Tag: Jazz Vinyl

For the Price Guide: Mingus, Bags, Rare Savoy

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Here are some new records for the Jazz Collector Price Guide:

When did this one become a collectible that would fetch a price tag of nearly $200: Charles Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Impulse 54. This was an orange label stereo pressing in M- condition. It sold for $178.05. Quite a nice price for this LP, right? I have a stereo copy in my collection also in M- condition, beautiful. If anyone wants it for $175, just send me a note and I will sell it to you.

I almost bid on this one and now kind of regret that I didn’t: Milt Jackson and the Thelonious Monk Quintet, Blue Note 1509. This one was an original Lexington Avenue pressing and it looked to be in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover, although the seller could have been a bit more forthcoming with the grading. It sold for a little more than $100, and

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On eBay: Morgan, Zoot, Chambers & Rare Mobley

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Here are some nice items coming up soon on eBay:

Lee Morgan Sextet, Blue Note 1541. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing being sold by Euclid Records. The vinyl is listed as VG++ and the cover is listed as M-. The current price is a little more than $300, but it’s hard to believe that this one won’t sell for more than $1,000, perhaps considerably more, given the way prices on Blue Notes have been going.

The Great Zoot Sims, Down Home, Bethlehem 60. This is an original red label pressing. The record and vinyl seem to be in what we would grade as VG++ condition, based on the seller’s description. The current price is about $150.

This one is already close to $800 and it hasn’t yet reached the seller’s reserve price:

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More Blue Notes, More Record Price Tags

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Prices for Blue Notes — at least those in near mint condition — are continuing to rise, based on some of the latest eBay sales. Take a look at these:

A Date With Jimmy Smith, Volume 2, Blue Note 1548. This was in near mint condition and it was sold by the same seller who sold those pristine JJ Johnson records the other day. This one sold for $792. The record features Hank Mobley, Lou Donaldson and Donald Byrd, but this is still a new high price tag for it, at least for the time we’ve been watching it.

This one was from Euclid Records: The Fabulous Fats Navarro, Volume 1, Blue Note 1531. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. It was listed as M- condition for both

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Watching Some More Second Pressings

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Here are a few items we’ve been watching, none of them an original pressing, each of them selling for a pretty hefty price tag. What I find interesting is that these second pressings of highly collectible records seem to be selling a lot better than original pressings of more moderately collectible records. It seems that certain records are just in demand and second pressings are becoming acceptable to collectors.

Paul Chambers, Whims of Chambers, Blue Note 1534. This was a West 63rd Street pressing. It was listed in VG+ condition for both the cover and the vinyl. The price was $222.50.

Jackie McLean Quintet, Jubilee 1064. This is a reissue of The New Tradition on Ad Lib, although it’s probable not all of the bidders knew this. In any case, this copy was in M- condition for both the record and the cover and it sold for $182.50.

This next one didn’t get a huge price, but still not bad for a second pressing:

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Catching Up: Morgan, Blakey, Kenny Dorham

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Here are a few records we’ve been watching:

Lee Morgan, The Cooker, Blue Note 1578. This seemed to be an original pressing listed as being in near mint condition. The price was $741. It’s hard to think of a record selling for $741 as being a bargain but given Blue Note prices lately, this seems kind of low. I had expected it to break into the $1,000 bin.

Because of some of the chatter on the site, we’ve also decided to keep an eye on more second pressings, such as this one: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, The Big Beat, Blue Note 4029. This was a New York USA pressing — not an original — and it was

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What Makes a Collectible a Collectible?

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In another post (A Visit To A Record Store, Part 2), Jan poses an interesting question, addressed to experienced and serious collectors: What do you consider to be collectible and how do you decide if a second pressing of a record is collectible or not?

I am not, I must admit, among the most serious of collectors. I know this sounds odd coming from the guy who writes about jazz records every day, pores over eBay listings to decide which records to put in the Price Guide and writes articles under the headline “Confessions of a Vinyl Addict.”

However, and this gets to Jan’s point: The copy of Saxophone Colossus in my collection is a Bergenfield, N.J. pressing. Same with Tenor Madness. I have the Bergenfield copies, they are in great condition, they have yellow labels, this is enough for me. I have the music in an early pressing, it sounds great, I’m OK. Would I like a New York pressing of both of these records? Yes. Would I ever obsess about it? No. Would I ever pay the going rate on eBay for them? Not a chance.

The people I’ve always considered to be “serious collectors” wouldn’t accept these second pressings and are constantly hunting for the original pressings and would not be content with anything but an original. I do think, however, things are changing and the

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Win a Free Collectible: Dexter Gordon On Blue Note

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There’s been a lot of Blue Note chatter on Jazz Collector lately, and some Dexter Gordon chatter as well, so, as I was looking on my shelves for a suitable item for the next giveaway, I was pleased to come across this: Dexter Gordon, Blue Note  LA393-H2. This is a double LP from 1975, issued by United Artists as part of Blue Note Reissue series. It consists of a variety of Dexter’s work, stretching from his first album as a leader on Blue Note, Doing All Right, up to the 1965 date the produced Gettin’ Around. I wouldn’t have purchased this LP when it came out, since my sole interest was collecting original pressings, but somewhere along the way I picked up this copy and, in fact, it is

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A Blue Note Favorite: Is It The One?

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Here’s an interesting item I was watching on eBay. Art Blakey, Buhaina’s Delight, Blue Note 4104. This was an original pressing with the NY USA label. It was in M- condition for both the record and the cover and it sold for $172.01, which is relatively high for this record. Ever since I got into that Blue Note head a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been thinking about doing a post on my favorite Blue Note album, which Downbeat did about a year ago with a bunch of jazz artists. I will try to dig out my copy and do a subsequent post. My problem with choosing my favorite Blue Note is this: Every time I think I come up with the one album, I think about another and, to be honest,  I’m having a hard time settling on one. I will say, however, that this album is a top contender, is definitely a finalist and may even emerge as the winner. We’ll see. Hopefully I will get around to doing the post. I can tell you how much I love this album: Even though

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Catching Up: Blakey on Elektra, Capuchin Swing

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Let’s catch up on a few recent eBay sales.

This one was sold by the Jazz Record Center: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, A Midnight Session, Elektra 120. This was an original mono pressing. Frankly, this is not a record I’ve seen very often and I had no idea what kind of value it had as a collectible. I own a copy, although mine is a stereo pressing. I’ve been going through a lot of my records to catalog them for insurance purposes and because it’s kind of fun in an obsessive compulsive psychotic neurotic kind of way. My copy is in VG+ condition, and I estimated its value at $35. This one was in M- condition and sold for $228. Perhaps I’ll have to adjust my spreadsheet.

I should have been on this one: Jackie McLean, Capuchin Swing, Blue Note 4038. This one was listed a West 63rd but it did not mention

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Confessions of a Vinyl Addict, Redux

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Someone asked why I labeled the recent series “More” Confessions of a Vinyl Addict. Well, unfortunately, we’ve been down this road before. I did a search of the Jazz Collector site and unearthed this gem from April 5, 2004 labeled, of course, Confessions of A Vinyl Addict, Part 1. It’s amazing how little I’ve learned and how little has changed. But . . . at the time I had 12,000 records and now I have 10,000, so perhaps that’s progress. I also called eBay insidious, which is still true today, right? Anyway, it’s worth a read, I think. Just give it a click above.

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