We were cleaning this record yesterday to put it up on eBay: The Chico Hamilton Quintet With Strings Attached, Warner Brothers 1245. It is an original pressing in pretty nice condition. It was in a pile of records to sell. It was not one I was even considering keeping, so it wasn’t even going to get a mention in the Jazz Vinyl Countdown. Then I looked at the liner notes, where it mentions a “newcomer” on reeds by the name of Eric Dolphy. I had forgotten about Dolphy getting started with Hamilton. Anyway, I decided to give this record a second chance. I put it on the turntable. Quite interesting Dolphy — he plays mostly straight, but you can absolutely hear the direction he will head towards in the next few years. So, after listening to several tracks, what’s the verdict?
Tag: Eric Dolphy
Prestige Day: Monk, Webster Young, Dolphy, Jug
Let’s catch up this morning on some Prestige LPs we’ve been watching. There was a time when we pondered the idea of owning the entire Prestige Yellow label catalogue but, thankfully, we’ve give up that particular obsession.
Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins, Prestige 7075. This was an original New York pressing with the promo stamp on the label. It was in M- condition and it was sold by the seller hershel78, who’s been selling some beautiful records lately on eBay. This one sold for $500.
From the same seller was this beauty: Webster Young, For Lady, Prestige 7106. This was an original New York pressing and it too was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The price was $482.77.
Here’s one that definitely set a new high price:
This Weekend on eBay: Dolphy, Dorham, Dex
Here are some of the interesting records we’re watching on eBay this weekend.
Eric Dolphy Live at the Five Spot, Volume 1, New Jazz 8260. This is an original pressing with the deep grooves and the purple label. The record is listed as mint and the cover is listed as “near mint minus,” which sounds a bit like a double negative, but we’ll assume it is either VG++ or M-. In any case, the record is selling later today and has a price in the $300 range.
Also from the great Prestige New Jazz label is this classic: Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This is also an original pressing, with the purple labels and the deep grooves. The seller has his own grading system, but this one looks to be at least VG++ and perhaps M-. The current price is about $800.
The seller Herschel78 is back with a few nice ones, including this beauty:
For the Price Guide: Dolphy, Jackie, Criss, Kamuca
Time to catch up on some recent collectible items on eBay and update the Jazz Collector Price Guide, which has now surpassed more than 4,000 entries, each one, I’m proud to say, hand-entered and hand-selected by yours truly. Here are a few more I’ll be hand-entering this weekend:
Eric Dolphy, Last Date, Fontana 681008ZL. This is the original Dutch pressing. The record was listed as M- and the cover as VG++. It sold for $661. Also from Eric Dolphy, Outward Bound, New Jazz 8236. This was an original deep groove purple label. The record was M- and teh cover was VG++. The price was $283.
Jackie McLean, Swing, Swang, Swingin’, Blue Note 4024. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record was listed as VG++ and the cover as VG+. The price was $547.11.
Sonny Criss, Jazz USA, Imperial 9006. This was an original pressing. The record was listed as
Free Collectible: 1964 Downbeat Featuring Miles Davis Blindfold Test
We’ve been looking through our collection for something interesting for our next give-away contest and this is what we’ve come up with: A copy of Downbeat Magazine from June 18, 1964, featuring a really interesting Blindfold Test with Miles Davis. I’ll give you a few teasers from the interview:
On Eric Dolphy, Mary Ann from Far Cry, New Jazz 8270: “That’s got to be Eric Dolpy — nobody else could sound that bad! The next time I see him I’m going to step on his foot. You print that. I think he’s ridiculous.” Sadly, Dolphy passed away just two months later.
On Cecil Taylor: “Take it off! That’s some sad shit, man.” (Although, of course, Downbeat did not print the word ‘shit’).
There was one track that Miles actually liked and rated with five stars. That was:
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
Two More For the $1,000 Bin
We’ve been watching jazz vinyl that crosses the $1,000 barrier on eBay. Here are two more that recently joined the club: Paul Chambers, Whims of Chambers, Blue Note 1534. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing that was in M- condition, both the record and the cover. It also had the advantage of being sold by Euclid Records, one of the most reputable sellers on eBay. This record sold for $1,625, quite a bit higher than we’ve previously seen for a copy of this in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. The other one joining the $1,000 club, was this one: Eric Dolpy in Europe, Debut 136. This was the original Danish pressing in pristine M- condition, both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,375.
Price Updates: Blue Train, Bud, Miles and More
Here are some items we’ll be adding to the Jazz Collector Price Guide over the weekend. If you haven’t checked out the Price Guide lately, it’s time to come back. We’ve added a new feature, where you can browse all of the records on one screen and sort it either by artist, label or price. It’s a lot of fun just to go through the lists and compare and contrast. It’s also very helpful when buying or selling items on eBay. Anyway, speaking of eBay, here are some recent sales:
John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This was an original pressing in M- condition. The price was $710.
The Amazing Bud Powell, Blue Note 5003. This was an original 10-inch LP in M- condition, both record and cover. The price was $380.
Miles Davis, Miles, Prestige 7014. This was an original New York pressing. The record
A Couple More $1,000 Records
We have two more records to add to the growing list of Jazz LPs selling for more than $1,000. The first is Eric Dolphy in Europe, Debut 136. This is the original pressing from Denmark. It was in M- condition, from a very reputable seller, and fetched a price is $1,225. Also breaking the $1,000 barrier was a copy of John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This was an original pressing, also in near mint condition, also from a reputable seller — Euclid Records — and it also sold for $1,225. We’ve been tracking Blue Train in the Jazz Collector Price Guide ever since we started the guide in 2004. This is the first time we’ve seen this record cross the $1,000 threshold. Part of it has to do with the reputation of the seller, a topic we plan to address in a post later today or tomorrow.
Today on eBay, January 30, 2009
Here are some of the records we at Jazz Collector are watching today:Lucky Thompson, Lucky Strikes, Transition 21. This is an original pressing, with the booklet. The record is listed as M-, the cover as VG and the booklet as M-. The current price is about $160. Art Blakey, A Night At Birdland Volume 2, Blue Note 5038. This is an original 10-inch LP. The record is M- and the cover is VG. The current price is about $150.
This seller, Sweedeedee, has a bunch of nice items closing in the next 24 hours. Here are a few: Gene Ammons, Jammin’ With Gene, Prestige 7060. This is an original New York pressing. Both the record and cover are listed in M- condition. It is currently priced at a bit over $100. Here’s a black-label copy of John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic 1311. The record is listed as VG++ and the cover as M-. The current price is about $210. And here’s one, frankly, we’ve never seen before: Eric Dolphy in Europe, Debut 136. This is the original Danish pressing. The record and cover look to be in M- condition. The current price is $360, but we’d expect this to go for quite a bit more.
We posted a little late today, so we missed a few items, which we’ll be plugging into the Jazz Collector Price Guide later this weekend. Among them are:


