Tag: Gil Melle

Live From eBay, One More Time

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I really enjoyed doing that “live” eBay search last week, so let’s try it again. I’m heading over the eBay now. Searching on Jazz Vinyl Records sorted by highest prices first and auctions only. Here we go. Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing from a reputable seller. The record is graded as a “solid VG” and the cover is probably VG++. Looks like a nice copy, although there are some tics in the playback, as described by the seller. The start price is $2,000 and there are no bidders with more than four days left on the auction. Read more

Jazz Vinyl: Where’s the Action?

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Things have been hectic around here, to say the least. My wife, known to many of you as The Lovely Mrs. JC, had a retinal detachment in August and has since been through three surgeries and two laser procedures. We’ve been driving back and forth between New York and The Berkshires almost every week. Fingers crossed that the third surgery was the charm. In the meantime, I’m thankful I’ve been able to continue doing my radio show on WTBR-FM Pittsfield, which are also the podcasts that appear on the Jazz Collector web site. I have never done anything like this before and it’s giving me a lot of enjoyment. Plus it’s getting me back into the music, even more than the records, which, IMHO, is always a good thing. But there are still records out there and, I assume eBay is still in business, so I will swing over there now and do my first search in well over a month. And what do I find? Read more

Rare Jazz Vinyl On eBay Again

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It’s been a long time between visits to eBay for me due to unforeseen circumstances that have been drain on my time and required me to be in New York for a while. Seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, so hopefully I can do my regular posts more frequently, in addition to keeping up with my radio show and podcasts. I’ve been in these circumstances before and expressed similar hopes so let’s see what happens. In the meantime, I’ve been on eBay this morning and put a bunch of jazz vinyl collectibles into my watch list, so here goes, starting with Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. This looks to be an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record is listed in VG+ condition and the cover is VG. There are 20 bids and six bidders so far, with the auction closing later today. The current price is $515 and I would say this one is a candidate for the $1,000 bin. Read more

Potpourri From the 10-Inch and UK Vinyl Vaults

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Random stuff in our watch list. Let’s start with some original 10-inch vinyl, none of which seems to be getting much action: Howard McGhee Volume 2, Blue Note 4024. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing listed in VG or VG- condition for the record, and VG+ for the cover. I could actually be in the mix for this one. I have a nice copy of the vinyl with no cover at all. The starting price is about $80 and the auction closes later today with no bidders yet. Seems like a no-brainer, at least to put in some kind of bid. Here’s another 10-inch Blue Note that has more in common than just the label: Gil Melle Quintet, Blue Note 5033. This is also an original Lexington Avenue pressing, from the same seller, listed in VG condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. No bids yet, with a start price of $100. The common element: Both records feature the great Tal Farlow on guitar. Read more

Prestiges and Transitions and Booklets and Speculation

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Perusing eBay and came upon this record: Wardell Gray Memorial Album, Volume One, Prestige 7008. This is an early New York yellow label pressing with the second cover. The cover has a cutout hole in the center. The record is listed in M- condition and the cover is VG+. Start price is $350 with no bidders and plenty of time left on the auction. What strikes me about this is why Prestige changed covers so early and often in the early years. Off the top of my head, I can think of a bunch of similar situations: Sonny Rollins Plus Four,  John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio, All Day Long, all come to mind. I know the cynical answer is they did it to make money, but how? Were they also experimenting to see what would sell better? Perhaps covers with innocuous photos such as this Wardell record, versus a picture of a black artist? Perhaps a careless buyer would buy both copies? Perhaps they envisioned a time in the far off future when they could drive collectors crazy with questions like this? I have raised this question before and Rudolf has been helpful in sharing his insight. Any other thoughts? Read more

Outward Bound, I Wish I Was

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Today we have some random jazz vinyl we are watching on eBay, starting with a pair of Dolphy New Jazz LPs: Eric Dolphy, Outward Bound, New Jazz 8236. This looks to be an original purple label pressing with the deep grooves. The record is in VG condition and the cover is VG+. The auction closes in a few hours from when I am posting this, with a start price of about $300 and no bidders. The seller does mention “surface sound” during some soft passages, so that may be scaring away potential bidders. Great album with a great cover. The same seller has Eric Dolphy, Out There, New Jazz 8252. This also looks to be a deep groove purple label original. Same condition as the other, VG with surface sound for the record and VG+ for the cover. This one has bids and is currently in the $200 range. Read more

Patterns, Icons and Socks

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Here are some of the items in our eBay watch list, starting with Gil Melle, Patterns in Jazz, Blue Note 1517. This looked to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing in M- condition for the records and VG++ for the cover. The final price was $2,716. That is the highest price ever recorded for this album, according to Popsike. I own a Japanese pressing of this LP and, frankly, I’ve never listened to it, but somehow I get the sense that it is the label and not the music or the artists that makes this record so coveted among collectors. Maybe next time I get a chance, I’ll put it on the turntable. FYI, the highest price for any of the Melle Prestige records was $544 – and that wasn’t even the one with Kenny Dorham, Gil’s Guests. That one has had a top price of $381. Read more

Collectible Jazz Vinyl and Not Vinyl

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Yeah, that Bill Evans New Jazz Conceptions LP with the original cover sold for $1,725, as someone pointed out in comments. With a VG cover and VG record. I guess not even a global pandemic can halt the market for original jazz collectibles. A few more from the same seller: Gil Melle, Patterns in Jazz, Blue Note 1517. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing in VG MINUS condition with a VG cover. Despite the condition it sold for $910. Curtis Fuller, Bone & Bari, Blue Note 1572. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing in VG MINUS condition for the record and VG for the cover. It sold for $706. Read more

Another Adventure in Jazz Collecting, 10-inch Edition

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After buying, curating and eventually selling the Ornette Collection from Dee, I felt myself gripped in that very old, very familiar, somewhat obsessive feeling of wanting more. Not necessarily more records because, Lord knows, I have enough records. No, it was all about wanting more action. So, I reached out to my friend here in The Berkshires who is planning to sell his collection at some point, but he said he isn’t quite ready yet to part with them. Then, out of the blue, another friend up here sent me a note with a link to an online auction of jazz records that was being conducted locally. The site was something called Caring Transitions, so I clicked the link and this is one of the pictures I saw:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Jazz Vinyl on a Summer’s Day

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Where did I leave off before I was so rudely interrupted by the summer? Oh yeah, Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. Ex-plus record, some questions about the cover, overall consensus that this was not the copy to purchase after waiting for 45-plus years. Reality would have bitten anyway, because the final price was $1,624, which would have exceeded any reasonable price I would have been willing to pay. Of course, what is reasonable to me seems to be pretty far out of whack with what is reasonable in today’s overall market. I think I’ll solace myself with listening to my lovely Japanese pressing this evening. In the end, it’s about the music anyway, isn’t it? Or is it? This is another one on my so-called want list, meaning it is an original pressing I don’t own: Here Comes Louis Smith, Blue Note 1584. This one is listed as VG++ for both the record and the cover and it has a start price of about $1,600. There are more than four days left on the auction and so far there are no bidders. Read more

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