Tag: Duke Ellington

Jazz Vinyl to Ring in 2019: Happy New Year

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Happy New Year jazz lovers. Of course we will ring in 2019 with some rare jazz vinyl on eBay, starting with Thelonious Monk Plays the Music of Duke Ellington, Riverside 201. This was an original white label pressing with the original cover. When we first looked at this a couple of weeks ago it was sitting in the $250 range. It wound up selling for $1,730.55, which is the highest price, by far, yet recorded by Popsike for this record.

Curtis Fuller, Blues-ette, Savoy 12141. This is an original red label pressing. The record is listed in VG++ condition and the cover is VG. The auction closes in a couple of days and the bidding is in the $380 range. I had a sealed copy of this record in perfect condition. I opened the seal and, surprise, it was an original pressing. For some reason I sold it and the price was less than the $380 that’s already bid on this copy.

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Four From The Jazz Collector Want List

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I had my eye on a couple of lesser-condition Blue Notes from my want list, starting with Cliff Jordan, Blue Note 1565. This was an original New York 23 West 63rd Street pressing. The record was VG- and the cover was VG++. I’m always afraid of VG- because it often means I wouldn’t be comfortable putting the record on my turntable. This one sold for $687.54. I still have my 1970s UA copy to listen to. The same seller was offering Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore, Blowing in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This was also an original New York 23 pressing. The record was also VG- and the cover was VG+. The final price was $408. Thank goodness for those UA pressings. Read more

Feeding the Obsession, Yet Again

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So that trip to Spike’s Record Rack in Catskill, NY, sparked a bit of inspiration for me, as far as listening to records and enjoying my collection. First of all, I realized, one again, and this is obvious to everyone who knows me, including all of you here who know me but don’t actually know me, that I really enjoy buying records. I know, it’s a big reveal, but sometimes it’s easy to forget. For years it has seemed that the era of going to record stores and actually finding collectible jazz records in nice condition was over and never coming back, having evolved to an online/eBay world. Who would have thought that there would a vinyl revival, not just in records but in stores that carry jazz vinyl and cater to vinyl enthusiasts such as us? It is a pleasant and wholly unexpected surprise that an activity that has given me so much enjoyment all of these years is now something I can do again. Now, if my knees would cooperate with basketball and my arm with stickball, I’d really be drinking from the fountain of youth. Read more

Shock and Awe!!!!!!

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duke copyReaders continue to express shock and awe at the prices on the funkyousounds auction of the Dr. Herb Wong collection. One missive comes in from Dylan concerning this record: Duke Pearson, The Right Touch, Blue Note 84267. This is a Liberty pressing. An original Liberty, but a Liberty nonetheless. And it is a stereo pressing. This one had a promo stamp. The record was M- and the cover was VG++. The price was $560. And then there was Gerry Mulligan, Night Lights, Phillips 600-108. This is the one we mentioned the other day. Stereo pressing, promo stamp, VG++ condition. We were surprised when the bidding had reached $60. The final price was $434. If anyone has a viable explanation for this one, I’d love to hear it: Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges, Blues Summit Verve 8822. This is a reissue — the type that is very hard to sell on eBay for even $10 or $15. This was a sealed copy and it sold for $349.67. Or this one: Miles Davis, Milestones, Columbia 40837. This is just a plain old reissue. I remember seeing these all the time in $2 or $5 bins. This one sold for $278. I’m going to do a few more, just because I’m sitting here absolutely stunned as I go through the list:

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A Classic, But Is It A Collectible?

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Ellington copyFollowing up on the latest auction from the Jazz Record Center, starting with Duke Ellington at Newport, Columbia 934. This was an original mono six-eye pressing. The record itself was sealed — in those days Columbia had a sealable inner sleeve. So the record was unplayed and the cover was M-. The price was $227.50. This is quite an important record in the history of jazz, capturing the concert that helped to revitalize Ellington’s career, but I’ve never known it to be particularly collectible. I’ve had original pressings at record shows and haven’t been able to sell them, even for $20. I’m not sure how much the market has changed for this record, although in certain circumstances, such as this one, clearly it can now sell for collectible prices. There was a previous copy that once sold for about $127, but the seller was bobdjukic so I’ve always assumed that was an aberration.

