Where are the Bidders?

benny green copyI’m watching the current auction from the Jazz Record Center, which closes in two days, and I am left to wonder: Where are the bidders? Perhaps they will show up at the end, as the often do. But, after seeing so much action on other auctions, I’d expect to see more on this one, considering the sterling reputation of the seller. We’ll see what happens. Some of the records I’m watching from this list:

Bennie Green, Back on the Scene, Blue Note 1587. This is an original pressing in what looks to be pristine condition for both the record and the cover. The start price is $300 and so far there are no bidders. I recently purchased a copy of this record in my Baltimore purchase, so I don’t need it, but I’d be happy to get a copy in this condition for anything less than $500, which may seem possible.

Art Taylor, AT’s Delight, Blue Note 4047. This is also an original deep groove pressing in what looks to be M- condition for the record and the cover. The start price is $250 and there are no bidders as of now. Huh? This is a great record. I happen to own a copy signed by Art Taylor, which is quite precious to me.

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More Collectible Jazz From eBay

wright copyTo catch up on a few lingering items. That Charlie Parker Limited Edition Swedish record from The Jazz Record Center wound up selling for $248.50. I promised to check my collection to see if I have a copy and, alas, to my pleasant surprise, I do. I usually know all of my records, but having bought a couple of collections in the past two years has left me with many items unawares and unplayed. This one, I recall, came from the Irving Kalus collection, still very near and dear to my heart. My copy of the Bird record seems to be an original in every way, except it is not a numbered edition. It still describes it as a “Limited Edition: This Record is Issued in 1000 Copies. This is Copy.” And there’s no number after that. Anyway, I have it on the turntable now. The fidelity is not great as you would expect, but the music is great. Bird started out with Anthropology, on which he played a very energetic and imaginative solo. Next is Scrapple From the Apple. Yeah, definitely some nice Bird. Really nice Bird. Ooh, now he’s playable Embraceable You. Great.

Also from that auction: John Wright, South Side Soul, Prestige 7190. This was

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Some Sell, Some Don’t, One Gets Quite A Price

Kenny Dorham Jazz VinylMany ages ago, when I last posted on Jazz Collector, there were many items I was watching on eBay that have subsequently sold. Or not. Here are some of them:

Kenny Dorham and the Jazz Prophets Volume 1, ABC Paramount 122. This was an original pressing listed in VG++ condition for the record and M- for the cover. It sold for $510. One of the things I’ve always liked about this record is the “Volume 1.” Obviously, somebody thought there was going to be a Volume 2, but it never materialized. Wonder if anyone here knows what happened to Volume 2? I searched for this record for years. About 20 years ago I passed up a very nice copy at the Jazz Record Center, which Fred Cohen very generously agreed to sell to me for $100. I have no idea why I didn’t buy it, but I didn’t. I finally acquired a copy last year in that lovely Baltimore collection. Still haven’t listed to it, though. Getting a turntable upgrade in New York this week. Maybe now’s the time.

This one had a starting price of about $1,500 and, not surprisingly (to me, at least), did not attract any bidders:

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Catching Up on A Couple of Jazz Vinyl Rarities

Sonny Rollins Plays Jazz VinylHey, everyone. Checking in from vacation. Just spent three lovely days in Creede, Colorado, and I’m now in sunny San Diego, where, apparently, there is an excellent record store I should be checking out. And perhaps I will. In the meanwhile, I’m sneaking in some time to take a look at my eBay watch list and see what I’ve been missing. BTW, I am not here for the Comic-Con convention. One crazy obsession is enough for one lifetime.

Sonny Rollins Plays, Period 1204. This was an original  deep-groove pressing listed in M- condition for the record and the cover, although the cover seemed slightly less to me. I’d love to own this record someday. Hard to imagine that it’s eluded me for more than 40 years, but that’s part of the joy of collecting, isn’t it: To always have something to look forward to. This one sold for $1,136.11.

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DG or Not DG; That Is The Question

Burrell and Coltrane Jazz VinylFound a little time this morning to peruse eBay and these are some of the items I noticed, starting with Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane, New Jazz 8276. This is listed as an original purple label pressing, but I’m not so sure. I zoomed in on those labels and they didn’t look to me like they had deep grooves. One of our regular readers asked me about this record the other day, so here it is if you want to take a chance. I’d be a little careful. The record is probably VG++ and the cover either VG+ or VG++. The start price is in the $150 range and so far there are no bidders. Perhaps I’m not the only one looking for deep grooves. One other question: To those of you who own this record and organize their records alphabetically, where do you put this one: Under Burrell or Coltrane? I used to keep it under Coltrane, but it would get lost among all of the other Prestiges, so now I keep it under Burrell and I actually notice it. Lovely record too.

