Tag: Jazz Record Center

Some Surprises in the Bidding?

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hankLet’s catch up on some of the jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay:

Hank Mobley, Mobley’s 2nd Message, Prestige 7082. This was an original pressing with the deep grooves and the New York address. It had a promo label stamp and perhaps a small cutout hole, which the seller described as a “worm ” hole, a term new to us in this context. The record was listed in VG++ condition and the cover was VG+. The final price was $1,075.

A lot of people have commented with appropriate surprise at some of the relatively low prices on the auctions we were watching from the Jazz Record Center, including: Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore, Blowing in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This was not listed as a first pressing, but it seemed to clearly be an early pressing, with one side having the original New York 23 label and the other having a West 63rd label. The record and cover both looked to be in M- condition. The price was $373. I’d have paid more if I was paying attention.

On the other hand, this one sold for a higher price that I would have perhaps expected although, to be fair, the prices on these 4100-series Blue Notes have been skyrocketing: Herbie Hancock, Empyrean Isles, Blue Note 4175. This was an original pressing that looked to be in immaculate M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $583.56.

 

 

Heading For The $1,000 Bin?

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cliffWe’re now watching some jazz vinyl from the current Jazz Record Center auction, which closes tomorrow. Here’s some of the records on our watch list, starting with: Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore, Blowing in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This is an early deep-groove pressing with the West 63rd label on one side and the New York 23 label on the other. The record looks to be in beautiful M- condition, and the cover looks equally nice. The current price is $260. I would expect this to sell for a lot more. If it doesn’t, perhaps I will be in the mix.

Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This is an original New York yellow-label pressing. The record and cover both seem to be in at least VG++ condition, based on the descriptions. The price is currently in the $700 range.

Miles Davis, Volume 1, Blue Note 1501. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing in what looks to be in near-pristine condition, M- for both the record and the cover. The bidding is at around $200. We’ve seen this record sell for as much as $1,007 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. Will this one match that? We’ll find out tomorrow.

 

 

 

Four Blue Notes For the $1,000 Bin

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Goin' Up -- That's for sure

                    Goin’ Up — That’s for sure

Let’s look at some rare records that we may have missed on eBay:

Louis Smith, Smithville, Blue Note 1594. This was an original pressing in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $1,250. That’s not quite the highest price we’ve ever recorded for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, but it’s definitely up there.

This one got a lot of mentions in the comments, but I wanted to point to it specifically in a post so anyone doing a search can easily find it: Freddie Hubbard, Goin’ Up, Blue Note 4056. This was an original pressing that seemed to be in VG+ or better condition for the record and M- for the cover. It sold for, ahem, $1,259. Whenever I’ve thought of this record I’ve thought of it as Goin’ Up, Up, Up based on the front cover, but that’s just a design element, isn’t it? Took me a while to figure that out.

John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This was an original pressing in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. Despite the condition, it still sold for $1,113.

Not sure how this one slipped by us from a couple of months ago: Read more

When an Original is Not an Original

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I was watching a few jazz vinyl auctions as they closed the other day with some degree of interest because of what I considered to be the clear misuse of the word “original.” Here’s an example: Lee Morgan, Lee-Way, Blue Note 4034. This was labeled as an “original mono pressing from 1964.” What does original mean in this case? It is clearly not a first pressing, since the address on the label is New York USA. The seller is a veteran eBayer and I’ve bought from him a few times and I’ve always had good experiences. So he knows the difference between a real original and a pseudo original. Was a buyer duped in this transaction? Well, there were pictures of the label and the New York USA labels were clearly stated, so if someone thought this was an original first pressing, he was being quite careless and/or was ignorant. It’s hard to tell from the price. The record sold for $136.50, but the back was stained and in VG- condition. My bet is if the listing did not use the word “original” then a second (or third, or fourth) pressing of Lee-Way with a stained back cover would not have sold for more than $100. So the seller probably made a few more bucks and the buyer got a later pressing with a stained cover.

Here’s another one that’s hard to figure:

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A Story Goes With It

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You may recall several weeks ago I wrote a post for The Lovely Mrs. JC. It wasn’t entirely altruistic: She was seeking help from the Jazz Collector community in acquiring a birthday gift for me, preferably an original Blue Note that would fill a gap in my collection (A Blue Note Birthday). Helping her was, of course, helping myself. Well, it is a milestone birthday and the day has arrived and, as you can see from the accompanying picture, my birthday wish has been fulfilled, quite nicely I must say. I also promised I would tell you the story that went with the gift, so here it is, or at least as much as I can ascertain from The Lovely Mrs. JC. I will say that after my plea to the Jazz Collector community there was hardly a groundswell of enthusiasm. The Lovely Mrs. JC received one email. About a week after the initial post I asked her how it was going and she said not so well, so I put up another subtle reminder or two on Jazz Collector. Perhaps I was too subtle, for nothing came in. I gave her an updated wish list with a couple more records and she told me she would follow up with the one person who responded and we decided to leave it at that and I was not to ask about it anymore, lest I run the risk of ruining any suprise. She didn’t

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A Pristine Selection of Rare Jazz Vinyl

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Just got an email from the Jazz Record Center that they have a new auction up this week, so let’s take a look and see what’s there:

This one has a start price of $2,000, and it’s already gotten a bid, so we should expect quite a high price: Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This is an original pressing in what is described as “near-new” condition, perhaps played once. The cover looks to be equally pristine.

