Tag: Lee Morgan

Alas, Condition Counts

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lee morganBack to the business of watching records on eBay, starting with: Lee Morgan, Search for the New Land, Blue Note 4169. This is not typically thought of as one of Morgan’s collectible albums and, indeed, it only shows up twice in the Jazz Collector Price Guide and in neither case did it break the $100 barrier. In this listing, however, the seller adds an interesting twist. He claims he bought the album sealed, never played it or opened it, and then broke the seal to list it on eBay to determine whether it was an original pressing, which, surprise, it actually is. So, if the seller is to be believed (I say, why not), then this is truly a mint record. The price has been bid up accordingly and is now at $200 with more than two days to condition.

Here’s another from Lee: Lee Morgan, The Cooker, Blue Note 1578. This looks to be an original pressing with the West 63rd address, deep grooves, ears, etc. It is listed in VG+ condition for the record and M- for the cover. I’d expect that the bidding would reach at least into the $500 range, given what we’re seeing with VG+ Blue Notes of this era, and perhaps

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Cool Jazz Art, Record Collector Photos, Candy

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milesTime to clear out the email inbox.

For those of you interested in jazz art work, photography and ephemera, there is an auction coming up next week of works collected by the former Blue Note president Bruce Lundvall. The collection is being auctioned by Doyle New York, and parts of it can be seen here, including this pretty cool picture of Miles at the right. Cool stuff. Not necessarily my thing, but cool. Now, if he were to sell of his vinyl, that would be another story.

Speaking of artwork, I find this to be cool as well: A photographer by the name of Eilon Paz has spent several years photographing record collectors with their collections and has recently published them in a book titled “Dust and Grooves: Adventures in Record Collecting.” You can check out the article here and the Web site here. The photographer is in Brooklyn. Surprised he hasn’t found me yet. Perhaps now he will.

CeeDee sends me random notes and listings of records that are typically out of both his price range and mine as well. Here’s a recent one:

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What Was That About Condition?

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Lee MorganBeen way behind on my posting and even my eBay watching. Lots of stuff going on here. When I left off, these were some of the jazz records I was watching on eBay, starting with: Lee Morgan Sextet, Blue Note  1541. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record was in VG+ condition and the cover was only VG, with tape, writing, a sticker and shelf wear. The record sold for $2,324. Yes, that is not a typographical error. I was thinking of making a pithy comment, but I seem to be out of pith this morning. I will leave the pith to you, dear readers.

J.R. Monterose, Blue Note 1536. This looked to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing as well. The record and cover were in VG condition, and the seller mentioned the word “scratches” so that would definitely be a red flag. This one sold for $323.80, reasonable, I would say, but still $2,000 less than the Morgan record.

While we’re on Blue Notes, here’s another that fetched quite a nice price:

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Candy, An Autograph and 10-Inch Vinyl

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dizzy gillespie autographHere are a few more items from our watch list on eBay, starting with Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This is an original pressing that looks to be in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. As a bidder I would be careful of the “light background noise” part of the description because the cleanest copies of Blue Notes don’t typically have background noise, at least not the original 12-inch pressings. Other bidders seem to be more sanguine about the description. The bidding is now in the $1,800 range with two days left.

Dizzy Gillespie Volume 1, Atlantic 138. This looks to be an original 10-inch pressing signed on the front by Dizzy Gillespie. I’m sure Don-Lucky or one of our other readers will weigh in on the authenticity of the autograph. The cover looks to be in VG+ condition and the record is described as VG+ as well. Bidding is in the range of $110 and there’s more than a day left on the auction.

Speaking of 10-inch records, we also had our eyes on these: Read more

A Unique Way of Listing (And It Pays Off)

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monkI’m preparing to update the Jazz Collector Price Guide so I’m going through my watch list and catching up on some items I may have missed, starting with: The Unique Thelonious Monk, Riverside 209. This was described as an original white label pressing in VG+ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The listing was quite weird in that there were no pictures of the actual record or cover. Instead, there was a canned picture that looked as if it came off the Internet. No harm, at least to the seller. This one wound up selling for $531. That’s the highest price we’ve ever seen for that record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. Maybe it pays to not post pictures, huh?