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Ruminations on Trane and Dizzy

Coltrane JAzzThere’s a new auction from the Jazz Record Center on eBay. I like to watch their auctions, not just because of their sterling reputation as sellers, but also because I often learn something new, or at least recall something I’ve forgotten. For example, John Coltrane, Coltrane Jazz, Atlantic 1354. I have a hard time keeping track of the Atlantic original pressings once they stopped with the black labels, and this is a nice reminder that the original pressing of this record has the red and purple labels. This is the mono pressing, which is always nice to have, although in the case of this record, I typically prefer the stereo pressing. In any case, this one is in M- condition for the record and the cover and has a start price of $75 with no bidders, so far. I’m getting some new equipment this week. I’m thinking about the first record to play and this would be on the list if I had a stereo copy, but I don’t so I’m taking if off the list. Right now I’m thinking perhaps Way Out West or Sonny Rollins Plus Four or perhaps Blue Train.

This one I find really interesting:

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Back in Business Watching Jazz Vinyl

ornette colemanI’ve been so busy with real work I haven’t even looked at eBay in more than a week. But today is a holiday here in the states, and then a weekend, so perhaps I will be able to refocus once again on happenings within the whacky world of jazz vinyl. In the meantime, let me clean up some of the sold items on my watch list, starting with some of those records from the Jazz Record Center auction.

Ornette Coleman, Change of the Century, Atlantic 1327. This was an original pressing with the black label. I haven’t seen that many black label pressings of this record, but I never considered it to be that much of a collectible. Perhaps I need to change my perspective. This copy was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $449.

I had mentioned these two in an earlier post: Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. This was an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,291. Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else, Blue Note 1595. This was also an original pressing in M- condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $751.

This one, from a different seller, fetched quite a nice price:

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Tracking Trey Blue Notes

curtis fuller on blue noteThe Jazz Record Center has an auction closing tomorrow and, as is usually the case, there are some interesting records worth watching, including Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. This is an original pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding is now in the $520 range. In the past I would have said that the Jazz Record Center auctions get top dollar, which makes watching them valuable in tracking the market, but I don’t think that is the case any longer. I think not taking Pay Pal eliminates a portion of the buyers, but it probably eliminates some of the risker potential buyers as well.

This one is from the same auction and the action, so far, is surprisingly subdued: Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else, Blue Note 1595. This is an original pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. With the auction closing tomorrow, there is only one bid at $200. We’ve seen this record sell for more than $1,000 several times in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so we’ll see what happens with this copy.

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Some Surprises From Jazz Record Center Auction

gerry mulligan jazz vinylOur friends at the Jazz Record Center had an auction last week and here are some of the results:

Gerry Mulligan Meets Johnny Hodges, Verve 8367. This was an original pressing with the trumpeter logo and it was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. I was surprised to see this one sell for $148.37. Neither Hodges nor Mulligan is typically all that collectible, and this is one of the later Verves among those with the trumpeter logo. Any theories as to why this would sell for nearly $150? Is the market shifting back to Verves a little?

I’ve never seen this one before: Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, A Nite at Carnegie Hall, Black Deuce. This was the full set of 78s capturing the historic September 29, 1947 concert. As noted in the listing, this was a pirated record release, but it was the first of the issues in any form. The set looked to be in excellent, near mint condition. They sold for $688.

This one almost made it into the $2,000 bin:

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Catching Up On a Jazz Vinyl Quintet

dolphyLet’s catch up on a few more jazz vinyl auctions we were tracking, including: Eric Dolphy, Out There, New Jazz 8252. This was an original pressing with the purple labels and deep grooves. The record looked to be in VG++ condition and the cover was VG+. The price was $416. I like the covers on this one and Outward Bound. Very cool, and reflective in their way of the music.

This one from the Jazz Record Center wound up selling and fetching a pretty nice price: Lester Young, The President, Norgran 1005. This was an original yellow label pressing in what looked to be M- condition for the cover and the record. The final price was $365.

Here are a few other items from the Jazz Record Center auction:

Tommy Flanagan, The Cats, New Jazz 8217. This was an original purple label deep groove pressing in M- condition for both the cover and the record. It sold for $449.

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