Catching Up on Some Jazz Vinyl

Let’s catch up on some jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:

First there were those beautiful 10-inch Blue Notes: Clifford Brown, New Star on the Horizon, Blue Note 5032. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing listed in M- condition for the vinyl and what we would characterize as VG++ for the cover. A beautiful copy. It sold for $535.49. From the same seller was this: Miles Davis Volume 2, Blue  Note 5022. This was in similar condition to the Clifford record and sold for $630.

That brilliant copy of Thelonious Monk, Brilliant Corners, Riverside 226, did not reach the  $1,000 bin, to my surprise. This was a white-label pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $898.08.

We’ve never seen a copy of this record fetch a higher price:

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On eBay: Some 10-Inch Blue Note Beauties

I bought those three James Moody 10-inch Prestige records and have gotten into a 10-inch head this past week. I reorganized my 10-inch LPs and did what Rudolf does for some of them, organizing them by label rather than by artist. It was cool doing this with the Prestiges because I never realized before how many I had. But it was disappointing with the Blue Notes, because it made me feel like I wanted more. Then I looked at eBay and saw a couple of real beauties for sale, including:

Miles Davis Volume 2, Blue Note 5022. This one is M- for the record and at least VG++ for the cover and the picture looks absolutely pristine. What a beauty. The price is already more than $300 and it is not going to find a place on my shelf.  This one is from the same seller and looks equally appealing: Clifford Brown, New Star on the Horizon, Blue Note 5032. Same deal as the Miles: M- vinyl, beautiful cover, incredible crystal clear picture. It’s also more than $300 with more than a day to go.

Also on eBay now is an auction from the Jazz Record Center including:

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Some More Jazz Vinyl For the $1,000 Bin

There’s quite a bit of jazz vinyl to catch up on, which will be have to do in a few posts, so let’s start simply this morning with the $1,000 bin, much of which, it seems, we predicted.

Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This was an original pressing in VG++ condition for both the record and cover and, as noted, it had the promo stamp. It sold for $1,525. Probably would have gotten more without the promo stamp.

Dexter Gordon, Dexter Blows Hot and Cool, Dootone 207. This was an original pressing with the red vinyl. The record was VG+ and the cover was listed in VG+, although there was a full split on the bottom and a partial split on the top. There was some question whether this would prevent it from breaking the $1,000 barrier, but it did not: This one sold for $1,136.

This one had it all going for it: Helen Merrill, Emarcy 36006. It was an original pressing, with the blue writing on the back cover, the seller was Euclid Records and the pictures accompanying the listing were quite clear and bright. The price was $1,568.

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Tracking Four For the $1,000 Bin

Here is some jazz vinyl we are watching now on eBay that we expect will end up in the proverbial $1,000 bin:

Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This is an original pressing with the deep grooves and purple label and it is a promo copy as well. The seller has it listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover and the bidding is already more than $700 with five days to go. This will end up in the $2,000 bin, won’t it?

This one may end up there as well: Dexter Gordon, Dexter Blows Hot and Cool, Dootone 207. This is an original pressing with the red vinyl. The record is VG+ and the cover is VG++. This one is around $200 and there are still five days of bidding.

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Finding Some Surprising Dexter and Wardell

One of the things I love about collecting jazz records is that there always seems to be something new to discover. Case in point: Last week I purchased that collection of mostly traditional jazz records, with a bunch of 10-inch LPs as well as some nice 78 boxed sets. I was going through some of the records this evening and came upon this 10-incher: Gene Norman Presents Just Jazz Featuring Les Thompson and His Harmonica, RCAVictor 3102. Frankly, I had never heard of Les Thompson and I’m not a huge fan of jazz harmonica, although I can appreciate some of Toots Thielemans. When I looked closer at the record, however, I noticed some quite interesting sidemen, most particularly Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray. I had thought

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What Happened To The Jazz Vinyl Countdown?

