Blue Note Vinyl and A Blue Note Loss

Fuller2 copyLet’s begin the day with some Blue Notes on my own personal want list, starting with Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. This looks to be an original pressing with the West 63rd address, deep grooves, RVG and ear. The record is listed as M- and the cover is VG++. The price is currently around $450 with more than three days to go. This record, in this condition, I fully expect to sell for more than $1,000. This is another one of those records that I owned and sold about 35 years ago to buy a boat. You know the story: The boat sank and I’ve still never replaced the record.

Lee Morgan Sextet, Blue Note 1541. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record is in M- condition and the cover is VG++. This one is in the $460 range and I also expect it to sell for more than $1,000. This was

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Jazz Vinyl For The New Year

wes copyWhen last I left you, these were some of the jazz records I was watching on eBay:

Wes Montgomery, Full House, Riverside 434. This was a mono pressing with the white labels, which I assume is a promo pressing. There don’t seem to be deep grooves, but I’m not sure if that has anything to do with whether this is a first pressing. The record was in VG++ condition and the cover was VG+, with some wear on the cover. It sold for $310.

Curtis Fuller, Bone and Bari, Blue Note 1572. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing with the deep grooves. It was listed in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The bidding reached $855, but it did not surpass the reserve price set by our friend Serge.

These two also did not sell, but they have since been re-listed at the same price, and are still not getting any action:

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Back in Business Watching Jazz Vinyl

ornette colemanI’ve been so busy with real work I haven’t even looked at eBay in more than a week. But today is a holiday here in the states, and then a weekend, so perhaps I will be able to refocus once again on happenings within the whacky world of jazz vinyl. In the meantime, let me clean up some of the sold items on my watch list, starting with some of those records from the Jazz Record Center auction.

Ornette Coleman, Change of the Century, Atlantic 1327. This was an original pressing with the black label. I haven’t seen that many black label pressings of this record, but I never considered it to be that much of a collectible. Perhaps I need to change my perspective. This copy was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $449.

I had mentioned these two in an earlier post: Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. This was an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,291. Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else, Blue Note 1595. This was also an original pressing in M- condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $751.

This one, from a different seller, fetched quite a nice price:

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Tracking Trey Blue Notes

curtis fuller on blue noteThe Jazz Record Center has an auction closing tomorrow and, as is usually the case, there are some interesting records worth watching, including Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. This is an original pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding is now in the $520 range. In the past I would have said that the Jazz Record Center auctions get top dollar, which makes watching them valuable in tracking the market, but I don’t think that is the case any longer. I think not taking Pay Pal eliminates a portion of the buyers, but it probably eliminates some of the risker potential buyers as well.

This one is from the same auction and the action, so far, is surprisingly subdued: Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else, Blue Note 1595. This is an original pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. With the auction closing tomorrow, there is only one bid at $200. We’ve seen this record sell for more than $1,000 several times in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so we’ll see what happens with this copy.

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Lou REALLY!!! Takes Off, and More

louHere’s some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:

Lou Donaldson, Lou Takes Off, Blue Note 1591. This was an original pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,499.99. If you ever needed evidence on the increasing value of Blue Note originals, here it is. It has the presence of Sonny Clark on piano, which always seems to raise the value of the records (for good reason, IMHO), but this is quite a hefty  price for a Lou Donaldson LP. Very happy to have acquired a mint copy recently. The gift of Baltimore keeps coming for me.

Sonny Clark is on this one as well and, again, the price is somewhat reflective: Curtis Fuller, Bone & Bari, Blue Note 1572. This was an original pressing, probably in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. This one sold for $1,624.99.

Here’s another Blue Note from the same era, although no Sonny Clark:

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Appreciating Those 10-Inch Blue Notes

wytonI’ve been spending the past few days listening to some of the 10-inch Blue Notes from the recently acquired Baltimore collection. Man, are these great, especially because they are in such nice condition, pretty much M- for all of them. It’s not just the sound that I am appreciating, but the fact that they are right “of the era.” Pure bebop and early hard bop, rhythm sections right in the groove not trying to do too much, young and brilliant musicians finding their voices. It’s a real treat and doing it all at once is a lot of fun. So, when I was searching eBay this morning, this is one of the first records that came to my attention: Wynton Kelly, New Faces – New Sounds, Blue Note 5025. This is an original 10-inch Lexington Avenue pressing that looks to be in what I would probably consider VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover, although the seller seems to use more plus signs than a CPA during tax season. This one was not in the Baltimore collection, so it represents a hole in my collection. The price is now about $160 with about 12 hours left in the auction. I’d perhaps be interested, but the wacky grading scares me off a little, even though the seller has lots of feedback and a 100% rating.

