First Pressing? Who Cares

MobleyHere’s a catch-up on some of the jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching:

Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550. This was a West 63rd Street pressing, deep grooves, but it did not have the New York 23 so, I guess, that would make it a clear second pressing, but a very early second pressing? The record was probably VG++ with some light surface noise and the cover was VG. The price was $908.

Kenny Dorham, Round ‘Bout Midnight at the Cafe Bohemia, Blue Note 1524. The consensus seems to be that this was a later pressing using old Lexington Avenue labels and an older Lexington Avenue back cover. It was listed as a first edition, however, replete with flat edge and deep grooves. The record was probably VG++ and the cover was VG. It sold for $578. It was, by the way, the same seller as the Mobley, who did all right with a couple of records that were not quite first pressings.

Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad-Lib 6601. This was an original pressing in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,975.

A few more:

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Looking at Some Non-Auction eBay Jazz Vinyl

helenWhen I search on eBay, I typically set my filter to look only at auctions and not at records with buy-it-now prices. This has been particularly true when doing searches for records to post on Jazz Collector. For some reason, today I decided to look at buy-it-now auctions and was surprised to see how many nice collectible jazz records are available for a set price, even compared to those available by auction. This is somewhat of a trend on eBay: According to a recent survey less than 15 percent of listings on eBay are auction-only (Are eBay Auctions A Thing of the Past?). Anyway, here are some of the collectible jazz records you could buy today at a set price on eBay:

Jackie McLean, Swing, Swang, Swingin’, Blue Note 4024. This is an original pressing in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The price is $1,000.

I thought this one my be reasonable, until I looked more closely at the listing: Helen Merrill, Emarcy 36006. The seller has it listed as a “first edition” in Ex+ condition for the vinyl and VG+ for the cover. We’ve seen this record in the $1,000 bin many times, so the $599 price seemed all right. But the back cover does not have the blue writing, so it is not a first press.

And here’s a beauty that I can’t imagine will sell at the asking price:

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Back To The Serious Business of Rare Jazz Vinyl

LouEnough frivolity with quizzes and fo figures, it’s time to get back to the serious business of watching jazz vinyl on eBay.

Lou Donaldson, Lou Takes Off, Blue Note 1591. This is an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The seller points out that this record is getting very difficult to find now. In my view, finding an original copy has ALWAYS been very difficult. I’ve been collecting for more than 40 years now and I just got a clean original last year. The auction for this one closes in three days and the bidding is in the $150 range.

Think this will sell? I don’t: Miles Davis Plus Horns, Prestige 7025. This is a New Jersey pressing in VG+ condition for the record and VG for the cover. The start price is around $250 and it’s hard to see that for a second pressing. There are four days left, so it will be interesting to watch.

If you’ve ever wanted to own one of the rarest jazz LPs of all time, here’s your chance: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad-Lib 6601. This is an original pressing in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover and, according to the seller, it plays great (with some surface noise). It just came onto eBay with a start price of about $700 and a buy-it-now price of $2,000. It will sell: The question is whether someone will step up with the $2,000 before the auction ends. My guess? Yes.

 

Three Prestiges and One Bizarre

Sorry, took a break for the Memorial Day Holiday weekend here in the states. Back to eBay and jazz vinyl. Someone sent me a link to this listing under the subject “bizarre auction:” Grant Green, I Want to Hold Your Hand, Blue Note 84202. This was a stereo Liberty pressing in VG+ condition for the record and VG for the cover. The seller had a feedback rating of 96.6 percent. The start price was 99 cents and then there seemed to be a two-person bidding war, hiking the sale price to $415. Bizarre indeed.

Not so bizarre for this one: Webster Young, For Lady, Prestige 7106. This was an original New York yellow label pressing. The record was listed in EX condition and the cover was probably VG. It also had a promo stamp on the back cover. It sold for $428.

Another Prestige from the same era: Jackie McLean and John Jenkins, Alto Madness, Prestige 7114. This was also an original New York yellow label, listed in VG+ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It also had a promo stamp on the back cover. The price was $325.

And this one:

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A Couple of Nice Ones, A Monk Autograph?????

Sorry for sporadic posting schedule this week. Been crazy with work and now I am in Las Vegas, of all places. I’ll do my best. Here are some nice records that have been sold on eBay in my absence, starting with:

Jackie McLean, Swing, Swang, Swingin’, Blue Note 4024. This was an original pressing in what was described as “fantastic” condition, which we would assume would be M-. It sold for $713.

This one got a nice price, not quite like the one last month: John Lewis and Sacha Distel, Afternoon in Paris, Versailles 12005. This was an original French pressing in VG condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $345. Clearly, this record is moving up in desirability among collectors.

