Tag: Miles Davis

Christmas Candy and Other Vinyl Treats

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Back to eBay: Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record and cover are probably in VG+ condition and the listing has the now-familiar bobdjukic imprimatur, so you have to read carefully to find the relevant details through the various typefaces, colors and hyperbole, which all seem to work very well for Bob, so, I say, more power to him for getting strong interest and high prices for his listings. The bidding on this one is at $755 with more than a day left on the auction, but it has yet to meet the reserve price. Read more

Ornette, Intrigue, Esquire and More

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Today we will get back to the normal business of watching and commenting on jazz vinyl for sale and we will also pose some reader questions and comments. Let’s start with Ornette Coleman, The Shape of Jazz To Come, Atlantic 1317. This is a deep groove pressing, unplayed, still with its original loose sleeve. The start price is around $200 and the auction closes today with no bidders. This record caught my eye because in my other room just down the hall I have a copy of this record still with its original seal unopened. Oh, yes, and the record happened to be owned by Ornette himself. Oh, yes, and it is part of a collection that I recently purchased and am looking to sell in toto. Intrigued? I will be providing more details soon, because, as always, there was an adventure and a story that goes with it. In the meantime, if anyone is interested you know where to find me, alatjazzcollectordotcom. Read more

Random Musings on Random Collectible Jazz Vinyl

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We will look at some highly coveted jazz collectibles today, starting with John Coltrane, A Love Supreme, Impulse A-77. This is an original mono pressing listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding is more than $1,000 and the auction closes later today. Of course, this record is iconic and wonderful (not always the same), and it has continued to go up in value over the years, to the point where the $1,000 bin is no surprise, even in VG+ condition, and especially with a widely respected seller such as Euclid Records. From the same seller is Workin’ With the Miles Davis Quintet. This is an original yellow-label New Jersey pressing listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. The album still has the original shrink wrap and, based on my anecdotal observations over the years, this seems to add value to the record. I guess there’s a feeling that the cover has been protected, so it is more likely to be clean, which I understand. Of course, when I get a record like this, the first thing I do is take off the shrink wrap and put in a sleeve, usually the 12-5/8 sleeve, but sometimes the 12-3/4, depending on the fit. I do obsess a little about these sleeves, as I do about so many little things to do with my record collection. Read more

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

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