Tag: Jazz Collector Price Guide

Jazz Vinyl on eBay: Some Blue Notes & A Nice Norgran

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I logged onto eBay last night, found a number of interesting records to watch and, with great pride, was able to go to sleep without slipping into the temptation of placing any snipe bids. Progress, right? Anyway, here is some of the jazz vinyl we were watching that closed yesterday:

John Jenkins, welcome to the $1,000 bin: John Jenkins and Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1573. This was an original deep groove West 63rd Street pressing and it was in M- condition for the record and VG for the cover. It was a reputable seller, there were 11 bids and more than 450 page views and the price was $1,136.55. Not bad in a soft market if, indeed, this can be called a soft market.

Actually, perhaps in retrospect I should have put in a snipe for this one: Sonny Red, Out of the Blue, Blue Note 4034. This was an original pressing in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. Quite a fair price, depending, of course, on what VG+ means to the buyer and seller. As we’ve learned long ago, VG+ is in the eye of the beholder. I had this record once upon a time but traded it away in a lopsided trade that favored the other guy. Not sure what I was thinking at the time, but I’m more knowledgeable now. So this is one that got away. Getting it back for $283 or so, which is what this one sold for, would be quite a coup in my eyes.

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Updates From The Jazz Record Center Auction, Part 2

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We did promise a Part 2 of our post on the recent auction from The Jazz Record Center, so here goes (apologize for the delay):

Why isn’t this record worth more: Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins, Prestige 7075? This was an original New York pressing. The record was in M- condition — nearly new — and the cover looked like it was at least VG++, maybe better. It sold for $192.50. I happen to think this is a terrific album. I love Sonny’s interpretation of The Way You Look Tonight. When I was first getting into jazz I used to compare this version to the Stan Getz version on Stan Getz Plays and it took me a while to reconcile not only that it was the same song, but that it was even the same instrument. My ears are obviously much more sophisticated now, but at the time the difference in approach seemed so stark. And I liked both versions. Anyway, I repeat my query: Why is this great original Prestige, featuring two of the geniuses of modern jazz, not even a $200 record?

This has always been one of the rarest and more expensive of the Riversides, for good reason: Sonny Rollins, The Sound of Sonny, Riverside 241. This was an original white label pressing and it was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $765. It’s the presence of Sonny Clark with Rollins that makes this one so sought-after, no?

Now for a few Blue Notes:

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Old Jazz Collector Habits Die Hard

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Now that I’m sort of settled in from my month of moving, I’m resorting back to some old habits, browsing eBay page by page by page and even occasionally throwing in a bid, even though I really don’t want to be buying records and would much prefer to be selling records. But some habits are hard to break and, when I see what may be a bargain on eBay, it is hard to resist swinging over to the sniping software and placing a bid. There is a mindlessness to it and, as they say, idle hands are the Jazz Collector’s tools. In any case, I didn’t win last night’s snipe, thank goodness, which was this: Jazz By Matthew Gee, Riverside 221, which looked to be an original white label pressing with what may have been original plastic wrap. The record was M- and the cover was VG+ and with two hours to go on the auction there was only one bidder and $9. I figured I could possibly get the record cheaply, so I put in a snipe at about $45, but I didn’t come close. It wound up selling for $126.17.

I was also considering a bid on this one because it wasn’t getting much action:

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eBaying: Burrell, Warhol, Newk and More

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Watching some nice records on eBay and, for now, the prices are not so astonomical. Of course, as they say, astronomical is in the eye of the beholder. Here are a few:

Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights Volume 1, Blue Note 1596. This looks to be an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address and deep grooves. It has, of course, the Andy Warhol cover, which makes it quite collectible and often quite expensive. This one looks to be in M- condition for the vinyl and probably VG++ or M- for the cover. There’s one day left to bid and the price is about $535.

Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This looks to be an original deep groove pressing.  The seller lists it as M-, but he does mention some marks on the vinyl. The cover is listed as VG+. There are four days to go and the price is still less than $150. We’ve seen this record sell for more than $3,000 in the past, so we would expect it to go quite a bit higher, likely into the $1,000 bin.

Sonny Rollins, Moving Out, Prestige 7058. Not my favorite Rollins LP, but an original Prestige right in the sweet spot of the label. This one has been posted by Euclid Records and is listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover, with the adjective “gorgeous” bandied about in the description. This is already close to $500 and there are still five days to go, so perhaps this one will reach the astronomical stage.

Another Blue Note:

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Watching Jazz Vinyl From the Jazz Record Center

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Our friends at the Jazz Record Center have a new auction this week and we always like to keep an eye on their stuff because it gives a pretty good indication of the overall market, which still seems to be down these days, right? Here are a few of their listings:

Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot Volume 1, New Jazz 8260. This is an original pressing with the purple label and deep grooves. The record looks to be in M- condition, and the cover probably VG+ with some seam splitting. The start price is $75, there are no bidders and there are eight days to go. We’ve seen this record sell for as much as $966 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so we’d expect that this will fetch a much higher price than the start price. We’ll see.

