The $1,000 Bin: Helen Merrill & Sonny Clark (Again)

A couple of records we’ve been watching fell into the $1,000 bin.

Helen Merrill, Emarcy 36006. This is the one with Clifford Brown, and it has become quite a collectible.  A few weeks ago we put one into the Jazz Collector Price Guide at $1,781. This one was in comparable condition: VG++ for the record and M- for the cover. Although it didn’t reach the same height, it did quite well for its seller: It sold for $1,414.

Then there was this: Sonny Clark, Dial S For Sonny, Blue Note 1570. This is a regular in the $1,000 club these days. This one looked to be in VG++ condition, for both the record and the cover, with the dealer stating that some might rate it M-. It sold for $1,670.

Of Dinah, Sarah, Helen Merrill and Clifford Brown

It was interesting to note the Helen Merrill record that sold for almost $1,800 the other day (Emarcy 36006). This is a terrific record featuring Clifford Brown and it’s highly valued by collectors. Clifford, of course, made records with other vocalists before he died so young, including the great Sarah Vaughan LP on Emarcy and this great one by Dinah Washington: Dinah Jams, Emarcy 36000. Dinah Jams not only features Clifford, it also features Clark Terry and Maynard Ferguson in a trumpet battle tour-de force. While the Helen Merrill album can be quite pricey, and the Sarah has been known to sell for more than $100, we’ve rarely seen the Dinah — or any Dinah Washington LP — sell for high-end collectible prices. So, it was nice to see that a copy of Dinah Jams sold the other day for $109.38 to someone who, obviously, has great taste in music and records.

No Summer Slump Yet: Lots Of $1,000 Records

We have quite a large number of items to add to the $1,000 and even $2,000 bins on this beautiful Monday morning in sunny New York. If there is a summer lull in prices on eBay, it hasn’t much made a dent in the prices of some of the high-end collectibles, such as these:

Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1550. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing in beautiful M- condition, for both the record and cover. It was also sold by the seller Roverd-90, who had the Johnny Griffin the other day and also had a few others, such as the Lee Morgan Candy I’ll cover below. Quite a nice week for Mr. Roverd-90. This record sold for $1,825.

As mentioned, Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This is one of the rarest of the rare and was in beautiful M- condition, both record and cover. It sold for $1,900.

We had pointed out the Jazz Record Center’s auction of Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This one was listed as mint condition — not even mint minus and we had predicted that it would sell for at least $2,000 and perhaps as much as $3,000. We were right the first time: This one fetched a price

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A $1,000 Bill Evans & a Few More For The Price Guide

We’ve been quite busy selling some nice records on eBay and posting a few more, but we’ve still made time to keep an eye on some of the interesting collectibles that other people are selling. Here’s an update, all of which will be entered into the Jazz Collector Price Guide sometime over the weekend:

Bill Evans, New Jazz Conceptions, Riverside 223. This was an original white label pressing with the original cover. The cover is one of the things that makes this so collectible, since subsequent versions were released with another cover. For this copy, the record was in M- condition and the cover was listed as VG/VG+. The price was $1,136.

Phil Woods, Warm Woods, Epic 3436. This was an original pressing with the yellow label. The record and the cover were both in M- condition. The price was $555.

Helen Merrill, Emarcy 36006. This was the original pressing of this LP, which features

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For the Price Guide: Duke Jordan, Dex, Jackie

Some more for the Jazz Collector Price Guide. I’m keeping pretty busy with this stuff. 

Duke Jordan, Flight to Jordan, Blue Note 4046. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record was VG+ and the cover was M-. The price was $589.90.

Leonard Feather Presents Bop, Mode 127. This was an original pressing in VG++/VG+ condition. The price was $80.

Warne Marsh, Music For Prancing, Mode 125. This was also an original pressing in VG++/VG+ condition. It sold for $68.

