Kenny Burrell with Art Blakey, On View at the Five Spot Café, Blue Note 4021. This is an original Blue Note West 63^rd Street pressing. It features a great band that also includes Tina Brooks, Boby Timmons, Roland Hanna and Ben Tucker. The record is listed in VG+ condition for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. Bidding is close to $400 with four days left in the auction.  I was recently talking with a jazz fan who had just turned 90, and he was reminiscing about going to the Five Spot almost every night in the late 1950s, particularly when Monk was playing there regularly. I was hoping to buy some records from this particular gentleman, or at least to peruse his collection. He assured me he had a bunch of original Blue Notes and Prestiges. But he lived in a large house and, after about an hour of searching, we never did find the records. True story.

I see my friends at Carolina Soul are back with an auction, including Dexter Gordon, Go, Blue Note 4112. This is an original New York USA pressing, listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. Cover looks fantastic in the pictures. Bidding is at $400 with more than four days left in the auction. When I worked with Carolina Soul a couple of years ago to sell some records from my collection, there was a copy of Dexter Gordon Go in the batch. It was a duplicate, of course. Don’t remember what it sold for, but I do know these original Blue Notes are constantly going up in value, or in the case of a certain Freddie Hubbard LP going Up, Up, Up.

This week’s theme: A tribute to the late Benny Golson. Featured artists include Benny Golson, Art Farmer, Lee Morgan, Harold Mabern, Bobby Timmons, Addison Farmer, Milt Jackson, Art Blakey, Philly Joe Jones, Curtis Fuller, Barry Harris, Jamie Merritt, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Abbey Lincoln, Percy Heath, Ray Bryant, Winton Kelly, Paul Chambers, Charlie Persip, Gigi Gryce, Sahib Shihab, James Cleveland, Julius Watkins, Tommy Flanagan, Doug Watkins, Art Taylor, Jimmy Cobb, Grachan Concur III, Roy McCurdy.

Of similar vintage but from a different seller: Phil Woods Septet, Pairing Off, Prestige 7046. This was also an original pressing but the condition was quite a bit less, VG for the record and VG or even VG- for the cover. The final price was $102.50. Not bad, all things considered (for the buyer, that is).

Introducing the Rocky Boyd Quintet, Ease It, Jazztime 001. This was an original pressing. The record was VG+ but the cover was only G, damaged quite badly. Still, the record sold for $850. Guess somebody had a nice cover and a trashed record. I’m in that position, only on the other side with True Blue. I have a decent record, but no cover at all (although I did stick it in a Japanese cover, but every time I look at it I know, deep down, that I’m only fooling myself).

Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers, Blue Note 1518. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing that looked to be in M- condition for the record and quite possibly M- for the cover. Not easy to find in that condition, as was reflected by the final price of $998.70. Another buck thirty and we’d be in the thousand dollar bin for this one.

This one was listed at $350 and didn’t sell and then resisted at $350 and didn’t sell again: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Blue Note 4003. This was an original mono pressing with the West 63rd Street address. The record was listed in VG+ condition and the cover was listed as Ex-. Normally $350 would be a selling price for this record. However, on the back, in blue ink, Blakey had signed the record and dated it in looks like 1977. Is it possible the autograph actually diminishes the interest in the record for collectors? For me, I like having the autograph.

Here’s another nice Prestige:

Phil Woods, Sahib Shihab, Gene Quill and Hal Stein, Four Altos, Prestige 7116. This is an original New York yellow label pressing with the deep grooves. The record and cover are both listed in VG++ condition. The bidding is in the $120 range with five days left.

And one more: Jack Sheldon, The Quartet and the Quintet, Jazz West 6. I would love to have an original pressing of this record, but not in this condition. The record and the cover are both listed as VG-. And the start price is $200. Given the condition, methinks the seller is being quite optimistic, but we shall see. We’ve seen many Blue Notes in worse condition sell for higher prices, but those are Blue Notes and this is not.

Here are a few nice Blue Notes:

Lou Donaldson, Sunny Side Up, Blue Note 4036. This was an original pressing with the original cover. The record and cover were both listed in M- condition. The price was $612.

