Tag: Fats Navarro

Autographs, Autographs, Autographs

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I heard back from the reader who sent me the original link to the auction for the autographed copy of John Coltrane Ballads, Impulse A-32. The one that sold for more than $5,000 a few weeks ago. His name is Bill and, it turns out, he has a passion for collecting autographs—as well as an impressive collection. With his permission, here is a copy of our correspondence after I replied to his initial note.

Al:

My jazz collecting the past 25 years has morphed mainly to jazz autographs. There is something about a genuine signature that makes an item come alive: This was actually in the hands of Billie, Bird, Trane, etc. One must be careful to not obtain a fake, but I have mainly dealt with reputable dealers, and over time, I have become more savvy in finds on sites such as eBay.

I did bid on this Coltrane item, but exited the bidding when it went above $2000.

The prizes of my collection are signed photographs, some contracts, some personal letters, etc. To give you an idea of some of my prized items, here is a partial list: Read more

Candy, An Autograph and 10-Inch Vinyl

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dizzy gillespie autographHere are a few more items from our watch list on eBay, starting with Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This is an original pressing that looks to be in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. As a bidder I would be careful of the “light background noise” part of the description because the cleanest copies of Blue Notes don’t typically have background noise, at least not the original 12-inch pressings. Other bidders seem to be more sanguine about the description. The bidding is now in the $1,800 range with two days left.

Dizzy Gillespie Volume 1, Atlantic 138. This looks to be an original 10-inch pressing signed on the front by Dizzy Gillespie. I’m sure Don-Lucky or one of our other readers will weigh in on the authenticity of the autograph. The cover looks to be in VG+ condition and the record is described as VG+ as well. Bidding is in the range of $110 and there’s more than a day left on the auction.

Speaking of 10-inch records, we also had our eyes on these: Read more

A Tale of Two Blue Notes

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Others saw this and pointed to it already, but I couldn’t let it pass without at least a mention: J. R. Monterose, Blue Note 1536. This was, alas, a reissue. A reissue that sold for $1,081. Clearly the buyer thinks he is getting an original pressing and will be quite disappointed. I’ve sold enough collectible jazz records on eBay to know that English is not the first language for many of the high-end buyers and when you underline words like “flat edge” and “deep groove” and you don’t call out that it is a reissue, then you are being purposefully obscure. I’m pretty sure the seller is a reader of Jazz Collector and perhaps he will make a strong argument that he was being aptly descriptive of the record. And maybe the buyer won’t complain. I know there are many people who believe that it is the buyer’s responsibility and in this case the seller uses the word “repressing” to describe the record. But if it was me, and I paid nearly $1,100 for a record, and I was waiting for it in the mail and I opened up the box and pulled out a reissue, I’d be might, mighty disappointed. And pretty angry. And I would demand a refund. Whereas if I purchased this record and opened it and pulled it out of the box I’d be quite pleased because it was no doubt an original pressing: Fats Navarro Memorial Album, Blue Note 5004. This was an original — a real original– 10-inch record in M- condition for the record and at least VG++ for the cover. What a beauty, and the seller took some nice pictures as well. It sold for $178.09. Which would you rather have: The Fats original or the J.R. reissue?

 

Catching Up On Some Rare Jazz Vinyl

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Let us finally catch up on some of the rare jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:

The Fabulous Fats Navarro, Volume 2, Blue Note 1532. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing with the Lexington Avenue cover. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was VG+. The price was $390. From the same seller, in the same vein: The Fabulous Fats Navarro, Volume 1, Blue Note 1531. This too was an original pressing with the original cover. It was in M- condition for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. It also sold for $390. I was watching these records because I recently acquired copies of each of these that are duplicates for me. They are both in VG++ condition for the vinyl and the cover, and they both have the Lexington Avenue addresses on the label, deep grooves, etc. They have the West 61st Street addresses on the cover, so they are a drop less than original originals. I will probably wind up selling these on eBay, unless someone here wants to make me an offer I can’t refuse.