Dexter Gordon, One Flight Up, Blue Note 4176. This one already has received some discussion on the

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Dodo, Kenney, Wallington For the Price Guide

Here are a few more for the Jazz Collector Price Guide:

George Wallington, Jazz For the Carriage Trade, Prestige 7032. This was an original pressing with the New York label. The record was M- and the cover was VG++. The price was $343.89.

Clifford Brown and Max Roach, Study in Brown, Emarcy 36037. This was an original pressing with the drummer logo. The record and cover were both VG++. The price was $123.62.

Artie Shaw and His Grammercy Five, Volume 4, Clef 645. This was an original pressing with the David Stone Martin cover. The price was $56.

Serge Chaloff, Fable of Mabel, Storyville 317. This was an original 10-inch pressing in VG++ condition, both record and cover. he price was $91.

Chet Baker and Art Pepper, Playboys, Pacific Jazz 1234. This was an 

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Some High Tickets: Dexter, Helen Merrill, Jackie

We were running out of the house yesterday and we had about 10 minutes to do a quick perusal of eBay, so we did a search of the records ending soonest with the highest prices. This is not a search we normally do, but it was interesting because most of the records that came up were records that could be purchased immediately for a Buy-It-Now price. Most of these were quite high-priced (after all, that was the search criteria), but it’s an interesting way to find something that might be at the top of your want list. In any case, we watched a few of the auction items, and were surprised to see some of the high prices, given what we’re seeing these days with our own auctions on eBay. 

This one was the biggest surprise: Dexter Gordon, One Flight Up, Blue Note 4176. This was a mono pressing, New York USA, with one side deep groove. It was listed in excellent condition, record and cover, which we generally translate to VG++ in our terms. The record sold for $415.90, quite a high price for this record. We have previously followed four copies of this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, and it’s never sold for more than $200 in the past. Anyone have any idea why this copy would sell for such a high price in this supposedly down market? I have a NY USA stereo pressing of this record in VG++ condition, and would happily take $200 for it if anyone is interested. Seriously.

Among the other high-ticket items from yesterday, there were:

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This Week on Ebay: Miles, Clifford, Trane

We haven’t been very active selling on eBay lately: Just life getting in the way. However, this week we found some time to clean and post a bunch of items. It’s a mixed bag, but there are a few nice ones, including:

Miles Davis, Blue Haze, Prestige 7054. This is an original New York yellow label Prestige. It’s in VG+ condition, and sounds quite nice. We put a start price of $30 and it’s already received a bid, so we expect there to be some action.

We also put up a nice-sounding original copy of Clifford Brown, Jam Session, Emarcy 36002. This also has a start price of $30. It’s a great record, with a lot of positive energy. 

As you may have noticed on the Jazz Collector site, we’ve been going through some old Downbeat Magazines, looking for collectibles (we’re even giving one away). We’ve put a few up for sale in our eBay story, and we put a very interesting one up for auction yesterday. It is:

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Another Dolphy Collectible; Some LPS on eBay Today

Last week we were watching the record Eric Dolphy in Europe, Debut 136, which eventually sold for $1,375. This weekend there was another nice European rare Dolphy for sale: Eric Dolphy Last Date, Fontana 681-008. To my knowledge, this was an original pressing originally issued in Holland. This one was in beautiful M- condition and sold for $596.50. 

While I’m here, I may as put in a reminder that we have a few records for sale on eBay today. Here are a couple:

Mundell Lowe, New Music of Alex Wilder, Riverside 219. This is an original

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Price Updates: Thad, Clifford, Bird, Evans

Here are a few more for the Price Guide:

Chet Baker and Art Pepper, Playboys, World Pacific 1234. This was an original pressing. The record was M- and the cover was VG++. The price was $318.

The Magnificent Thad Jones, Blue Note 1527. This was a Lexington Avenue pressing in VG++ condition, record and cover. Price: $565.

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers at the Bohemia Volume 2, Blue Note 1508. This was also a Lexington Avenue pressing in VG++ condition. Price: $162.50

Tommy Flanagan, The Cats, New Jazz 8217. This was an original purple label pressing

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