Lee Morgan, City Lights, Blue Note 1575. This was a West 63rd pressing. Should it have the New York 23 labels to be a first press? It was in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $900.

Here Comes Louis Smith, Blue Note 1584. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing in M- condition for the record and M-/VG++ for the cover. It sold for $1,028.99.

This one seemed to get top dollar: Serge Chaloff, Blue Serge, Capitol 742. It was an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover and it was sold by Euclid Records. The price was $364.88. Finding these records in such

mint condition is such a rarity, you wouldn’t be surprised by any price, right? I mean, if this sold for $1,364.88 in this condition no one would be shocked.

This next one sold for nearly the same amount in VG+ condition but, of course, it is a Blue Note: Sonny Rollins, Volume 2, Blue Note 1558. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing. The price was $360.55.

One more. We’ll catch up on that copy of Phil Woods, Woodlore, Prestige 7018. You may recall that we had our eye on that one and debated whether to write about it on Jazz Collector. It was in VG+ condition and it was only around $40 when we did our previous post. We tried to sneak off with it with a snipe bid of about $140. Hah! The record sold for $338.88. Did we bring defeat upon ourself? Highly doubtful. It was merely wishful thinking to suppose that a record such as this would not sell at its fair market price, which it probably did.

Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address and all of the other markings that go with it. It was a tough one to assess in terms of condition because the seller notes that it has a couple of marks, one of which was feelable. That would cause me some concern if I were bidding for it, but I wouldn’t have lasted long in the bidding because this one eventually sold for $1,593. The cover was listed in VG+ condition and the vinyl was listed in VG+ to M-, if only it didn’t have the marks. This is one of the really rare Blue Notes and it has previously sold for more than $2,600 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so we can see why someone would want to take a chance on this album.

Here’s another interesting one we’ve been watching: Sahib Shihab, Sahib’s Jazz Party, Debut 101. This one was being offered

by our new friends at Music Matters. It was an original Danish pressing. The vinyl was listed in near mint condition and the cover as excellent, which I generally interpret into VG+ or VG++, depending upon the description in the listing as well as the reputation of the dealer. This one sold for $1,610.

Finally, there is Johnny Griffin, The Congregation, Blue Note 1580. This was an original pressing in at least VG++ condition, again based on the dealer’s description. It also has the Andy Warhol cover, which adds to its value as a collectible. This one had 381 page views and sold for $1,324.99.

Sahib Shihab, Conversations, Polydor 623257. This was an original pressing in M- condition. Price: $256

Billy Bauer, Let’s Have A Session, Ad Lib 5501. This was an original pressing with the red label. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. It sold for $160. I have two personal Billy Bauer stories. Back in the early 1970s, I had a gig as a rhythm guitarist accompanying my friend Dan Axelrod. My musical talents are, to be generous, modest at best, but Dan taught me enough chords to support him while he soloed. At the time Dan was taking lessons from Billy Bauer and one night Bauer came down to see us with a group of his other students.

And, during our first set, Bauer told all of his students to keep a careful eye on what I was doing because I was swinging so well and doing what a good accompaniest ought to be doing. It was, and still is, the highlight of my musical career. Fast forward 30-something years, I’m standing in Tower Records in Westbury, Long Island, browsing in the magazine section. Some little old man comes up to me and asks if I’ve seen the latest issue of Guitar Player Magazine. I point him towards it, he thanks me and says they just did a profile of him. Really, I say. Who are you? Billy Bauer, he replies. A few weeks later, sadly, I got a call from Dan: Billy Bauer had passed away.

Back to the records:

The Return of Art Pepper, Jazz West 10. This was an original pressing. The record was VG and the cover was VG+. Price: $162.50

Booker Ervin, That’s It, Candid 8014. This was an original pressing in M-/M- condition. Price: $255

Here’s that Roland Kirk record I mentioned the other day: Roland Kirk, Third Dimension, Bethlehem 6064. This was an original pressing in M- condition. Price $338

Finally, here’s that Jackie McLean record I threatened to bid on: Jackie McLean, Jackie’s Pal, Prestige 7068. This was an original pressing. The vinyl was VG and the cover VG+. Price: $202.50

I’ll be back with more later. Stay tuned.