This one didn’t sell yet, but it’s quite interesting: Thelonious Monk, Genius of Modern Music, Blue Note 1511. This looks to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing with a very clear autograph of Monk on the cover. Whether the signature is legitimate, we’ll leave that to our readers. Don Lucky — what do you think? Oh, yes. The price is about $2,000.

 

 

 

Heading Down a Dangerous New Path?

Someone sent me a link to this, in light of my recent post about the Miles Davis Prestige records: Miles Davis, Relaxin’, Prestige 7129. This was an original New York yellow label pressing that looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $738.88. The one we were watching last week sold for $393. Shows that there can be real value in posting more pictures rather than fewer pictures, and of getting the proper light and angle on the pictures. At least that’s the lesson I take from the price differential.

So I’ve been writing a bit lately about how some of the European pressings have been catching my eye, such as that 10-inch French Zoot Sims record yesterday and some of the Prestiges that were released on Esquire. And our friend CeeDee sent me a link a few weeks ago to a seller who had a bunch of these pressings, and the prices were pretty low, and I actually put in a bid on a couple of records and wound up with this:

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Catching Up on Some Rare Jazz Vinyl

Let’s catch up with some of the jazz vinyl auctions we may have missed while we were caught up in our birthday euphoria, starting with: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad-Lib 6601. This was Rudolf’s listing in M- condition for the record and E for the cover. It long ago exceeded it’s reserve price and wound up selling for $2,247. We assume this was a duplicate.

Also for the $1,000 bin: Kenny Dorham, Afro-Cuban, Blue Note 1535. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was VG+. The price was $1,680.55.

John Coltrane, et al, Tenor Conclave, Prestige 7074. This was an original pressing with the yellow label and New York address. The record looked to be VG++ for the vinyl and VG+ for the cover. When we first looked at this record there were no bids at a price start of about $100. Eventually bidders came along and it sold for $250, a relatively inexpensive price for a great record, IMHO.

 

 

 

 

 

Esquire vs Prestige: Is There A Difference in Sound?

I think I’m developing a little thing for the original Esquire covers. Here’s the latest I’m watching: Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot, Volume 1, Esquire 32-173. Having been based in the United States during my whole jazz collecting life, many of these records are absolutely new to me, even though many of them are at least 50 years old. I think that’s one of the great things that eBay has brought to collecting: Creating a market where just about every item you can conceive — or even those that you can’t conceive — will at some point make an appearance. Anyway, this one is in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The start price is $199 and so far there are no bidders with more than three days to go. The seller claims that this pressing has better sound than the original U.S. pressing. That sounds quite difficult to verify, but I imagine someone out there may have both pressings and could do a comparison. Rudolf? Speaking of Rudolf, it looks like this one of his has reached it’s reserve price and will sell: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This one is M- for the record and Ex for the cover. The price is now more than $2,000 and the auction closes in two days.

 

 

Ebaying: Two of the Rarest of The Rare Jazz Vinyl

I’m sitting at my dining room in the country, overlooking the snow-covered frozen lake, being warmed by a fire from my wood-burning stove, John Coltrane playing “Too Young To Go Steady” in the background.. If you’re going to be working, which I am, this is not a bad way to work. Now I am procrastinating between projects, always a good time to look at some interesting jazz vinyl auctions on eBay. Here goes, starting with: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. It’s always nice to see this record on eBay because it’s one of the really rare ones and it’s good to know that if you really, really wanted a copy, you could find it. I looked at this listing and realized the seller is our friend at Jazz Collector, Rudolf. This is in M- condition for the record and E for the cover. It’s early in the auction, the price is more than $400, and the reserve has not yet been met. I’m assuming this is a duplicate and not Rudolf’s only copy.

The seller of this one can use a better picture-taking methodology: Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This is an original New York yellow label pressing. The record is listed in M- condition and the cover is VG+, although you’d never know it from the pictures because of the reflection off the camera’s flash. When I was listing records regularly, I’d run into the same problem, but I always tried other angles to get a more clear picture. Just a suggestion. This one has three days to go and the bidding is more than $550.

 

Mobley, Evans, Jackie, KD and A Cool Autograph

Let’s catch up with some of the items on this week’s auction from the Jazz Record Center, starting with one of the real big ones: Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550. This was an original pressing described as being in “near-new” condition. That’s pretty nice condition, I would say. You would expect this to sell for quite a bit and it did: $2,926.

This record reached a new high for the Jazz Collector Price Guide and almost cracked into the $1,000 bin: Bill Evans Trio, Explorations, Riverside 351. This was an original blue label pressing in M- condition for the record and the cover, which was actually described as being in “extraordinary” condition. Looks like four bidders got into a bit of a war and knocked the price up to $910.01.

Jackie McLean, Lights Out, Prestige 7035. This was an original New York pressing. The record looked to be in M- condition and the cover was probably VG+. The price was $758.

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