Horace Parlan, On the Spur of the Moment, Blue Note 4074. This is a weird one, with a Review stamp on one label with the New York USA address, and the other address the West 63rd Street label. As noted by Fred Cohen, proprietor of the Jazz Record Center, the original pressing on this one should have the West 63rd address on both labels. So what does that make this? Here’s where we get into that whole debate again about original and first pressings. This one has a start price of $200 and no bids as of yet.

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Catching Up: Byrd, Tenorman, Golson, Cool Struttin’

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Sorry I’ve been out of touch for so long. Now that I’m back, let’s start by updating some of the items we were watching on eBay:

This one had that very high start price: Lawrence Marable, Tenorman, Jazz West 8. It was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. Not only did it sell, it made it all the way to the $2,000 bin. The price was $2,175.

This one didn’t quite make the $2,000 bin, but it did all right for the buyer and seller: Donald Byrd, Byrd Blows on Beacon Hill, Transition 17. This was an original pressing sold by Euclid Records and it included the original booklet. The record was VG++ and the cover was VG+. The labels, as they do with all Transitions, had fallen off. The price was $1,691.88. Euclid also did well on this one: Benny Golson, Gone with Golson, New Jazz 8235. This was an original purple label pressing with the deep grooves. It was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $355, quite a nice price for an LP with Golson as the leader.  Our previous high in the Jazz Collector Price Guide was $335.

This next one was described as an “original” pressing, but upon further detailed reading of the listing, it clearly was not — unless, that is, you consider an “original” Blue Note anything that was issued prior to the purchase by Liberty:

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A Few For the $1,000 Bin

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So what’s been going on at eBay? Here are some recent interesting sales of jazz vinyl:

Lee Morgan, Indeed, Blue Note 1538. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing that was listed in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It was among that batch of records that were originally listed with a very high start price and then re-listed with lower start prices but undisclosed reserve prices. This one was originally listed at $2,500 and eventually sold for $2,450.

This one got a nice price, right: Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else, Blue Note 1595. This was an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,352. That’s the highest price we’ve ever recorded for this item in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. Not bad for what seems to be a down market.

Sonny Rollins Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079.This was an original New York pressing, another one with the “EX” grading system, which I’m still not sure how to interpret into the one I use. VG++, perhaps. The cover was VG+. The price was $1,324.

 

High Prices Yes, But Not as High As Before?

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It’s been a few days since I’ve been on eBay or posted on Jazz Collector. So many records, so little time. Here’s an update on some of the ones we were watching last week:

The Jazz Record Center seemed to do well with it’s most recent auction, although careful scrutiny would suggest that prices are down from previous expectations. That copy of Tommy Flanagan Overseas, Prestige 7134, sold for $1,891.88. Last year at this time we logged two copies of this in the Jazz Collector Price Guide at more than $2,000. Miles Davis Volume 3, Blue Note 5040. This original 10-inch LP was in M- condition for both the record and the cover and sold for $565. Art Blakey, A Night at Birdland Volume 2, Blue Note 5038. This also looked to be in M- condition. It sold for $359. One more: Sonny Rollins Plus Four, Prestige 7038. This was an original New York pressing with the frame cover. The record looked to be in M- condition and the cover was probably around VG++. The price was $345. In my view, somebody got a bargain on this one.

There was also that other copy of Conte Candoli, Cool Gabriels, Groove 1003 in VG++ to M- condition. It looked for a while that this one might go cheap, but it sold for $1,705, which, given this one’s condition and recent prices of other copies, was cheap, relatively. This one, of course, has the Andy Warhol cover.

More Updates For the Jazz Collector Price Guide

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I’ve been spending time this weekend updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide and realized there are a bunch more interesting items we’ve mentioned here but haven’t followed up, so here are a few of them:

George Wallington, Jazz For the Carriage Trade, Prestige 7032. This was an original New York pressing with a record in M- condition and a nice shiny cover in VG++ condition. It sold for $395.

Sonny Criss Plays Cole Porter, Imperial 9024. This looked to be an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $350.99.

Lou Donaldson, Swing and Soul, Blue Note 1566. This was one of the recent records sold by the Jazz Record Center. It was in M- condition for both the record and the cover and it sold for $544.44.

From that same auction were these:

The Wes Montgomery Trio, Riverside 310. This was an original pressing in M- condition and sold for $305, the highest price we’ve seen for this record.

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Jazz Vinyl This Week: A New High For Shorter

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Here is some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been watching this week on eBay:

Wayne Shorter, JuJu, Blue Note 4182. This was an original New York USA mono pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The price was $537. This is the highest price we’ve ever recorded for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide and is, in fact, the highest price we’ve ever recorded for any Wayne Shorter album.

This one was from the same seller: Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights Volume 2, Blue Note 1597. This is one of the ones with the Andy Warhol cover. This was not an original pressing — at least not a first pressing — because it had the New York USA labels as opposed to the West 63rd Street labels. We’ve been watching a lot of second and third presses lately, particularly the Blue Notes, because we’ve seen a pretty strong uptick in prices. This one sold for $179.50 in M- condition for both the record and the cover.

We flagged this one when the bidding topped $60 because we’ve never considered it that much of a collectible:

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