I can’t believe it’s July 1 already. I’m definitely in summer mode. I took two days off and haven’t posted since Monday. I think that will happen fairly routinely this summer so keep checking the site to see if we’re up that day and what gems we might find for you on eBay. We’re following the market just as closely and we’ll make sure to keep the Price Guide and Latest Prices up to date regardless of whether we post new entries on the site each day. I hope this makes sense on at least some level.

In any case, we’re up on the web today and here are some of the items we’ve been watching on eBay.  We start off with a nice collectible from the rare Imperial label:

Sonny Criss, Go Man!,  Imperial 920. This was an original pressing in M- condition. It sold for $650.

Next are a couple of nice rare Blue Note LPs:

Johnny Griffin, The Congregation, Blue Note 1580. This was an original pressing in what looked like M-/M- condition. It sold for $449.

Fred Jackson, Hootin’ and Tootin’, Blue Note 4094. This was an original pressing in M- condition. It sold for $260.55. A couple of months ago a copy in worse condition sold for $346.

Here’s a nice item that failed to meet its reserve price:

JR Monterose, The Message, Jaro 8004. This was an original stereo pressing in nice condition. Its high bid was $394.

Normally we don’t see big prices attached to LPs from the Verve label, at least not as big as the Blue Notes and Prestiges. Here’s one exception: Ben Webster and Art Tatum Verve 8220. This was an original mono pressing with the trumpeter logo. It was in nice condition and sold for $343. A second copy sold the same day for $242.50.

Here’s an update on some items we were watching from the seller JBLD44000:

George Wallington, Jazz for the Carriage Trade, Prestige 7032. This was an original pressing in M- condition. It sold for $305.

Ronnie Scott and Tubby Hayes, The Jazz Couriers, Tempo 15. This was an original pressing in what looked like M-/VG+ condition. It sold for $595.

Freddie Hubbard, Ready for Freddie, Blue Note 4085. This was an original pressing in M- condition. It sold for $128.50.

Here are two LPs from JBLD44000 that did not sell for a second time. Expect to see both of these items back soon on eBay for lower start prices:

Freddie Hubbard, Groovy, Fontana 136. Start price was $240.

Lee Morgan Sextet, Blue Note 1541. This was an original pressing with the Lexington Avenue address on the label. Condition seems to be M-/VG+. The start price was $675.

Finally, here’s a nice collectible at a reasonable price:

John Lewis, 2 Degrees East, 3 Degrees West, Pacific Jazz 1217. This was in VG+ condition and sold for $43.99.

We’ve got a busy day tomorrow, so we don’t expect to post, although we might be able to sneak in some items to look for over the weekend. Keep checking if you have time. Otherwise, we’ll be back on Monday with a summary of the weekend’s eBay activity. Till then . . . — Al

Another day, another thousand or so records on eBay. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to go through them all and it may as well be me. Here are some of the items we’re watching over the next couple of days: Don Sleet, All Members, Jazzland 45

After you click this item do yourself a favor and click “View Seller’s Other Items.” You will see some great records in great condition that will sell for high prices.

This is another dealer with some good items this week. Art Taylor, Taylor’s Wailers, Prestige 7117

One of these days we will get this record, but not this week. The price tag of $450 is already a little too steep. This is the dealer JBLD44000 again. He has many, many, many rare collectibles at high prices the next two days. After you look at Taylor’s Wailers take a look at his other items.

Wow, look at this next item: A copy of Charlie Parker, The Bird Blows The Blues, Dial 901. According to the seller, there were only 300 of these pressed and they were distributed directly by Dial’s owner Ross Russell through an ad in Downbeat. The price on this was around $150 when we posted this. We’ll be curious to see how high it goes and whether it cracks the reserve price. Kenny Dorham, Jazz Contrasts, Riverside 239

This one has us a bit baffled. The price is already over $220 and it’s not an original pressing: The original pressing of this LP has a white label. The high price must be related to condition, right?

That’s what we’re watching. Now here are some of the items we were watching the past few days. Paul Chambers, Bass on Top, Blue Note 1569. This was an original pressing in approximately VG+/VG+ condition. Price: $202.5. Chet Baker, Chet, Riverside 299. Condition of this looked very nice and was graded M-/M-. Price: $212.49

Tubby Hayes, Down in the Village, Fontana 680 998. This also was in very nice condition, graded M-/M-. Price: $795

Then there were the two gorgeous looking Bird on Dial 10-inch LPs. You rarely see records this rare in this condition. I expected them to go for high prices and they did, each one fetching the same $705.50. Here they are: Charlie Parker, Dial 203; Charlie Parker, Dial 201

And here’s a rare New York pressing of Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079.  The dealer graded this VG++/VG++, but the picture didn’t seem to reflect that grading. The price was $609, which is actually kind of low for a clean New York pressing of this LP. Here it is:

Finally, there were several auctions we were watching from the dealer Dirtcup. He had an amazing group of Thelonious Monk LPs, plus a few others, that seemed to be in pristine condition. We bid on several items and fell short on every single one.  Below are some of the items we were watching. Keep an eye on this dealer’s auctions over the next few days as well: He has some great records in great condition.

