Helen Merrill | jazzcollector.com

Of Dinah, Sarah, Helen Merrill and Clifford Brown

July 22, 2009 Al One comment

It was interesting to note the Helen Merrill record that sold for almost $1,800 the other day (Emarcy 36006). This is a terrific record featuring Clifford Brown and it’s highly valued by collectors. Clifford, of course, made records with other vocalists before he died so young, including the great Sarah Vaughan LP on Emarcy and this great one by Dinah Washington: Dinah Jams, Emarcy 36000. Dinah Jams not only features Clifford, it also features Clark Terry and Maynard Ferguson in a trumpet battle tour-de force. While the Helen Merrill album can be quite pricey, and the Sarah has been known to sell for more than $100, we’ve rarely seen the Dinah — or any Dinah Washington LP — sell for high-end collectible prices. So, it was nice to see that a copy of Dinah Jams sold the other day for $109.38 to someone who, obviously, has great taste in music and records.

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

July 20, 2009 Al One comment

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

A $1,000 Bill Evans & a Few More For The Price Guide

May 29, 2009 Al Leave a comment

We’ve been quite busy selling some nice records on eBay and posting a few more, but we’ve still made time to keep an eye on some of the interesting collectibles that other people are selling. Here’s an update, all of which will be entered into the Jazz Collector Price Guide sometime over the weekend:

Bill Evans, New Jazz Conceptions, Riverside 223. This was an original white label pressing with the original cover. The cover is one of the things that makes this so collectible, since subsequent versions were released with another cover. For this copy, the record was in M- condition and the cover was listed as VG/VG+. The price was $1,136.

Phil Woods, Warm Woods, Epic 3436. This was an original pressing with the yellow label. The record and the cover were both in M- condition. The price was $555.

Helen Merrill, Emarcy 36006. This was the original pressing of this LP, which features

For the Price Guide: Duke Jordan, Dex, Jackie

May 3, 2009 Al 10 comments

Some more for the Jazz Collector Price Guide. I’m keeping pretty busy with this stuff.

Duke Jordan, Flight to Jordan, Blue Note 4046. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record was VG+ and the cover was M-. The price was $589.90.

Leonard Feather Presents Bop, Mode 127. This was an original pressing in VG++/VG+ condition. The price was $80.

Warne Marsh, Music For Prancing, Mode 125. This was also an original pressing in VG++/VG+ condition. It sold for $68.

Dexter Gordon, One Flight Up, Blue Note 4176. This one already has received some discussion on the

Some High Tickets: Dexter, Helen Merrill, Jackie

April 5, 2009 Al 3 comments

We were running out of the house yesterday and we had about 10 minutes to do a quick perusal of eBay, so we did a search of the records ending soonest with the highest prices. This is not a search we normally do, but it was interesting because most of the records that came up were records that could be purchased immediately for a Buy-It-Now price. Most of these were quite high-priced (after all, that was the search criteria), but it’s an interesting way to find something that might be at the top of your want list. In any case, we watched a few of the auction items, and were surprised to see some of the high prices, given what we’re seeing these days with our own auctions on eBay.

This one was the biggest surprise: Dexter Gordon, One Flight Up, Blue Note 4176. This was a mono pressing, New York USA, with one side deep groove. It was listed in excellent condition, record and cover, which we generally translate to VG++ in our terms. The record sold for $415.90, quite a high price for this record. We have previously followed four copies of this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, and it’s never sold for more than $200 in the past. Anyone have any idea why this copy would sell for such a high price in this supposedly down market? I have a NY USA stereo pressing of this record in VG++ condition, and would happily take $200 for it if anyone is interested. Seriously.

Among the other high-ticket items from yesterday, there were:

Sonny, Jackie, Miles & Bird for the Price Guide

January 26, 2009 Al Leave a comment

Here are some items we’ll be adding to the Jazz Collector Price Guide today:

Sonny Rollins With the Modern Jazz Quartet, Prestige 7029. This is an original New York pressing with the original Orange cover and the wrong catalogue number. It’s a very rare piece and this one was in M- condition, both record and cover. Price: $760

Johnny Griffin Sextet, Riverside 264. This was an original blue label pressing. The record was M- and the cover was VG++. Price: $294

Thelonious Monk, The Unique, Riverside 209. This was an original white label pressing. The record was VG+ and the cover was VG. The price was $161.50. Also from Monk: Thelonious Monk With Sonny Rollins, Prestige 7075. This was an original New York pressing. The record was VG++ and the cover was VG++. The price was $180.49.

Today on Ebay, January 25, 2009

January 25, 2009 Al Leave a comment

It’s like a smorgasbord of nice collectible jazz vinyl on eBay today. We’ll try to point to a few of the more interesting items. Here’s one that really caught our eye: Charlie Parker, Bird on 52rd Street, Jazz Workshop 501. This is an original pressing in what the seller describes as M- condition, both vinyl and cover. It’s really rare to see a copy of this record in this condition. The current price is about $160. We’ll see what it goes for. Here’s one going for a high price even though the record is listed in VG condition and the cover is VG-: Helen Merrill, Emarcy 36006. This is the LP with Clifford Brown. The current price is $231. This seller, Eclecticpicks, has a bunch of nice items, closing pretty soon, including: Miles Davis Volume 2, Blue Note 1502. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing. Both the record and cover are listed in VG+ condition. The current price is $170.

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