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Insanity Check

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Monk2 copyHaving taken note of what I considered to be the pretty high price on that stereo copy of Giant Steps, and having taken note that it was a listing by the seller bobdjukic, I wandered over to eBay to look at some of the other completed listings of his recent auctions because I am always impressed and somewhat taken aback by the prices he is able to get on most of his jazz vinyl listings. And, while there wasn’t that much jazz in these latest auctions, the prices continue to rise to the occasion, so to speak. Here are a few examples:

Thelonious Monk, Monk’s Dream, Columbia 1965. This is a two-eye pressing that is listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG++ for the cover, although upon close examination of the pictures of the cover it would seem more like a VG+ on my grading system. This one was only listed as “very rare,” but it sold for $127.50, which is significantly more than we typically see for this album.

Duke Ellington at Newport, Columbia 934. This is an original six-eye mono pressing that is in shrink wrap, although, to be fair, they were not actually shrink wrapping records when this came out in 1957.

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A Random Assortment of Jazz Vinyl

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eddie costaHere are a few more jazz records we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with Duke Ellington & John Coltrane, Impulse 30. This was an original white label promo copy listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover, although it would be hard to tell from the main picture accompanying the listing. When selling on eBay, always strive for a nice clear picture. Although this one failed in that regard, it didn’t fail to achieve a nice collectible price, which was $316.

This is one I actually bid on: Eddie Costa, Guys and Dolls Like Vibes, Coral 57230. This was an original pressing listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. I own the record, so why did I bid on it? Well . . . it was sitting with no bids with three hours left on the auction and a start price of just $10. The seller didn’t include the important information that Bill Evans is the pianist on this record, which adds to its value and, more importantly, adds to its musical quality, which, of course, is excellent. A really nice record and for my bid of $20, what would be so bad having two copies? Read more

Miles, Monk and a New Face

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Here are some of the items I was watching from the recent auction by the Jazz Record Center, starting with: Wynton Kelly, New Faces – NewSounds, Blue Note 5025. This was an original 10-inch pressing that looked to be in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. The price was $191.38. I should have bid on it. Great music, great cover. How can these 10 inch Blue Notes not be worth more money, given what’s going on with 12-inch Blue Notes?

Miles Davis, Steamin’, Prestige 7200. This was an original New Jersey yellow label pressing that was in probably M- condition for the record and at least VG++ for the cover. It sold for only $75. Weird. Why wouldn’t this get more. It’s actually my favorite among the Miles Prestiges that were all recorded in that one session — Steamin’, Cookin’, Workin’, Relaxin’. By contrast, look at this one from the same auction: Miles Davis, Relaxin’, Prestige 7129. This was an original New York pressing in virtually identical condition to Steamin’. It sold for $393.

I thought this one might fetch a higher price as well:

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Guys and Dolls and Jazz Vinyl

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Sorry I haven’t posted for a few days, but, judging by the comments, you guys seemed to do pretty well without me. In any case, I return with some items I’ve been watching on eBay, starting with some jazz vinyl that seems to indicate the clear split in the market between the super-collectibles, i.e., original Blue Notes et al, and the many other records that were collectible at one time but seem to have lost some of  their market/cachet. Starting with Eddie Costa, Guys and Dolls Like Vibes, Coral 57230. This was an original pressing, in VG++ condition for the record and probably about VG+ for the cover. We’ve covered this in the past for the Jazz Collector Price Guide and it has sold for as much as $136. The seller did not do himself any favors by failing to mention in his listing that the pianist on this date was Bill Evans. It’s also a terrific record. There was one bidder who got this record for $30. From the same seller was Johnny Hodges and Duke Ellington, Back to Back, Verve 8317. This was an original pressing with the trumpeter label in M- condition for the vinyl and probably the same for the cover. Again, there was one bidder and a price of $30. Is there so little interest in Hodges and Ellington these days? One more, also Guys and Dolls by the Manhattan Jazz All-Stars, Columbia 8223. This was an original stereo pressing inVG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It is also a nice album, was somewhat collectible at one time, and features Zoot Sims, Phil Woods, Dave McKenna and others. This one didn’t get a single bid at $20.

 

Jazz Vinyl on eBay: A Little Bit of Trane

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Here’s some jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:

John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic 1311. This was a stereo pressing with the bullseye label. The original mono was black label and the original stereo was green label so this was a second pressing. It was in M- condition and received a top bid of $150.50, which is not bad for a second press, but it still did not meet the seller’s reserve.

This one was another Coltrane, offered by the Jazz Record Center: Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, Impulse 30. This was an original mono pressing with the orange label and the Van Gelder stamp in the dead wax. The price was $151.50. We’ve seen this one sell for nearly $400 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so we’re a little surprised it didn’t get more, considering the reputation of the seller.

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