Catching Up on Some Rare Jazz Vinyl

Here are a few jazz vinyl auctions we are watching from The Jazz Record Center. All of these auctions close later today. Clifford Brown Memorial Album, Blue Note 1526. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing with the frame cover. Record is listed as in “near new” condition and the cover is probably M- or VG++, depending how you feel about superficial “dings.” Bidding is at $500.  On one of my Horace Silver radio shows/podcasts I tell the story of how Alfred Lion and Art Blakey drove down to Wilmington, Del., to hear Clifford Brown for the first time and brought him back to New York to record those legendary Blue Note records at Birdland. Great stuff. Read more

Another Jazz Vinyl Perusal

As you can probably tell, I no longer peruse eBay with the same vigor and excitement as I have done in the past, particularly when I was buying or selling jazz vinyl with any regularity, which I have not done for a quite a long time. But I still like to peruse and write about my perusals, so here we go with another live edition of Al perusing rare jazz vinyl on eBay. My normal course of action involves looking at current auctions, starting with highest prices first. Right at the top are three records I have seen before doing this, none of which has sold at the prices asked by the dealers. These are: Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This is an original pressing listed in “excellent” condition for the record and the cover. The start price is $3,500. Chet Baker Sings, Pacific Jazz 11. There is no condition listed for this 10-inch record. Cover looks to be about VG+. Starting price is $1,800. Not a serious seller, IMHO. And from the same seller as Lee Morgan Candy, we have Introducing Lee Morgan, Savoy 12091. This looks to be an original red label pressing, also listed in “excellent” condition for the record and the cover. The start price is $1,500. I’ve been watching these records for a long time on eBay and the fact that there are no bidders at the starting price doesn’t seem to dissuade or discourage the sellers. Read more

Jazz Vinyl: Where’s the Action?

Things have been hectic around here, to say the least. My wife, known to many of you as The Lovely Mrs. JC, had a retinal detachment in August and has since been through three surgeries and two laser procedures. We’ve been driving back and forth between New York and The Berkshires almost every week. Fingers crossed that the third surgery was the charm. In the meantime, I’m thankful I’ve been able to continue doing my radio show on WTBR-FM Pittsfield, which are also the podcasts that appear on the Jazz Collector web site. I have never done anything like this before and it’s giving me a lot of enjoyment. Plus it’s getting me back into the music, even more than the records, which, IMHO, is always a good thing. But there are still records out there and, I assume eBay is still in business, so I will swing over there now and do my first search in well over a month. And what do I find? Read more

Bewitched, Bothered and Befuddled

Time again to clear out some items from the Jazz Collector eBay watch list, whatever that is. Let’s start with Cliff Jordan, Cliff Craft, Blue Note 1582. This is an original pressing that was listed in Good condition for the record and Fair for the cover. The seller suggested that the buyer clean the record “multiple times” before judging the condition. OK. Also, I should mention that the seller’s rating on eBay is 97.7%. When I originally spotted this record, the start price was $1,000 and I was curious to see if it would sell. It didn’t. So the seller relisted it for $500 and it did sell. I don’t have an original copy of Cliff Craft in my collection, but I wouldn’t be interested in one of G/F condition, especially if I had to pay $500 for it. Very happy with my clean United Artists pressing, which I bought for $10 from Red Carraro sometime in the previous century. Read more

Dorham, Mobley, Trane and the Return of Moose the Mooche

Today we have lots of nice records from some of the more prominent eBay sellers so let’s get right to it, starting with Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This one is listed in VG or so condition for the record and VG for the cover, with a drill hole through the label. The bidding is in the $425 range with three days left on the auction. The seller, the-big-game-hunter has some other nice records for sale this week, although not necessarily in the best of condition. Here’s another likely to fetch a high price: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This is a West 63rd Street pressing, listed in G+ or VG- condition for the record and a very generous VG for the cover. There’s also a big stain on the one of the labels. Bidding is in the $400 range with three days left. Read more

Jazz Vinyl, Sun Ra and a Sax Played by Trane; Welcome Back

Lots to catch up on. Let’s start with a few things that are for sale on eBay now and segue into news and comments from readers and see where that takes us. Here’s one that’s closing later today: J. R. Monterose, Blue Note 1536. This looks to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The seller has a complicated grading process, but he does mention a slight warp on the record, so I’m thinking VG+ if I were to bid, which I won’t, and maybe VG++ for the cover. The bidding is in the $550 range and I don’t think anyone would be surprised to see this end up in the $1,000 bin. Read more

Heavy Hitter$

I went a few weeks back to clean out my eBay watch list and found a few items to share before moving forward. Here are some high-end items from the seller 1molecularrman, starting with Webster Young, For Lady, Prestige 7106. This was an original New York yellow label listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $2,175. I didn’t recall ever seeing a higher price for this record, but I don’t watch eBay every day the way I used to. Checking with Popsike . . . .  yes, this is the highest price ever recorded for For Lady. Read more

Familiar Names and Titles for The $1,000 Bin

Catching up on some more jazz vinyl auctions on eBay, starting with Tommy Flanagan, The Cats, New Jazz 8217. This was an original purple label mono deep groove pressing. The record features John Coltrane among others. The record and cover were listed in M- condition, although the picture of the bag cover is clearly not M-, and is probably just VG+.  The final price was $1,675. Based on Popsike, that is the highest price we’ve seen for The Cats, possibly more than double the previous high.

Whilst we are perusing the $1,000 bin: Duke Jordan, Flight to Jordan, Blue Note 4046. This was an original West 63rdStreet pressing listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The final price was $1,514.89. This one had a start price of about $5,000 but did not sell: Tina Brooks, True Blue, Blue Note 4041. This was an original pressing. The record was listed as M-, but the cover was VG-. It is back on eBay for the same start price. Read more

Four For Blue Note

Random Blue Note jazz vinyl from our eBay watch list, starting with Herbie Hancock, Empyrean Isles, Blue Note 4175. This is an original mono pressing listed in M- condition for the record and cover. Seller rates it a ten on a scale of one to ten, for whatever that is worth. I had this in my queue and a reader sent me a link and it has 70 watchers, so it is, at the very least, a widely viewed listing that closes within a couple of hours of when I post this. The bidding is already more than $900 and at that price it will set a new high for this record, according to Popsike, but we are fully expecting that this copy will break into the $1,000 bin. Read more

A Recurring Case of Blue Note Envy

Back to eBay with four Blue Notes that come to you straight from my want list, leading off with Sonny Red, Out of the Blue, Blue Note 4032. This looks to be an original deep-groove West 63rd Street pressing that appears to be in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The bidding is now in the $300 range with four days left on the auction. This is a record that has sold for more than $1,000 several times in the past, with a top price of $1,802, according to Popsike. I certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see this copy end up in the $1,000 bin. This is a record I once owned and stupidly traded away back many years ago – I would say nearly 40 years? – when  I was transitioning from fan to collector and I had set out to fill in all of the first 200 or so yellow-label Prestiges. Read more

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