Tag: Miles Davis

Jazz Collector Heavy Hitters Edition

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I’ve been watching a few heavy hitters on eBay, starting with Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, Columbia 1355. This was an original promotional copy with the white and red six-eye label. The record and the cover were both listed in VG+ condition. The final price was $1,009. The promo copies of Kind of Blue have spiked in the time we’ve been doing Jazz Collector. They are now often appearing in the $1,000 bin and sometimes in the $2,000 in as well. Hey, an original promo copy of probably the most popular jazz record of all time, is a pretty cool thing to own, IMHO. Speaking of the $2,000 bin—or, to be more specific, the nearly-$3,000-bin—there was Tommy Flanagan Overseas, Prestige 7134. This was an original New York yellow label pressing. Based on the seller’s description, it sounded like the record was in VG++ condition and the cover was VG+. The final price was $2,970. Read more

More Adventures . . . Or Just Misadventures?

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Today we have various jazz vinyl that has caught my eye for various reasons, starting with Miles Davis, Miles, The New Miles Davis Quintet, Prestige 7014. This looks to be an original New York pressing with the green cover, although it’s hard to tell if it is the frame cover from the picture, but the seller says that it is. The seller also says the cover is VG++, which doesn’t look quite accurate to these eyes. The record is listed in VG+ with “a touch of light surface noise in spots.” The start price is around $280 and there are nearly five days left on the auction. So far there are no bidders. When I started collecting, this was considered a real rarity, John Coltrane’s first recording with Miles. And, indeed, this record has made it into the $1,000 bin several times. I’m wondering if there will be interest in this record. If not, will it be because of the condition or will it be because it is not on Blue Note? I’m sensing it may be a combination of the two. But I could be wrong and the bidding will become heated at the last minute, as it so often does on eBay. Read more

Aiming High for Rare Jazz Vinyl

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As prices of rare collectible jazz records have continued to rise over the years, I’m noticing that more sellers on eBay seem to be using the strategy of starting their auctions at higher prices, often prices that are higher than what would seem to reflect the prevailing market limits. I’m not sure if this has always been the case, or it is just something that is striking to me because I tend to look at higher priced records in doing the Jazz Collector site. For those of you who’ve been here long enough to recall, I wasn’t always focused just on the higher priced records. However, as I’ve had less time time to devote to the site over the years, and as I stopped selling records myself on eBay, I find it is a bit easier and less time-consuming to search predominantly at the top end of the market. One of these days, when the real works starts drying up, I’ll try to go back to taking a broader perspective. In the meantime, several of these types of auctions have caught my eye this week, starting with: Jutta Hipp with Zoot Sims, Blue Note 1530. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing with the flat edge and frame cover. The record is listed in VG condition with the admonition that it plays with “some noise.” The cover is VG with seam splits, writing on the back and perhaps some staining. Looks more like VG- to me, but I’m not looking to quibble. The start price is about $1,500. So far there are no bidders with more than three days left on the auction.

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Tracking Another Great Record Score (Not Mine, This Time)

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Time for a guest column, this one from our friend and frequent contributor Gregory the Fish.

By Gregory the Fish

I love jazz and I love collecting jazz records. Everyone reading this does. But none of us is rich enough to buy every record we want whenever we want to. We’ve all read stories about buying collections, and it seems so rewarding… you buy a big fat stack of records for a great bulk deal, keep some real treasures, make your money up selling the doubles, and feel all warm and fuzzy inside. But how does one go about finding these collections? We don’t all have big websites like this one that pull in the e-mails. Read more

Have I Ever Mentioned That I Like Buying Jazz Records?

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Time to close the books on the latest round of stories and sprees that sprung from my first visit to Spike’s Record Rack in Castkill, NY a few weeks ago. You may recall that I purchased about 15 records, which I somehow found to be more than somewhat rejuvenating in terms of listening to music and appreciating the breadth and depth of my collection. After I got home from that first visit to Spike’s with the 15 records, I did what I typically do, which is clean the records, listen to a few and sort out which ones may be duplicates with records I already own, so as to ensure that I keep the copy in best condition for my own collection. In this case, I was surprised to see that I did not have a copy of Oscar Peterson Plays Irving Berlin on Clef. Certainly I’ve had one in the past, but I must have weeded it out based on the condition.  I gave it a quick listen and it was about what would be expected, perhaps even a bit better because the sound quality was quite good and the condition was excellent.

