Eric Dolphy | jazzcollector.com

An Old Fashioned Jazz Vinyl Auction

June 21, 2017 Al 15 comments

Here’s an interesting opportunity: An auction house in the U.K. is auctioning a private jazz collection on Tuesday June 27 and there are options for individuals to bid live, either online or by telephone. The auction house is Omega Auctions and music is one of the areas in which they specialize. The collection belonged to a collector named B.W. Duncan and, of you are interested, you can read his bio here. As for the records themselves: There are quite a large number of Blue Notes, offered as individual pieces, such as Eric Dolphy Out To Lunch or Herbie Hancock My Point of View. There are also Blue Note packages sold in lots, such as an Art Blakey lot or a Horace Silver/Lee Morgan lot. Many of the records in the collection are U.K. pressings. It looks like there are 260 lots in all. It’s worth taking a look at the auction, but make sure to read the instructions if you want to bid because you have to set things up in advance and you have to pay some fairly hefty fees. Read more

A Heavyweight Quartet

March 7, 2017 Al 16 comments

We are watching some real heavy-duty collectibles on eBay now, starting with Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This is one of those quasi-original originals depending upon your point of view. Translation: It doesn’t have the New York 23 on one side of the label. Whether that makes it less original is probably not the point. What we have learned over the years is that it makes it slightly less valuable to collectors. No tears are being shed for this seller, however. The record looks to be in around VG++ condition and the cover is M-. The bidding is more than $2,600 with less than a day left. This copy has been around the block a few times, and is the same one that ostensibly would have sold for more than $11,000 back in 2015 but obviously did not actually sell at that time. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with the goings on at eBay, even for someone like myself who follows things fairly closely.

Blue Note

A Rare Jazz Vinyl Quartet

November 5, 2016 Al 26 comments

Here zre are some of the rare jazz records that have been sitting in our eBay watch list, starting with Eric Dolphy, Outward Bound, New Jazz 8236. This was an original pressing with the purple label and the deep grooves. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was Ex, equivalent to VG++, according to the seller’s description. The final price was $837. High, but certainly not surprising for an original classic such as this. From the same seller, there was Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This was also an original pressing with the purple label and the deep grooves. The record was listed in VG+ condition, as was the cover. The final price was $1,083. And one more from the same seller, this one a tease for me, but not in a comfortable price range, although certainly a fair price range based on the final bid:

DG, or Not DG

October 15, 2016 Al 9 comments

I’ve been off eBay for a few days and I would once again thank Clifford for filling in. It’s always great to see so much interest in his posts, particularly since he covers an area of the jazz collector world that is pretty foreign to me. Anyway, before I left I had a watch list on eBay, and here are some of the items I was watching, starting with: Herbie Hancock, Takin’ Off, Blue Note 4109. This one had a comment in the listing that caught my eye. It looks like an original pressing with the New York USA label, ears, Van Gelder in the deadwax, et al. The seller says that there is a deep groove on side 2. I had thought the pressings after around this era no longer had deep grooves, but apparently I was mistaken. I looked at my copy and there seems to be some kind of groove, although not nearly as pronounced as the one in the picture on this listing. I looked it up in Fred Cohen’s book and it does seem that an original pressing of Takin’ Off does have a deep groove on side 2. Anyway, it’s very hard to get all of the DGs straight, even, apparently, when you’ve been blogging about this stuff for nearly 10 years. Anyway, this one was probably in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $521.

Eric Dolphy in Europe, Volume 1, Prestige 7304. This was an original pressing with the yellow label and New Jersey address. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover looked to be about VG+, based on the picture, with some ring wear and fraying at the bottom. The record sold for $344, about what you would expect, right? Read more

Outward Bound, I Wish I Was

December 22, 2015 Al 8 comments

Here’s one of my favorite covers: Eric Dolphy, Outward Bound, New Jazz 8236. This is an original pressing with the deep grooves and the purple label. The record and cover both look to be in about VG++ condition. The seller has placed a high opening price of more than $700 and so far there are no bidders. We’ll see. I don’t recall this record ever selling for more than $500. I tried doing a Google search for information about the cover, but there was scant detail. Anyone? At the same time, there is also this for sale on eBay: Eric Dolphy, Outward Bound, Esquire 32-123. This is a first press from the U.K. The condition is not nearly so good as the American original, I would guess VG for both the record and the cover, based on the seller’s description. There are three days left on the auction and there is a single bid at about $66.

