Shades of Blue Note

We’ll continue to keep an eye on Blue Note today. Here are some recent sales of Blue Note jazz vinyl:

Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. This was an original deep groove pressing that looked to be in beautiful M- condition. I’ve always wanted an original copy of these record, since it is a personal favorite and I’ve only owned a Japanese pressing for many years. One day I’m sure I’ll find an original at a price I would be comfortable paying, which was not this copy, which sold for $1,282 from my friends at Music Matters in California.

Curtis Fuller, Bone & Bari, Blue Note  1572. This was also an original pressing from a reliable dealer. The record was in what looked to be VG++ condition, while the cover was listed as being “in very good shape” which sounds better than VG and, from the pictures, also seemed to look better than VG. If I were bidding, based on the description, I’d be disappointed if the record wasn’t around VG++, which is probably what the winning bidder assumed as well, since the record sold for $710.

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Jazz Vinyl on eBay: KD for the $1,000 Bin & 2 More

Here’s some more jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:

Kenny Dorham, Afro-Cuban, Blue Note 1535. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing with the deep grooves and flat edge. It was in M- condition for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $1,727.

Here’s one we’ve never seen before: Freddie Redd, Session in Stockholm, Nixja Records NJL 14. This one looked to be in VG+ condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $531. I always find it thrilling that I’ve been collecting jazz records for more than 40 years and I still come across records I’ve never seen nor heard of. I bet this is a great one, too.

We don’t usually track records that sell for $22, but we were watching this one because it’s symbolic of something: A great record, great cover, great label, great condition, but no real interest from a collectible standpoint, at least not anymore:

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Shades of a Dilemma

Here is one of the dilemmas in doing Jazz Collector and being a jazz collector at the same time. In the course of perusing eBay for the site, I sometimes run into records that I may want myself. Do I write about them or do I watch them in silence, place my bid and pray like everyone else? Here’s a case in point: Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. This seems to be an original pressing and it looks to be in very nice condition, at least VG++ and perhaps even better. The current price is just $70. The only copy I own of this record is a Japanese pressing. Actually, I own two Japanese pressings because it is one of my favorite records. I also own the Mosaic CD, but that is beside the point. The point is I would like to own an original pressing. I mean, that is why we’re here, isn’t it? Anyway, I’m sure this will

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More Blue Note Favorites, Courtesy of Downbeat

I did that post earlier today and mentioned that Downbeat had done a whole feature asking various artists about their favorite Blue Note records. I was able to dig up my copy of the magazine — I don’t have a subscription anymore, but I had purchased this one on the newsstand because of the cover. It was from March of 2009. The cover, as you can see, has Joe Lovano with his favorite Blue Note: Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, Free For All, Blue Note 4170. It’s quite gratifying to see his picture with a vinyl pressing, and a mono vinyl pressing at that and perhaps even an original mono pressing. Inside, the magazine asked a variety of other jazz artists to name their favorite Blue Notes as well. Here are their replies:

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Updates: Overseas, Hipp & Zoot, Shades of Redd

The seller bluenipper had some nice items close yesterday, including:

Tommy Flanagan Overseas, Prestige 7134. This was an original New York pressing. The record was VG++ (or better) and the cover was M-. The price was $2,126.33. Our top for this in the Jazz Collector Price Guide is around $2,400, so this is certainly within the range.

Jutta Hipp With Zoot Sims, Blue Note 1530. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record was listed as VG++ and the cover as somewhere between VG+ and VG++. The price was $1311. The most recent copy we’ve seen of this in near mint condition sold for $3,343, but that was from Nautiluso, the Jazz Vinyl Fraud perpetrator, so we’re not sure how to count that. It’s legitimate in that the bidding got it to that price, but were there tricks that spiked

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For the Price Guide: Tina Brooks, Shades of Redd

Here are still a few more for the Jazz Collector Price Guide. This have already been logged into the database, so you can see them if you click on the price guide. 

Jutta Hipp, Jutta, Blue Note 5056. This was an original 10-inch LP in VG+ conditon, both record and cover. The price was $330.

Jackie McLean, Capuchin Swing, Blue Note 4038. This was a second pressing in M- condition. The price was $191.30.

Sonny Rollins, Newk’s Time, Blue Note 4001. This was an original West 63rd street pressing in VG+ condition, both record and cover. It sold for $598.

Here’s a real heavyweight we’ve talked about previously:

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For the Price Guide: Newk, Evans, Tina Brooks

Here are some items we’ve been watching. I know we’ve been talking about a lull on eBay, but when you look at these prices they seem to be holding pretty steady.  All of these will be entered into the Jazz Collector Price Guide as soon as I have time, probably this weekend. By the way, there are no links with these items: Most of the links have appeared somewhere on the site already.

Sonny Rollins, Newk’s Time, Blue Note 4001. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record was VG+ and the cover was VG+. The price was $598.

Jutta Hipp, Jutta, Blue Note 5056. This was an original 10-inch LP in VG+ condition, both record and cover. The price was $330.

Jackie McLean, Capuchin Swing, Blue Note 4038. This seemed to be an original pressing, although the seller didn’t say anything about deep grooves. It was in M- condition, both record and cover, and

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Today on Ebay: Freddie Redd, Kenny Drew, Trane

Here are some of the items we’re watching today on eBay. Things still seem slow, and it will be interesting to keep an eye on the prices of some of these.

Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record and cover are both in VG+ condition. The current price is about $230. In the Jazz Collector Price Guide, we’ve seen this record sell for between $300 and $900 depending upon the condition. It’s a great record if you’re not familiar with it, featuring Tina Brooks and Jackie McLean.

John Coltrane, Hank Mobley, Zoot Sims and Al Cohn, Tenor Conclave, Prestige 7074. This is an original New York pressing with the yellow label. The record and cover both look to be in VG+ condition. The current price on this is $74. 

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Why Do We Collect?

Ye ask, and ye shall receive. Bethellodge asks on another post that we start a conversation on the topic: “Why do we collect?” 

Here’s my story: I started out, probably like most of us, loving the music for the music’s sake. I remember the sound of jazz in my living room, from my father’s collection, and listening to John Coltrane in between classes at Queens College, and going back and discovering Bird and Dexter and Sonny and Clifford and Ella and so many of my heroes. The albums I found early in my searches are so often among my favorites and the albums I put on the turntable most often. Last night I had a half hour to kill and put on Oscar Peterson, West Side Story. It was like getting together with an old friend. In the beginning it was just about the music: Who cared if a pressing was original, as long as I could listen to the music? At some point, however, it became about more than the music, about finding the original pressing and building a collection. In my case, I know part of it is– and always has been — the thrill

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In Search of the Highest Prices

I was just tooling around eBay this morning and decided to do a quick search in the Jazz LP category sorted by “Highest Prices First.” I’d never thought to do a search this way and didn’t even realize it was an option. Here are some of the interesting items I found:

Here Comes Louis Smith, Blue Note 1584

Lee Morgan, Indeed, Blue Note 1538

Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. This is one of my favorite all-time LPs. I only have a Japanese pressing and have never owned the original. Will I bid on this? Perhaps. The price is $150 and the auction closes in nearly four days.

And here’s one you wouldn’t expect to see on a search of highest priced LPs: Louis Armstrong, Hello Dolly. This is from a seller with zero feedback. His asking price is $100. Think he’ll get it? If he does, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I’ll be auctioning on eBay next week.

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