More Jazz Vinyl Updates and A Couple of Surprises

Here’s an update on some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:

Let’s start with the $1,000 bin, this one from last week: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,675. Hmm, in the Jazz Collector Price Guide we’ve had four or five of these sell for more than $3,000. What’s going on? Is there something in the listing that would indicate this is not an original pressing? Looks good to me. I know the listing would have been enhanced by more and better pictures, but still. . .

As we saw last week, prices for certain records with Andy Warhol covers seem to be rising. Here’s an example: Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1543. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing — the last original Lexington Avenue, right? — and the record was VG but the cover was VG+. It sold for $833. That’s the highest we’ve seen in the Jazz Collector Price Guide for any Burrell record.

Here’s one that provides an answer to a question we posed the other day:

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Shades of Blue Note

We’ll continue to keep an eye on Blue Note today. Here are some recent sales of Blue Note jazz vinyl:

Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. This was an original deep groove pressing that looked to be in beautiful M- condition. I’ve always wanted an original copy of these record, since it is a personal favorite and I’ve only owned a Japanese pressing for many years. One day I’m sure I’ll find an original at a price I would be comfortable paying, which was not this copy, which sold for $1,282 from my friends at Music Matters in California.

Curtis Fuller, Bone & Bari, Blue Note  1572. This was also an original pressing from a reliable dealer. The record was in what looked to be VG++ condition, while the cover was listed as being “in very good shape” which sounds better than VG and, from the pictures, also seemed to look better than VG. If I were bidding, based on the description, I’d be disappointed if the record wasn’t around VG++, which is probably what the winning bidder assumed as well, since the record sold for $710.

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Watching Some Blue Note Records on eBay

Here are some Blue Notes we’ve been watching on eBay:

Lee Morgan Volume 3, Blue Note 1557. This was an original first pressing that was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover The pictures in the listing were pristine and clear. The record sold for $2,253.88. This Lee Morgan didn’t do quite as well: Lee Morgan, Lee-Way, Blue Note 4034. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG+. The price was $442.89.

Here’s one that features Sonny Clark on piano: Curtis Fuller Volume 3, Blue Note 1583. This was an original pressing in M- condition for the vinyl and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $612.69.

This one did not reach the seller’s reserve price: The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Volume 1, Blue Note 5068. This was an original 10-inch LP that was listed in M- condition for the record and what looked to be VG++ condition for the cover. The top bid was $255, so we won’t know what the reserve price was.

This one had sold for more than $600 last week, but not this time:

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Jazz Vinyl This Week: A New High For Shorter

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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On eBay: Blue Note, Transition & Hyperbole

Was watching this later pressing to see if it would sell: John Jenkins with Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1573. This was a United Artists pressing. The vinyl was in M- condition, but the cover had a corner clip. The starting price was $44.44 and there were no bidders. Not sure where the market is for these United Artists pressings. I do have a bunch of them and I’m planning to hold onto them. They sound fine, not like the original pressings, but not like the reprocessed stereo editions either.

Here’s an interesting one from our “friend” Bobdjukic: Don Byas, Tenor Sax Solos, Atlantic 11233. This is a 10-inch LP with an interesting cover. The listing notes that it is an uncredited David Stone Martin illustration and, I have to admit, it looks like one for sure. But when this seller says something is “absolutely certain” I tend to wonder. In this case, I think he’s accurate, but it would nice to get confirmation from one of the experts out there as well. The rest of the hyperbole in the listing is a true work of art. Here is some of the language: “One of the rarest jazz albums in existence,” plus “We are reasonably certain that less than four copies

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Adventures in Jazz Collection: The Auction, Volume 1

I participated in a jazz auction the other night. Not an eBay auction, but a traditional auction with real people and an auctioneer and a gavel. Here’s the story: A few weeks ago I got a call from a guy named David Quinn who said he ran an auction house and had in his possession a collection of jazz records and CDs from an estate sale. I helped David out with some information about the jazz collectibles market and he told me he’d send me a list and let me know when the auction was taking place. It was in the Washington DC area. I couldn’t make it down there, so I asked if I could be on the phone and perhaps bid on a few items. He arranged it and when the first item was put on the block at about 6:30 on Wednesday night, there I was on the phone, bidding on items I hadn’t actually seen. This put me at a pretty stark disadvantage, because there were about 30 people physically in the room at Quinn’s Auction Galleries in Falls Church, Va. These people could physically see the items: I was going on guts and instincts and whatever pictures were available online. The thing with this type of auction, the auction house gets

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More Blue Notes, More Big Price Tags

Catching up on some recent eBay sales.

Here’s one that was quite a surprise: Jimmy Smith at the Organ, Blue Note 1525. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record was M- and the cover was VG++.  Normally the Jimmy Smith Blue Notes have not fetched huge dollars, but something is changing in the Blue Note market: All of the originals are going up in value and even later pressings are starting to sell at collectible prices. This one sold for an eye-popping $511.

May as well stick with some more Blue Notes: Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights Volume 1. This one, of course, has the cover illustration by Andy Warhol. The record was

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For the Price Guide: A Blue Note Bonanza

We’ve been quite busy updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so we will do a few posts over the next few days highlighting some of the new entries, starting with some Blue Notes, of course. There are no links to these, FYI.

Kenny Drew, Undercurrent, Blue Note 4059. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address and just one side deep groove. The record was listed in VG+ condition for both the vinyl and the cover and it sold for $285.

Baby Face Willette, Stop and Listen, Blue Note 4084. This was an original pressing with the NY USA label. the record looked to be in VG++ condition for both the vinyl and the cover. It sold for $200.

This one sold for a big price, but it didn’t seem to be an original pressing:

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On eBay: Miles and Miles and Mobley

Here’s a seller with some really nice items on eBay now, including: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This is an original pressing. The vinyl is in VG+ condition and the cover is M-. This is one of the rare ones. It is already more than $1,000 with three days to go. From the same seller: Introducing Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1523. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing with the deep grooves, flat edge, etc. The vinyl is listed as VG+ and the cover is listed as VG. The current price is about $130. It will sell for more. Promise.

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On Ebay: Newk & Jenkins, Blue Note & Prestige

Here’s another one headed for the $1,000 bin: Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This is an original pressing that looks to be in near mint condition by a seller in Italy who has solid feedback. There are about 14 hours to go and it is already at about $1,800. The seller has five rare Rollins LPs on eBay now, also: Sonny Rollins Volume 1, Blue Note 1542. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing that also looks to be in near mint condition. The current price is more than $500, but it has not yet reached the seller’s reserve.

Here’s another seller with some nice Blue Notes on eBay today, including: John Jenkins with Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1573. This is an original pressing with

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