In an earlier post, Rudolf poses the following statement and question: “Al announced the slimming down of his collection a while ago. But I don’t see anything else but buying records by the lot, ‘improving’ on quality, etc., etc. Al: I just would like an honest reply to my straightforward question (the lovely Mrs. JC is not tuned in, so your reply can be honest). The question: With how many albums has your collection grown since your slimming down action?”

Ahem.

I will answer the question directly and then go into some level of explanation. Since the launch of what I affectionately called The Great Jazz Vinyl Countdown almost exactly a year ago – September 29, 2009, if anyone would like to go back to the archives – I would say that my “collection” has increased by about 50 records, while the number of records in my house has grown by several hundred, at least.

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Odds and Ends and Blue Notes

Here are some jazz vinyl odds and ends we’ve been watching for various reasons. We’re not expecting that all of these will end up in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, but they all have something of interest.

We were watching this one because it was listed as an original pressing even though it wasn’t: Kenny Drew Trio, Riverside 224. This was a blue-label pressing when the original was really a white label. The seller was very clear in stating that this was a “first mono pressing.” Ah well. The record was only in VG- condition and the cover was VG. Not an original and not in great condition and it sold for $87. That seems to be the going rate these days perhaps and, perhaps, maybe someone needed a new cover. Not for me in that condition at that price.

We were watching this to get a sense of what the solid blue label Blue Notes are selling for these days: Dexter Gordon, Dexter Calling, Blue Note 84083. This  in M- condition for both the record and the cover and it sold for $29. This probably means that a Liberty pressing of this record would be in the $50 or $60 range, don’t you think?

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Mobley Sets New Top Vinyl Price For Jazz Collector

Time to catch up on a few items. By now, most of you have probably seen what happened with those records we were watching from the Jazz Record Center. The Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568 sold for $5,101, which is the highest price we’ve ever recorded for a jazz record at Jazz Collector. The previous high was $4,036 for a copy of Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, on Ad Lib. A lot of people have already commented on this one, so I don’t have much to add other than what I’ve often said: The market is the market and eBay reflects what the market will bear. This is the going rate for this record in this condition at this point in time. I was wrong, barely on a couple of my predictions. (1) I had opined that two of the other records from this auction would sell for more than $2,000 and only one of them did: Hank Mobley, Hank, Blue Note 1560, which is the one pictured here. This one sold for $2,347. The one that did not break the $2,000 barrier was:

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New Jazz Record Center Auction Could Be Big

Got an email from the Jazz Record Center and they have an auction closing in a couple of days and it could be a doozy. Here’s one of the items we’ll be watching closely, to see if it perhaps sets a new record for Jazz Collector: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This is an original pressing and it’s in M- condition: In fact, it’s listed as “near new.” The combination of one of the rarest records, a Blue Note at that, and the most trusted seller, is definitely worth watching. So far, the record has a start price of $2,500 and there are no bidders.

Here are a couple more we’ll be watching from the same auction:

Dexter Gordon, Dexter Blows Hot and Cool, Dootone 209. This is an original red vinyl pressing. The record is in M- condition and the cover seems to have been repaired, but is also listed as very clean. This one has a start price of

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Rare Jazz Vinyl Collectibles From Three Tenors

We did a whole riff on this record a few months ago and actually came up with some never-heard-before tapes of J.R. Monterose, which, to my knowledge, may still be available. Check it out here and here. Anyway, another copy of this record sold recently: J.R. Monterose In Action, Studio 4 SS 100. This was an original pressing. The vinyl was listed as M- and the cover looked to be VG++, based on the description. The price was $1,911.

Here’s another non Blue Note for the $1,000 bin: Dexter Gordon, Dexter Blows Hot and Cool, Dootone 207. This was an original red vinyl pressing. The record was listed as VG++ and the cover was VG+. The price was $1,137.

This one really got top dollar, more than you would normally expect to see for a Jazzland LP:

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