The Incredible Rise of the $1,000 Jazz Record

The $1,000 bin truly doth runneth over  days. It’s quite an interesting phenomenon.

Paul Chambers, Whims of Chambers, Blue Note 1534. This was an original pressing in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. A few years ago, I bought a copy of this on eBay in similar condition for about $300. At the time, I thought I was overpaying. A few weeks ago I sold a separate copy on eBay for about $325. It was in nice condition, with a VG+ cover. This was not a record I ever expected to see in the $1,000 bin. This copy sold for $1,313.

Here’s another one I never expected to see sell for more than $1,000: Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’s Else, Blue Note 1595. This is a nice record, but has never been among the higher-priced Blue Notes. The highest price we had previously recorded for this in the Jazz Collector Price Guide was around $400. This copy was in mice M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,475.

This one almost entered the $2,000 bin:

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Catching Up: Mobley, Mehegan, Morgan, Trane

Time to follow up on some records we’ve been watching.

Remember that 10-inch Hank Mobley record on Blue Note from yesterday: Hank Mobley Quartet, Blue Note 5066? When we spotted it, the price was around $65 with a couple of hours to go. The record was in VG- condition and the cover was just VG, barely. We figured it may go as high as $100? It sold for $274.

On the other hand, there was this record: John Mehegan, Casual Affair, TJ1. This record features Kenny Dorham and has always been a nice collectible. When we spotted this one it was at $7 with an hour or so to go. We put in a bid of $41.41 and it was topped at $42.41. I assume if the seller had done a better job with the listing, it could have sold for a bit more. We don’t have it listed at this point in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, but we’ve seen this record sell for more than $100 in the past.

Also, that copy of John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577:

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Today on eBay: Willing to Gamble?

Watching some items on eBay this morning. There’s a seller with some good records, but challenging listings. She doesn’t give clear indications of the condition of the records and the prices are quite high, so it’s a bit of a risk: You may be getting something great, you may not. Consequently, some of the prices are not what they would be if the records were listed even in VG+ condition, if indeed that would be accurate. I’ll point out a couple, but you can also check out the links and look at some of the others as well: John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This seems to be an original pressing. The words used to describe the condition are “very nice” and “pretty nice.” It asks for serious bidders only and the start price is $199.99. So far no takers. Here’s another: Lee Morgan, Lee Way, Blue Note 4034. This one is listed in is listed in excellent condition, so it sounds better than the Trane. It also has five bids and a price of $200. It will be interesting to see the final price. You should take a look at the seller’s other listings. They may be worth a gamble.

Also coming up today is this:

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For the $1,000 Bin: Hank, Sahib, Griffin, Warhol

Here are a few more items for the $1,000 bin.

Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address and all of the other markings that go with it. It was a tough one to assess in terms of condition because the seller notes that it has a couple of marks, one of which was feelable. That would cause me some concern if I were bidding for it, but I wouldn’t have lasted long in the bidding because this one eventually sold for $1,593. The cover was listed in VG+ condition and the vinyl was listed in VG+ to M-, if only it didn’t have the marks. This is one of the really rare Blue Notes and it has previously sold for more than $2,600 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so we can see why someone would want to take a chance on this album.

Here’s another interesting one we’ve been watching: Sahib Shihab, Sahib’s Jazz Party, Debut 101. This one was being offered

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How Would You Like These in Your Collection?

We’ve gotten so tied up in the J.R. Monterose stuff the past couple of days, we forgot to go back to eBay to catch up on all of those hot records we were watching last week. So we just took a look and, WOW! The prices are quite staggering, and we will be adding more records to the $1,000 bin — and $2,000 bin — and $3,000 bin — than we have ever previously added at one time. Here’s the list:

Dexter Gordon, Dexter Blows Hot and Cool, Dootone 207. This was an original pressing with the red vinyl. It was in M- condition, both the record and cover. It sold for $3,059. The seller was Herschel78, who had a bunch of hot records last week, a few more of which will appear in this post. I had tried to reach out to Herschel78 to find out more about these beautiful records, but he never replied. Perhaps I’ll try again.

Cliff Jordan, Cliff Craft, Blue Note 1582. This was an original pressing in M- condition, both record and cover. It sold for $2,303.

Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore, Blowing in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This was another original pressing in M- condition. It sold for $1,692. A second copy of this record, this one in VG+ condition for the record and the cover, sold for $676.