Here’s another nice Prestige:

Prestige

High Priced Vinyl? ‘Tis in the Eye of the Beholder

November 9, 2015 Al 7 comments

Just checked my eBay watch list and came right up with a pair of high-priced items that we had mentioned here before, starting with Tommy Flanagan Overseas, Prestige 7134. This was an original deep groove New York yellow label listed in M- condition for the record and Ex for the cover. When we first saw this record, the bidding was more than $1,000 and it hadn’t reached its reserve price. The record eventually surpassed the reserve price and beyond, selling for $3,938.

This one sold for more than $2,000 but, frankly, I thought it would sell for more, given it’s rarity: Kenny Dorham, Harlem Youth Unlimited, Jazz at P.S. 175. This was an original pressing listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. I asked in the previous post: Is this the rarest of them all? No one seemed to say no, so I’m assuming perhaps it is. It did not get the highest price of them all, although the price was quite high, $2,225, in fact. I would LOVE a copy of this record, but not at $2,225, thank you.

Let’s check out the e-mail bag:

Isn’t This a Lovey Day?

August 7, 2015 Al 11 comments

I am watching about 10 jazz records on eBay now and not a single one of them has even a single bid. Could it be that the dog days of August are a good time to be buying? Or are sellers ratcheting up their prices as they see more and more high-ticket sales? Or is it nothing at all and the bidding will come in, as it usually does, at the last minute? In any case, here are some of the items, starting with one we’ve never actually seen in person: Lovey Powell, Lovelady, Transition 1. This looks to be an original pressing with the original booklet. The record is listed in VG++ condition and the cover is M-. Not a record you see very often. This one has a start price of $247.50 and there are more than two days left on the auction. Do you expect it to sell? I do.

One Sells, The Other Doesn’t

February 10, 2015 Al 15 comments

Back to watching jazz vinyl on eBay. Here are some of the records that we missed in the past few days, starting with John Jenkins and Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1573. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address on both labels. The record was listed in VG+ condition and the cover was as well. It sold for $865.55, which is getting up there for a VG+ record. At the same time there was this copy of the same record. This one also looked to be an original pressing and seemed to be in better condition than the other one. The seller listed it as Ex+, which typically translates to around VG++. Yet, this one only received a top bid of $224.50 and failed to reach the seller’s reserve price. I’m sure I’m missing something in the listings, but I can’t figure it out. And it can’t be because one of our readers doesn’t like the seller for whatever reason. If we had that kind of clout, we’d start our own eBay for Jazz Collectors only.

Here’s one for the $1,000 bin:

Two for The $1,000 Bin; More Promos

January 20, 2015 Al 6 comments

Today we have a couple of updates for the $1,000 jazz vinyl bin and a bit more on promos, including the WLPs (white label promos) that are apparently a common term that is new to me after 45 years of collecting. First, for the $1,000 bin there is Eric Dolphy In Europe, Debut 136. This is the original Danish pressing and the record and cover both looked to be in M- condition. The record sold for $1,026.

This one is left over from New Year’s, but CeeDee had sent it to me and I had forgotten to post it: Hank Mobley, Soul Station, Blue Note 4031. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing listed in Ex condition, which sounds like VG++ based on the grading system we use here at Jazz Collector. It sold for $1,605. I happened to be perusing my collection late last night and came upon this record and almost forgotten that I had it: Almost, but not quite. I’ve only had it for a little more than a year, since the Baltimore score of a lifetime. I think I will listen to it later today.

Back on the promo front there was this:

Some Sell, Some Don’t, One Gets Quite A Price

August 17, 2014 Al 12 comments

Many ages ago, when I last posted on Jazz Collector, there were many items I was watching on eBay that have subsequently sold. Or not. Here are some of them:

Kenny Dorham and the Jazz Prophets Volume 1, ABC Paramount 122. This was an original pressing listed in VG++ condition for the record and M- for the cover. It sold for $510. One of the things I’ve always liked about this record is the “Volume 1.” Obviously, somebody thought there was going to be a Volume 2, but it never materialized. Wonder if anyone here knows what happened to Volume 2? I searched for this record for years. About 20 years ago I passed up a very nice copy at the Jazz Record Center, which Fred Cohen very generously agreed to sell to me for $100. I have no idea why I didn’t buy it, but I didn’t. I finally acquired a copy last year in that lovely Baltimore collection. Still haven’t listed to it, though. Getting a turntable upgrade in New York this week. Maybe now’s the time.

This one had a starting price of about $1,500 and, not surprisingly (to me, at least), did not attract any bidders:

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