Art Blakey, A Night at Birdland Volume 1, Blue Note 1521. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record was probably in VG+ condition and the cover was M-. This one sold for  $510.

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Sanity and Insanity, Redux

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Cliff JordanOh, now I see why there was so much discussion on my previous post about Lee Morgan, City Lights, Blue Note 1575. It sold for $1,525. That’s the highest price we’ve seen for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. I had estimated the value of my copy at $1,000. Perhaps I need to make an adjustment.

This one also ended up in the stratosphere: Cliff Jordan, Cliff Craft, Blue Note 1582. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $1,510.

I’ve been thinking a little bit about some of the judgments we (or I) have been making about some of the prices being paid for non-original pressings or for prices that seem to defy normal expectations. People can pay whatever they want for these records and, in the end, who’s to say that they won’t get tremendous enjoyment and satisfaction out of a United Artists Jutta Hipp Blue Note or an original Kind of Blue with a ringwear-pocked cover. And maybe even these records will turn out to be a good investment years from now and we’ll all look back and regret not loading up on later Blue Note pressings.

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Records That Are Not Quite Records

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wallington new jazzLet’s catch up on a few more jazz records from our watch list, starting with: George Wallington, New York Scene, New Jazz 8207. This was an original pressing with the deep grooves and the purple label. The record and cover both looked to be in VG++ condition. The price was $698, which we though was the highest we’ve ever seen for this record until we looked at the Jazz Collector Price Guide and realized that we’ve seen this one sell for as much as $865. I literally bought a copy of this record for a quarter many years ago, when one of the young workers at Mr. Cheapo in Mineola mistakenly threw it into the bargain bin, for which I have been forever grateful.

That copy of Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’ that we were watching would up selling for $3,507, also not a record, but a pretty hefty price indeed.

I just sold a copy of this record to a dealer, and I would have expected it to get a higher price than it did here:

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Quite a Waltz

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LeeWait a second. How did I miss this one: Bill Evans, Waltz for Debby, Riverside 399. This was an original white label promo copy. The vinyl was listed in M- condition and the cover was VG+. The price was, get ready, $3,050.

Here are a few we’re watching on eBay now, starting with Introducing Lee Morgan, Savoy 12091. This is an original red label pressing listed in VG condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The price is about $190 and the auction closes later today.

Art Blakey, The Jazz Messengers at the Cafe Bohemia, Volume 2, Blue Note 1508. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record is in VG+ condition and the cover is VG++. The auction closes today and the bidding is in the $280 range.

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Jazz Vinyl for the New Year

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Lee MorganWe’ll close out 2013 with a look at some of the jazz vinyl sitting in our year-end watch list on eBay.

Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This was an original pressing listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,777. You know a record is rare when it can get a bid of nearly $1,800 in only VG+ condition.

Here’s another Lee, now quite as valuable: Lee Morgan, City Lights, Blue Note 1575. This was also an original pressing. The record was listed in VG++ condition and the cover was just VG. It sold for $588.77.

How about a Lee Morgan trifecta: Lee Morgan, The Cooker, Blue Note 1578. This looked to be an original pressing in VG condition for the record and Ex for the cover. The record had a start price of $400 and did not sell, so we’re expecting to see it back on eBay at some point.

Speaking of records back on eBay, there was:

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A Jazz Vinyl Christmas

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Way Out WestHo, Ho, Ho. Here are the jazz vinyl auctions we are watching on eBay on this sunny Christmas morning in New York City.

Sonny Rollins, Way Out West, Contemporary 3530. This looks to be an original pressing with the yellow label and deep grooves. The seller calls it an original, but I think he may not be fully aware. It would have been better if he had included a picture of the back cover so that potential bidders could see, if indeed, the cover had the red writing to confirm its provenance. This one is listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The start price is $250 and, as of now, there are no bidders. The same seller also has: Lee Morgan, The Cooker, Blue Note 1578. This also looks to be an original pressing, listed in VG condition for the record and Ex for the cover. The starting price is $400 and so far there are no bids.

Atomic Records continues to have some nice items on eBay. We are still watching that copy of Tommy Flanagan Overseas, which closes tomorrow. We are also watching:

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