Oliver Nelson, Sreamin’ The Blues, New Jazz 8243. Price: $135

Thelonious in Action, Riverside 262. Price $51.01

That’s it for today. Tomorrow we’ll be back at Jazzcollector.com with reader comments and Friday is our next newsletter. See you soon. — Al

Back from the weekend and finally caught up on eBay. Here are some of the records we’re looking at over the next day or two:

 The dealer JBLD44000 out of Seattle has still more highly collectible records in nice condition at high prices. He has a few closing today, including:

 Tubby Hayes Quintet, Down in the Village, Fontana 680-998, with a price of $750 as we posted this.

 This dealer has many more high-priced, interesting items over the next two days, including:

 Art Taylor, Taylor’s Wailers, Prestige 7117 in M- condition.

The price on this is already $450. We missed out last week on a copy in VG++ condition that sold for $307.

Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045 in nice condition, but not mint. This is priced at $295. I’m watching this because it is a favorite of mine – I think the music is terrific, with Jackie McLean and Tina Brooks – and the only copy I have is a Japanese pressing. My copy sounds great, but it’s not like having the original.

Mal Waldron, Left Alone, Bethlehem 6045 in M- condition, featuring McLean on alto. The start price on this is $150. This was listed at a higher start price several weeks ago, so it’s marked down.

 If you’re a collector (or dealer) who focuses on condition, you also want to check out the current auctions of the dealer Jazz5060. This dealer has some nice records in nice condition, including:

 JJ Johnson, The Eminent Volume 2, Blue Note1506 in M- condition. Latest price was $295.99.

The Clifford Brown Memorial Album, Prestige 7055 in M- condition. Latest price: $299.95.

Finally, there are clean copies of two of the Charlie Parker 10-inch LPs on Dial from the dealer jazzrecordrevival. Take a look at Charlie Parker, Dial 201, and then click “View Seller’s Other Items” for the other. These are beautiful looking pieces, which, I’m sure, will fetch a hefty price.

Okay, so those are some of the things we’re watching. Here are some of the items that recently closed:

 Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. Price: $355.99. This was also from the seller JBLD44000

Zoot Sims, Cookin!, Fontana 123. Price: $202.46

Donald Byrd, Off To the Races, Blue Note 4009. This seemed to be in very nice condition. Price: $263.50

We’re off to Manhattan today for a business meeting and hoping to sneak in a trip to one of our favorite record stores. We’ll give you a report later in the week. The next newsletter is Friday, but we update the web site every weekday. See you tomorrow. — Al

Back home after a weekend away. Let’s see what happened on eBay the past few days.

 The seller JBLD44000 out of Seattle, who has been selling some nice records the past few weeks, had a bunch of items up this weekend, with mixed results. A few of the records sold for high prices, including:

Hank Mobley, Soul Station, Blue Note 4031, for $1,337.28

Kenny Drew, Walkin’ and Talkin’, Jazz West 4, for $532

This dealer also had several high-ticket items that didn’t get bids at all. Based on our previous experience watching his auctions, we anticipate that these records will be back on eBay in the near future with somewhat lower start prices and, perhaps, Buy-It-Now prices. Among those records are:

Hank Mobley, Mobley’s Message, Prestige 7061. Zeros bids with a start price of $550.

John Coltrane, Tenor Conclave, Prestige 7074. Zero bids with a start price of $450.

Cecil Payne and Phil Woods, The Music of Charlie Parker, Signal 1204. Zero bids with a start price of $425.

In addition to these, there were several others. If you’re interested in any of these items, you should keep an eye on JBLD44000. We’ll do the same and keep you informed.

 Another seller who often seems to have great records is Jazz5060. Among the items he sold this weekend were:

 Blue Mitchell, Out of the Blue, Riverside 1131, for a price of $218.50.

Cecil Payne, Patterns in Jazz, Savoy 12147, for a price of $262

Teddy Edwards, Sunset Eyes, Pacific Jazz 14, for a price of $198.50

Finally, here are a few other items of interest:

 John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. Price: $487

Charlie Parker, Dial 203, 10-inch LP. Price: $169. The vinyl was in only VG condition, but we still thought this might command a higher price based on the condition of the cover.

Zoot Sims, Zoot at Ronnie Scotts, Fontana 588. This was a stereo pressing that sold for $208.06.

Tal Farlow, The Artistry of Tal Farlow, Norgran $232.50. Price: $232.50. We’ve seen this record before but usually with wear on the cover. This copy looked pristine and the price reflected that.