Lee Morgan Volume 3, Blue Note 1557. This was a Mint copy, sold by our friend and  Read more

No Summer Slump Yet: Lots Of $1,000 Records

We have quite a large number of items to add to the $1,000 and even $2,000 bins on this beautiful Monday morning in sunny New York. If there is a summer lull in prices on eBay, it hasn’t much made a dent in the prices of some of the high-end collectibles, such as these:

Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1550. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing in beautiful M- condition, for both the record and cover. It was also sold by the seller Roverd-90, who had the Johnny Griffin the other day and also had a few others, such as the Lee Morgan Candy I’ll cover below. Quite a nice week for Mr. Roverd-90. This record sold for $1,825.

As mentioned, Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This is one of the rarest of the rare and was in beautiful M- condition, both record and cover. It sold for $1,900.

We had pointed out the Jazz Record Center’s auction of Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This one was listed as mint condition — not even mint minus and we had predicted that it would sell for at least $2,000 and perhaps as much as $3,000. We were right the first time: This one fetched a price

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Et Tu, Johnny Griffin?

Here’s an interesting newcomer to the $1,000 bin: Johnny Griffin, Volume One, Blue Note 1559. This is a great record and, as a rare Blue Note with a great roster of artists, it is not surprising that this would sell for a high price tag. This particular copy, in M- condition for both the record and the cover, sold for $1,380. What was interesting to me about this record was the way in which the seller chose to list it. He listed it as “Blue Note 1559 Lee Morgan Hank Mobley.” He also purchased a subhead, which mentioned the presence of John Coltrane as a sideman. Notice how the seller never even mentioned Johnny Griffin, who was the leader on the date.

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This Week on eBay: Prestige, 10-Inch & a Blue Note

I’ve been putting more records on eBay lately — just a function of time and how much work my real job entails — and I actually structured some organization to the items I posted last week. I had accumulated a bunch of Prestige duplicates, so today is Prestige Day and there are 10 Prestiges closing later. Then I had pulled out a bunch of 10-Inch LPs, so tomorrow is 10-Inch Day, and there are 16 10-inchers. Then, on Thursday, I decided to go back to Prestige with another 10 items. Then I figured we can’t let a week go by without a proper Blue Note, so on Thursday night I put up a heavy-duty Blue Note collectible. Here’s a sampling of items of interest, and you can always see my eBay Items if you click Items For Sale above:

Gil Melle, Gil’s Guests, Prestige 7063. This is a nice copy in VG+ condition, both record and cover, and it plays really well. Not to mention that it features some great Kenny Dorham. This one is only at $49, so it could be a bargain, depending upon how heavily trafficked eBay is today.

John Coltrane and Hank Mobley, Two Tenors, Prestige 7043. This is a yellow label with the New Jersey address and it’s also in nice VG+ condition, plays great. This is one of those second pressings I was talking about in an earlier post: It’s not the first issue of this LP — which was under Elmo Hope’s name — but it’s a great package, great cover and great record and it’s Prestige and it’s yellow label and it’s Coltrane. To me, it’s irresistible (which is why I have two copies, I guess).

And the heavyweight Blue Note is:

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Two More For the $1,000 Bin

Here are a couple more records we’ve been watching that recently crossed the $1,000 barrier. Both of these will be added to the Jazz Collector Price Guide, which is growing quite nicely, thank you. Please check it out.

Hank Mobley With Donald Byrd and Lee Morgan, Blue Note 1540. This was a beauty: An original Lexington Avenue pressing with vinyl in M- condition and a VG++ cover. At 1540, Blue Note was nearing the ends of the Lexington Avenue addresses and this one is hard to find a an original. The final price was $1,616.

Here’s one we’re not familiar with, so any insight would be appreciated (Michel?): Georges Arvanitas Quintet, Soul Jazz, Columbia FPX 193. This was an original French pressing from 1960. The record was listed as M- and the cover was VG+. The price was $1,325.

For the Price Guide: Trane, Sonny, Monk, Mobley

We are up in the lovely Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts, sitting on our porch with the lovely Mrs. JC, and looking at jazz records on eBay. Life is not bad. Here are a few items we will be entering into the Jazz Collector Price Guide sometime before the end of the weekend. 

John Coltrane, A Love Supreme, Impulse A-77. This was an original stereo pressing with the orange label and gatefold cover. It was in M- condition, both record and cover. It sold or $150. One of the reasons I’m putting this up is that I recently acquired a mono copy in M- to go with my stereo copy, also in M- condition, and I am currently deciding whether to keep both or put one up for auction on eBay, or, perhaps, even sell it here on Jazz Collector. I am open to offers and/or suggestions.

Thelonious Monk, Prestige 7053. This was an original pressing with the cover design by Andy Warhol. It was in VG++/VG++ condition

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