Here’s another we wouldn’t mind putting on our own shelves: Elmo Hope, Meditations, Prestige 7010. This is an original New York yellow-label pressing, also in “near new” condition for the record and M- for the cover. The start price is $400 and there are no bidders yet, but there will be.

Bill Evans, Portrait in Jazz, Riverside 315. This is an original deep groove pressing with the small reel logos on the label, as opposed to the larger reels, which I had forgotten was a distinguishing characteristic of Riverside. Someday, perhaps in 2013, I will go through all of the vast research we have accumulated here at Jazz Collector and put together a more definitive guide to what makes an original pressing on various labels. I think the information is here on the site, it just needs to be mined. Anyway, this one is in near new condition and has a start price of $200.

The Cats, Bird, Miles and Trane

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I said I’d post a few more from the Jazz Record Center auction last week, so here ’tis:

Tommy Flanagan, The Cats, New Jazz 8217. This was an original pressing in M- condition for the record and cover. It was also a review copy. It sold for $535. I’ve had this record for a while. I traded it for it years ago: I had a broken leg at the time and was stuck in my friend’s basement with all of his records, Blue Notes, Prestiges, the whole works. I was very good and just looked. In my collection I have this one with my Flanagans, although the temptation is to put it with the Coltranes. I’m often reorganizing, so maybe I’ll move it around some day.

This is one of my favorite jazz collectibles, although it’s not jazz vinyl: To Bird With Love, by Francis Paudras. This is a book from 1981, about the most loving tribute to Bird you could find this side of Irving Kalus’ Ornithology. As noted by Fred in his listing, which you should take a look at, the book was printed once with no more than 1,000 copies, probably 500. I bought this when it first came out, from Fred, and I’ve treasured it ever since. It now has a prominent shelf on my new shelves in The Berkshires.  This one sold for $887.79.

The Miles Davis Columbia records with Coltrane, and even the next generation, are becoming more collectible it seems. The music is certainly uniformly great. Here are a few from the Jazz Record Center auction:

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Jazz Vinyl: Zoot, Newks and More

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Let’s catch up on the results of the latest jazz vinyl auction from the Jazz Record Center. I follow their auctions closely because, to me, they are the most reputable of all dealers and, therefore, I see their auctions as fully reflective of market realities, no hype.

Zoot Sims, Down Home, Bethlehem 6051. This was an original red-label pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $510. I recently picked up my first copy of this record and listened to it the other day. Quite nice: Great Zoot and nice to hear early Dave McKenna. The copy  I purchased is in M- condition for the vinyl and VG+ for the cover. Very pleased.

Sonny Rollins, The Sound of Sonny, Riverside 241. This was an original white label pressing in what looked to be M- condition for both the record and the cover. The price was $426. This one went for a little more than usual: Sonny Rollins, Sonny Boy, Prestige 7207. The record looked to be M- and the cover was probably VG++, with a couple of minor blemishes. It sold for $170.39.

Grachan Moncur III, Evolution, Blue Note 4153. This was an original New York USA pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $688.90. Wow.

Lee Konitz, Tranquility, Verve 8281. This was an original pressing with the trumpeter logo. It was in M- condition for the vinyl and probably VG++ for the cover. It sold for $111.87.

 

A Jazz Vinyl Potpourri From Jazz Record Center

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We always like to watch the auctions from the Jazz Record Center because they are a nice gauge of the overall market. Here are a few items from their latest auction, starting with: Sonny Rollins, The Sound of Sonny, Riverside 241. This is an original pressing with the white labels. It is listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The start price is $200 and so far there are no bidders, but we’d expect that to change. We’ve seen copies of this record sell for more than $500 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Bud Powell’s Moods, Norgran 1064. This is an original yellow label pressing. The record and the cover both look to be in M- condition. It has a cover design by David Stone Martin and has a start price of $100. We’d also expect this one to sell, right?

The bidding has already started on this one: Dizzy Reece, Star Bright, Blue Note 4023. This is an original pressing that also looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The auction closes in about five days and the bidding is now in the $260 range.

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Jazz Vinyl Watching on Dolphy, Mingus, Evans, Candid

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When I slipped off the face of the Jazz Collector earth last week there was a pending auction I was watching from the Jazz Record Center. So, just to complete my updating process, here are some of the jazz records from that auction:

Man, some of the Eric Dolphy records are going for big bucks. The latest example: Eric Dolphy in Europe Volume 1, Prestige 7304. This was an original pressing with the yellow label — near the end of the cycle for yellow-label Prestiges. The cover was in the original shrink wrap and both record and cover were in M- condition. this one sold for $565.55.

Bill Evans, Interplay, Riverside 9445. This was an original stereo pressing with the black labels. The record and cover were in M- condition. The price was $191.38.

Here were a couple of Candids: Charles Mingus, Mingus, Candid 8021. This was an original pressing with the deep grooves and it was in great condition, M- all the. It also had a promo stamp. Nice cover, right? Also features Eric Dolphy and Booker Ervin. You’d think it would be worth more than $115.50 but, alas, that was the sale price. Charles Mingus (et al), Newport Rebels, Candid 8022. This too was an original deep groove mono pressing in M- condition. It sold for $113.50.

 

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