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Random Thoughts, Random Rare Jazz Vinyl

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Here’s some random rare jazz vinyl from the stuff we are watching on eBay, starting with Charlie Parker Sextet, Dial 207. This is an original 10-inch pressing listed in VG condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. There are nearly six days left on the auction and the bidding is in the $200 range. One reason I’m watching this is because, after all these years of collecting jazz (we are now somehow approaching 50), and even the years that my father collected before me, I still don’t have any of the original Bird 10-inch Dials. It’s certainly not for lack of scouring for them, but I haven’t been inclined to pay top dollar and the only time I’ve ever seen them in nice condition would have required me to pay top dollar. This one included because, to me, at more than $200 in VG condition, this has already exceeded my personal comfort level. So, the search continues.

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A Misadventure in Jazz Collection, The Final Chapter

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What a relief. No more phone calls from Debby, no more emails of pictures, no more soul searching, no more thinking about logistics, about renting a van, hauling records down three flights, driving 10 hours, figuring out where to put the records, trying to flip a portion of the collection to get my money back quickly. All in all, I was very satisfied with the way things had transpired.

I probably could have purchased the collection, perhaps for $40,000, perhaps a little more, perhaps a little less, if I had really wanted it and was very aggressive and unconcerned about driving to Rochester and all of the logistics. But, in the end, it didn’t seem like that great a collection, I already own most of the collectibles, and as The Lovely Mrs. JC asked right at the outset, “Do you really need more records?” The answer was “no” – or at least not these records. Read more

M&M&M: Monterose, Mobley, Miles

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Here’s a cool one from our friends at funkyousounds: JR Monterose, the Message, Jaro Jas-8004. This is an original pressing in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. What makes it cool is the personalized autograph from JR on the back, which looks legitimate to these eyes, although I am certainly no expert. If its a fake, someone went to a lot of trouble. Anyway, this one closes in two days and is now in the $405 price range.

For a record that is considered the rarest of the rare, Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568, seems to come up quite often on eBay. Now we have a copy from the seller bobjdukic, so we can only imagine what this will sell for, since he seems to have a strong following of devoted buyers willing to pay top dollar. This one is probably VG+ or even VG++ for the record and the cover. It has the West 63rd Street address on the labels, not the New York 23 on one side, which is the version coveted by the most serious of Blue Note collectors, even though it has been argued often here at Jazz Collector that they are likely of the same vintage and provenance. This one is now at $2,000 with eight days to go on the auction, so we will expect it to sell for a much higher price, all things considered.

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Blue Notes and Beyond

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I’m back, finally. I see in my absence, Mr. Lee did a good job of keeping the interest alive. I’ve actually removed a couple of posts that had to do with cases filed on eBay. Sorry, Mr. Lee, that’s not something we do here at Jazz Collector.

Let’s start with the tease on the Blue Note documentary. It is called Blue Note Records: Beyond the Blue Notes. I saw it at a special screening at the Tribeca Film Festival. Watching the movie and knowing that I would have to write about it here reminded me why, early in my journalism career, I decided that I didn’t want to be a critic. To be fair, there were some great things about the movie. Nice clips of Monk, the Lion and Wolff story, the artwork (of course) and some great commentary and stories from 91-year-old Lou Donaldson, who lights up the screen every time he appears. Would I recommend the documentary to you, loyal Jazz Collector readers? I don’t need to, do I? You’ll see it no matter what I say, as you should. Within the movie is the story of the music we love as it was recorded and packaged on one of the labels we treasure and collect. Read more

Riffing on Kind of Blue

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I’m at my home in The Berkshires and it is snowing. Will winter ever end? Other than my work and my records, there is also eBay to keep my pre-occupied, to wit: For some reason I was watching three copies of Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, Columbia 1355. I must have been doing so for a Jazz Collector post, such as this one, since I don’t have interest in the record for my own collection in that I am already in possession of three copies, and three copies of Kind of Blue is probably a more than somewhat reasonable number for any collection. Anyway, this first copy of Kind of Blue was a mono pressing with the six eyes logo and the white label and, if I were to be interested in a copy of Kind of Blue, it would be a promo pressing because that is one I do not happen to own. This would not have been the one, however, in that there were small scratches and, as described by the seller, “occasional light background noise,” a flaw that I am finding increasingly irritating as I get older, for some reason. The cover was also far from perfect and was graded in VG+ condition. The final price was $500, but not for me.

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