud Powell Blue Notes

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Another Teaser (Sorry)

Sorry to keep teasing this, but I have been so busy with my real work, trying to make deadlines before the Thanksgiving holiday, that I haven’t been able to sit down and write the story of my latest score. To be fair, I have also been busy going through records. As part the collection, there were three boxes of 78s that the guy didn’t realize he had. I opened one box, saw that the record on top was a Prestige and said, “Oh, I’ll be happy to take these as well.” I just got those boxes out of the car. To give you a sense: In one of the boxes, there was an old mailing carton from Capital records. On the box, the owner had written: “Chas. Parker, Assorted Mercury, Dial, Savoy, 1-1-54.” The carton was full. Each record was unplayed. I promise to begin telling the whole story by the end of the week.

A Bird in Hand?

BirdHere are some jazz vinyl auctions to watch and record (for Jazz Collector) on eBay:

Charlie Parker, The Bird Blows the Blues, Dial 901. This is quite a rare find. I’m pretty sure we’ve established here on Jazz Collector that this was the first 12-inch jazz LP ever released, by Ross Russell at Dial as a promo with no cover. This particular copy is on red vinyl and is listed in VG condition with lots of scratches and no skips. The auction closes in less than two days and the bidding is in the $100 range.

Jutta Hipp at the Hickory House, Volume 1, Blue Note 1515. This looks to be an original pressing with the Lexington Avenue address and deep grooves. The seller lists the record and cover in VG+ condition, but if you look at the description in the listing it really reads a lot more like VG, with visible wear and audible noise. There are more than four days left in the auction and the bidding is in the $250 range.

Seldon Powell, Roost 2205. This is an original deep groove pressing. The record is VG+ and the cover is VG. The seller has a start price of around $350 and so far there are no takers. Think it will sell? I don’t. We haven’t seen it sell for more than around $220 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, and that was in better condition.

 

 

 

Collectibility in the Eye of the Beholder

I imagine this is a great record, but someone needs to refresh my memory as to why it is so highly coveted by collectors that the price for this is now nearly $400 and will likely exceed $500 or much more when all is said and done: Wynton Kelly, Kelly at Midnight, Vee Jay 3001. This is a stereo pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. Is it the stereo pressing and the “stereophonic” lettering on the cover? Vee Jays usually don’t have this type of cachet, nor do Wynton Kelly trio records.

Think this one will sell? Presenting Ernie Henry, Riverside 222. This is a blue label pressing so it is not an original, which would have the white label. The record and cover are in VG+ condition. The seller has set an opening bid of about $200 and so far there are no bids at all, with the auction closing later today. My take: If it was in M- condition as a blue-label second press it might sell for $200, but in VG+ condition, I have my doubts.

While we’re not on Blue notes, here’s another:

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Some 10-Inch LPs and Some Bird Envy

Here are some of the results from the Jazz Record Center auctions we were watching, including the one with the cover that has some of our readers weirded out. Let’s start with Kenny Dorham Quintet, Debut 9. This is an original 10-inch pressing, quite rare, that looked to be in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $960.

Charlie Mariano, Mariano, Bethlehem 1022. This was another 10-inch record from the collection of Tom Stewart and like the others the record was in M- condition and the cover probably VG++, with the owner’s name written in ink. This one sold for $355.

Now for the one with the weird cover, Red Mitchell, Happy Minors, Bethlehem 1033. This was from the same collection, M- for the record, VG++ for the cover. It sold for $333.88. So far I haven’t found a copy in my own collection. If I didn’t buy it originally for $50, I can say for pretty sure that it was because of the cover. Not one of my favorites, to be sure.

Speaking of covers, check out the next listing, and we will show a picture of the cover below:

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More Jazz Vinyl For the $1,000 Bin

Let’s catch up on some of the rare jazz vinyl records we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with: Charlie Parker, Bird Blows the Blues, Dial 1. This is the first 12-inch jazz record ever and it was issued without a cover. It usually fetches a nice price when it lands on eBay, and this one was no exception. It was in VG+ condition and sold for $1,643.49. There were only two bids, which always makes me a bit suspicious when a record sells for this much money. It’s usually a bidding war that drives prices this high.

This is one that’s new to me, but it got a huge price: Rosemary Squires, My Love is a Wanderer, MGM 3597. Looks like this one was in M- condition for the record an the cover, other than a cutout hole on the cover. Rosemary Squires was a British pop star, and I’m not quite sure what makes this record so valuable and so desired by collectors, that they would drive the price all the way up to $1,580.55. I’m sure someone out there will be happy to enlighten me.

Here’s another for the $1,000 bin:

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