Tag: Miles Davis

A Tale of Three Blue Notes

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BennieI find my eyes, ears and eBay searches attracted to Blue Notes today, so that is what I shall write about.

I’m tempted to bid on this one, but I can’t figure out the condition: Bennie Green, Walkin’ and Talkin’, Blue Note 4010. This looks to have the West 63rd Street address and the deep grooves. The seller makes no mention of the ear or RVG. He also says it is a flat-edge pressing, which it’s not. So right away the seller’s credibility and knowledge are suspect. Then there’s the listing itself, whereby in the headline and the description the record is listed as VG-. But elsewhere on the same listing it is listed as VG+ with the additional descriptor that it “plays great!” (his exclamation point, not mine). We are now about four hours from closing and there are still no bids at a start price of around $200. If I knew it was a nice VG+ record and an original pressing, I’d think about a bid. As it is, however, I think I will pass. Obviously, others feel the same way.

I was mentioning 10-inch Blue Notes the other day, and now there is this:

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Not Knowing Squat About Jazz, Indeed

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I’ve had this thing in my inbox for the past few weeks and I’ve been debating whether to post it. It’s really silly. The Internet gives pretty much anyone a forum to write pretty much anything they want. So I got this email with a listing from a blog and it was something like the “10 Greatest Jazz Pianists of All Time,” which was silly enough, but then I saw that the guy did a Top 10 list of jazz albums under the dubious heading “10 essential jazz albums if you know squat about jazz but want to become more versed.” The list is so bad and ridiculous I won’t comment, other than to note the lack of any artist from before the post-Bop era, including Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. Anyway, after great hesitation (and strictly for laughs), here it is:

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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.

 

 

 

24 Hours on Ebay, Redux

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monkSo while perusing my 24 hours on eBay I found two listings so tempting I had to place a bid. Well, I didn’t have to, but if you’re reading this site you know exactly what I mean. Here’s one of the records: Thelonious Monk, Genius of Modern Music Volume 2. This was clearly an original 10-inch pressing. The seller described it as being in VG++ condition for the record and “very good” for the cover, although the cover looked quite nice in the listing. There were about four hours left in the auction when I came upon the listing and there were no bidders with a start price of $85. I looked again at the listing, and I couldn’t figure out why there was no interest. Then I looked at the shelves in my office and, alas, there is no copy of this record in my collection. Perhaps, I figured, I could get this record at what I would consider to be a reasonable price, which would have been anything under $125 or so. So I put in a snipe bid, waited, waited some more, went onto eBay and, tada, I won the auction at $90. Three bidders came in at the end, but the second highest was only $89. This will be a nice addition to my collection: Another 10-inch Blue Note to fill in a gap. Hopefully my guess about the condition is correct.

I bid on this next record purely for the reason that the bidding seemed to be so low:

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A Yellow Book And One (VG) for the $3,000 Bin

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bookOK, I just went to my Watch List on eBay and it looks like they have changed the view, all with the idea of trying to get you to buy more stuff. Lovely. Progress, I guess. I think I can still find things, such as: Booker Ervin, The Song Book, Prestige 7318. This was an original pressing with the yellow label, one of the last of the yellows for sure. It was in Ex+ condition, which I assume is pretty close to M-, for both the record and the cover. This is quite a great record, certainly one of Book’s best. It sold for $263.99.

And now we enter the $3,000 bin: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad-Lib 6601. This was an original pressing in VG++ condition for the record and only VG — VG — for the cover. It sold for $3,050. I thought collectors cared about covers. I know I do.

Cool cover on this one: Miles Davis Quintet, Prestige 185. This was an original 10-inch pressing in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ condition for the cover. It sold for $268.

 

 

Back To The Serious Business of Rare Jazz Vinyl

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LouEnough frivolity with quizzes and fo figures, it’s time to get back to the serious business of watching jazz vinyl on eBay.

Lou Donaldson, Lou Takes Off, Blue Note 1591. This is an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The seller points out that this record is getting very difficult to find now. In my view, finding an original copy has ALWAYS been very difficult. I’ve been collecting for more than 40 years now and I just got a clean original last year. The auction for this one closes in three days and the bidding is in the $150 range.