This one received a bid of nearly $2,000, but failed to meet the seller’s reserve price:

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Vinyl Tracking From the Jazz Record Center

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Here are a few more results of jazz vinyl auctions by the Jazz Record Center last week. Just in case anyone is interested, I have no vested interest in these auctions or special relationship with the Jazz Record Center. I like to watch their auctions as a bellwether because they are probably the most reputable seller in the market.

Working With the Miles Davis Quintet, Prestige 7166. This was an original yellow label pressing with the New Jersey address. It was a review copy in mint condition. The price was $472.35. There was a time when you could get the Miles Prestige records relatively inexpensively, but not anymore.

Here’s another nice one from Prestige: Stan Getz and Zoot Sims, The Brothers, Prestige 7022. This was an original New York yellow label pressing in M- condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. This one has the frame cover. The price was $234.72. How often are you going to find a record like this in this kind of condition? Nice.

Here’s a Blue Note that, surprisingly, did not break into the $1,000 bin.

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Watching, And Appreciating, 10-Inch Jazz Vinyl

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I have my eye on a couple of 10-inch LPs today, not that I’m interested in buying them, just interested to see if they’ll sell: Fats Navarro Memorial Album, Blue Note 5004. This is an original pressing, but you have to love the seller’s listing of 161 Lexington Ave. as opposed to 767 Lexington Ave. That early script was tough to read, I guess. This one is listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover and it has a start price of about $160. It closes early tomorrow and so far there are no bidders. From the same seller is Jay Jay Johnson, Blue Note 5028. This one is also in VG+ condition, is also closing early tomorrow, is also priced at about $160 and is also without any bidders. We’ll see. I think part of my interest in the 10-inchers is because this week I finally got my 10-inch LPs and my 78s out of storage. It was not a simple process and required deep negotiations with

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Jazz Vinyl, Blue Note, A Lovely Way To Start the Day

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This seller has a couple of nice 10-inch Blue Notes closing soon: Lou Donaldson, New Faces, New Sounds, Blue Note 5021. This is listed as VG++ for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. The current price is about $230.  Also: Fats Navarro Memorial Album, Blue Note 5004. This is also in VG++ condition for the record and the cover. The price is about $160. As I type this both of these have a few hours before they close.

We’ve also been watching a few other nice Blue Notes that closed in the past couple of days, including. Dexter Gordon, Our Man in Paris, Blue Note 4146. This was a New York USA pressing with the deep grooves on both sides. The cover and vinyl appeared to be in VG++ condition and the sales price was $349.

Lee Morgan, Lee Way, Blue Note 4034. This was an original pressing that was listed in VG++ condition for the vinyl and similar condition for the cover, although

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More Blue Notes, More Record Price Tags

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Prices for Blue Notes — at least those in near mint condition — are continuing to rise, based on some of the latest eBay sales. Take a look at these:

A Date With Jimmy Smith, Volume 2, Blue Note 1548. This was in near mint condition and it was sold by the same seller who sold those pristine JJ Johnson records the other day. This one sold for $792. The record features Hank Mobley, Lou Donaldson and Donald Byrd, but this is still a new high price tag for it, at least for the time we’ve been watching it.

This one was from Euclid Records: The Fabulous Fats Navarro, Volume 1, Blue Note 1531. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. It was listed as M- condition for both

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Price Updates: Blue Train, Bud, Miles and More

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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

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Keeping Track of Some High-End Blue Notes

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Another Warhol Cover

Another Warhol Cover

As we’re updating the Price Guide, we’ve been inputting some very nice Blue Note LPs from the past few weeks, so here are a few highlights to whet your appetite. When you do look at the Price Guide and want to see the most recent items, click the Timestamp button on the far right and have it sort the items by those most recently entered. Remember, you can sort by artist (last name, first name), label, condition, price and time posted. Anyway, here are some of the Blue Notes going into the Price Guide this weekend:  We’ve been writing a bit lately on Andy Warhol covers. Here’s one that’s familiar to most collectors: Johnny Griffin, The Congregation, Blue Note 1580. This was an original pressing in very nice condition. Price: $1,225 Read more

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