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Blue Notes, Prestiges, Jazz Collector Price Guide

Bone & BariSorry. I had promised more updates for the Jazz Collector Price Guide and then got distracted by the lovely holiday weekend up in The Berkshires. So here are a few more that will go into the Price Guide soon:

This is a new high point for this record: Curtis Fuller, Bone & Bari, Blue Note 1572. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street and NY 23 labels. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was VG+. The final price was $1,789. I have an M- copy of this record. Would I sell it for $1,789? Hmmmm.

This one also sold for quite a hefty price: Ray Bryant Trio, Prestige 7098. The record and cover were only in VG+ condition, although the cover certainly looked nicer in the photo. Good lesson to be learned here: Spend some time on the photos if you are going to list on eBay, and make sure they are nice and clear. This record sold for $987.77.

Jerome Richardson, Roamin’ with Richardson, New Jazz 8226. This was an original purple label with the deep grooves and the record and cover both seemed to be in M- condition. This one sold for $374. Frankly, I thought it would fetch a higher price.

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E-Baying With Knepper, Evans and Blue Notes

I have quite a long watch list on eBay right now, so let’s get right to it. This is a record I’ve never seen before and, frankly, wasn’t even aware existed: A Swinging Introduction to Jimmy Knepper, Bethlehem 77. This is an original pressing with the red label and deep groove. I took a quick look at the personnel and was surprised to see the pianist listed as one “B. Evans.” I would have thought that the presence of Mr. Evans would have brought this record to my attention before. Perhaps it has and I just forgot about it. It wouldn’t be the first time. In any case, it’s got a great cover, it’s got Bill Evans on piano and it’s an original  pressing from 1957. Also, it’s in M- condition. I would think there’d be a strong collectible market for this. We’ll see. So far there are no bids at $135, but there are still three days left to go before the auction closes.

Here are a few Blue Notes on our radar:

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Playing Jazz Vinyl Catch-Up

Sorry I haven’t posted all week. Been a little crazy and exciting around here. My son wrote and directed a play that opened Off Broadway this week. Reviews have been terrific — here’s the one from The New York Tmes: Being Bullied, Getting Even and Maybe Going Too Far. If you’re in New York, please come see it at the Pershing Square Signature Theater. 

Anyway, back to watching records on eBay. Here were a few that we had been watching when we fell off the grid, starting with: Curtis Fuller, Bone and Bari, Blue Note 1572. This was an original pressing that looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. This one sold for $1,259.56, which is the highest price we’ve ever recorded for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

This one came from the same seller: Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights Volume 1, Blue Note 1596. This was an original pressing that looked to be in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. This one, of course, as the Andy Warhol cover design and art. It sold for $655. I thought it would sell for a higher price.

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A Bounteous Batch of Blue Note Beauties

If you were to jump onto eBay today, as I have just done, you will find a large number of very nice original Blue Note records in extremely attractive condition. It isn’t always this way, but it certainly is now, and here a few to peruse, starting with: Curtis Fuller, Bone and Bari, Blue Note 1572. This is an original pressing that looks to be in VG++ (or better) condition for the record and M- for the cover. This record features Sonny Clark on piano. The start price is $500 and so far there are no bidders, but it’s safe to assume that there will be. This seller, bluenote5, has a bunch of nice Blue Notes on eBay right now. For instance, Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550. This is another original pressing with the New York 23 label and it is also close to M- condition, based on the descriptions. The start price is also in the $500 range and so far there is only one bid.

Hank Mobley and his All Stars, Blue Note 1544. This is an original West 63rd/New York 23 pressing and looks to be in at least VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding has already surpassed $500 and there are still five days to go.

And then there are some nice Blue Notes from the Jazz Record Center, including:

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