Think this will sell? I don’t: Miles Davis Plus Horns, Prestige 7025. This is a New Jersey pressing in VG+ condition for the record and VG for the cover. The start price is around $250 and it’s hard to see that for a second pressing. There are four days left, so it will be interesting to watch.

If you’ve ever wanted to own one of the rarest jazz LPs of all time, here’s your chance: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad-Lib 6601. This is an original pressing in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover and, according to the seller, it plays great (with some surface noise). It just came onto eBay with a start price of about $700 and a buy-it-now price of $2,000. It will sell: The question is whether someone will step up with the $2,000 before the auction ends. My guess? Yes.

 

Chet, Miles, Zoot, Sonny Clark

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Back to eBay with a few more recent jazz vinyl auctions, starting with: Chet Baker, Chet, Riverside 299. This looks to be an original pressing in VG+ condition. It sold for $337, which is the highest price we’ve ever recorded for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide (although, admittedly, this is not one that have have often followed). Why such a high price tag for this one? It’s got to be the presence of Bill Evans on piano, right?

Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. This is an original West 63rd pressing listed in VG+ condition with some minor scratches and EXC for the cover, which seems to be equivalent to VG++ based on the seller’s description. It sold for $760. It used to be records had to be in near mint condition, or close to near mint, to fetch those kinds of collectible prices, but no more. There is a huge demand for any of these high-end collectibles in any condition, and certainly in any condition that will give you a good listening experience.

How about another Blue Note:

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A Pair of Blue Notes, A Pair of Prestiges

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Monday morning, so let’s catch up with some jazz vinyl auctions we were watching over the weekend, starting with a couple of Blue Notes: Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. This was an original pressing in Ex condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $987. Long-time readers will know that this one is still near the top of my want list and also that I would never pay $987 for a copy. It’s nice to have holes in the collection so that there always remains excitement in the hunt, at least for me. Just filling in all the blanks by paying top dollar on eBay is a valid way to build a great collection, and it’s probably a great investment as well, given how prices for collectible jazz records keep rising. But it’s never been my choice in how to build a collection. This following record, in fact, is one I had in my collection and sold because one of our readers here at Jazz Collector made me an offer I couldn’t refuse: Horace Parlan, Us Three, Blue Note 4037. This looks to be an original West 63rd Street pressing with the promo stamp. It was listed in VG++ condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $1,078.99.

From Blue Note to Prestige:

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A Picture is Worth a Few Hundred Bucks

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Let’s look at a few more jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay. Here’s why it’s good to show a full range of pictures with the listing: Helen Merrill, Emarcy 36006. This one had the drummer logo, deep grooves, etc., and I am pretty sure the seller thought it was an original pressing, even using the djukikian term “megarare.” The record was probably in VG+ condition for the record and the cover. The thing is, it did not have the blue writing on the back cover, so the bidding topped out, reasonably I would say, at $335. It did not sell, however, because it failed to meet the seller’s reserve price. Without the picture, my bet is that someone takes a chance and bids several hundred dollars higher, perhaps reaching the reserve price.

There was no confusion about this one: Duke Jordan, Flight to Jordan, Blue Note 4046. This was an original pressing with the ear, deep grooves, and West, 63rd Street address. It was in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover and sold for $565.55.

I guess some of the Miles Davis Columbia records are becoming more valued by collectors:

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Listening Again to The “New” Miles Davis Quintet

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One of the great things about having so many collectible records is that I can always dig somewhere into my collection and find a classic record I haven’t listed to in a while. I did that last night, putting The New Miles Davis Quintet, Prestige 7014, on the turntable for the first time in a number of years. It’s a classic and, of course, the first Miles record with John Coltrane. A few things struck me about this record. Miles and Trane were the same age, both 29 when the album was recorded, yet they were at much different points in their careers and in their development. Miles was fully formed and his playing was absolutely confident. Trane’s playing was much more tentative and his style was not nearly as developed as it would become in the ensuing years. You can hear elements of his budding genius, but just elements and otherwise you hear someone still working on finding himself. For the hell of it, right after listening to this LP, I put on A Love Supreme and, obviously the difference was quite stark. Another thing about this record is Read more

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