That’s it for today. Now that we’re caught up on what happened the past few days on eBay, we’ll look ahead and see what’s coming up the next few days. Look for our report on Jazzcollector.com tomorrow. See you then. — al

I went away for the long Memorial Day weekend and didn’t look at eBay for three days. Here are some of the things I missed:

Howard McGhee, Music From The Connection, Felsted 7512. This was in nice condition and sold for more than $1,000.

Benny Carter, Cosmopolite, Norgran 1070. This was an original yellow label copy, autographed by Carter and, according to the dealer, directly from Carter’s own collection. A nice collectible, indeed.

The Jazz Message of Donald Byrd and Hank Mobley, Savoy 12064. This was in nice condition and sold for $255. You don’t see too many of the Savoy records fetching high prices like this, but this is a rare item with excellent artists and a great cover.

John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This was a nice copy, not mint, that sold for $383.

Tubby Hayes, Mexican Green, Fontana 911. This was also in nice condition. Price: $228.07

Pepper Adams, Critics’ Choice, World Pacific 407. This was in M-/VG++ condition. Price: $224.50.

Teddy Charles, Vibe-Rant, Elektra 136. You don’t see too many jazz LPs from the Elektra label. This one sold for $236.16

Fred Jackson, Hootin’ and Tootin’, Blue Note 4094. This was one of two copies of this record for sale on eBay this weekend. This was the one in better condition and sold for $346. The other copy, in VG/VG+ condition, sold for $98.77.

Curtis Fuller, Slidin’ Easy, United Artists 4041. I always love finding records I’ve never seen in a store. I’m not a dealer, but I’ve been collecting nearly 35 years, and I still get surprised every once in a while. This is a nice looking LP with a great group: Fuller plus Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley, Tommy Flanagan, Paul Chambers and Elvin Jones. Not bad. This was in M-/M- condition and sold for $338.

The Interpretations of Tal Farlow, Norgran 1027. A couple of weeks ago we saw a copy of this sell for more than $600 and we remarked that it was the highest price we’d seen for a Farlow record. Well, this copy is the new high: $710. It looks to be in beautiful condition.

The Consummate Artistry of Ben Webster, Norgran 1001. This also looks to be in beautiful condition. The price was $393.

Presenting Ernie Henry, Riverside 222. This was an original white label in great condition. Price: $360.

Finally, there’s this item: Elmo Hope Quintet, Blue Note 5044, 10-inch LP.  This was in VG+ condition and sold for $342. About 15 years ago I sold a similar copy for $400. With prices having escalated as much as they have, I probably made a good deal at the time. Even so, I’d rather have the record.

Now that I’ve gotten caught up on what happened over the past few days, I’m clicking to eBay to take a look at what’s ahead the next few days. I’ll give you my report at Jazzcollector.com tomorrow. See you then. — Al

Yesterday we answered some questions from readers. Today we have a question we would like to throw out to the community and see if anyone else has the answer. We’re starting to get a little action on the forums, so if you have questions like these please put them there and we can start building a clearinghouse of information for collectors.

On to today’s question, from Pete aka “Bongo Pete the Drummer”:

 “Hello. I have for years owned a 45-RPM EP on Clef Records called Introducing Barney Kessel and have never found any info on it. I also own the 10-inch LP Barney Kessel Volume 1 on Contemporary, which mentions in the liner notes that it is Barney’s first album – but that’s what it says on the back of the Clef 45. I know Barney just passed away on the 6^th of this month. Do you know anything about this Clef EP? I picked it up about 30 years ago when I was 14 years old for $1 or $2. It is in pretty nice shape. I have played it two times in 30 years, as I have it on tape.”

Can anybody out there help Pete?

eBaying

 Here are some of the interesting items that sold the past couple of days on eBay:

 Zoot Sims at Ronnie Scotts, Fontana 5176, in M- condition. Price: $660. The dealer described this as one of the rarest jazz LPs from the U.K. We’ve never seen it before and the price certainly justifies that description.

 Two Jackie McLean Blue Note LPs also went for high prices yesterday:

 Jackie’s Bag, Blue Note 4051, in M- condition. Price: $675

 New Soil, Blue Note 4013 in M- condition. Price: $325

Quotebook

“To me, reaching people is the most important thing. Otherwise, you just lock yourself in a room and play for yourself – that’s all. But if you’re going to work in a club and people are paying money to see and hear you, you should try to establish some kind of contact with them. What I try to do when playing in a club is to present different things, so that no matter who comes in, there’ll be something for everybody, rather than just playing one kind of thing and telling people: ‘If you don’t like it you can split!'” — Chet Baker from the liner notes to the album Baby Breeze, Limelight LM 82003, issued in 1964

Dan, if you’re watching today, Happy Birthday. See you all tomorrow with a newsletter. — Al