Tag: Sheila Jordan

Catching Up on Some High-End Blue Note Vinyl

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Time to follow up on some of the jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with Duke Jordan, Flight to Jordan, Blue Note 4046. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing offered by the Jazz Record Center. It looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. When we spotted this there were four days left in the auction and the bidding was at $1,600. The final price was $2,753. Still a market for the high-end stuff from reputable sellers, right? From the same auction there was Sheila Jordan, Portrait of Sheila, Blue Note 9002. This was an original New York USA pressing that looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $306. Keeping up with the Jordans, I guess. Read more

Jazz Vinyl, Highs, Lows and In-Betweens

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Let’s clear out some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been tracking on our eBay watch list, starting with a few from the Jazz Record Center auction that ended earlier this week, including Curtis Fuller, Bone and Bari, Blue Note 1572. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing that looked to be in M- (or close) condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $1,136. I thought that might be approaching a high point for this record, but it’s not even close. According to Popsike, the top price for this record was $2,550, and there have been at least four other copies that have sold for more than $1,500. It is possible to think that the buyer got a “bargain” at $1,136?

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Weighing in on Mobley, Catching Up on Newk

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mobleyInteresting comments on the previous post. My first exposure to Hank Mobley was as a sideman on some of the records that my dad owned, most prominently Donald Byrd’s A New Perspective and Miles Davis Someday My Prince Will Come. He always struck me as a solid player, but in the early days of discovering jazz it was the more passionate players and the innovators that got my attention: Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon and Stan Getz on tenor and Charlie Parker and Cannonball Adderley on alto. I always relegated Mobley to the second tier, which is certainly no insult when compared to the players I just mentioned. When I became more of a “collector” I was surprised to see the Mobley records so highly valued. So I have turned to him again, often, to reassess, but I always come back to my original assessment. If I want to listen to genius I put on Coltrane or Rollins. Otherwise, Mobley will do just fine. And, as a collector, it’s really nice to look at those original Mobley Blue Notes, Prestiges and Savoys on my shelves and occasionally put them on the turntables. They rarely overwhelm, but they never disappoint.

Meanwhile, while all that discussion has been taking place here at Jazz Collector, there have been auctions going on at eBay, including: Read more

Jazz Vinyl Watch: Setting Some New Records

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Here’s some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:

Art Tatum/Ben Webster Quartet, Verve 8220. This is an original pressing with the trumpeter logo. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. There were four bidders, 15 bids and the ultimate price was $290. My sense is most of the readers here at Jazz Collector tend to prefer post-bop era jazz — I generally do as well — but this is one of those must-have records, in my opinion, that always sounds beautiful and fresh when you put it on the turntable.

Haven’t seen this one sell for such a high price before: Sheila Jordan, Portrait of Sheila, Blue Note 9002. This was described as an original U.S. pressing in “superb” condition. It sold for $405. Our previous high for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide was just $123, so that’s quite a leap. Great record, though.

Here’s a perennial for the ever-more-crowded $1,000 bin:

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More Blue Note Favorites, Courtesy of Downbeat

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I did that post earlier today and mentioned that Downbeat had done a whole feature asking various artists about their favorite Blue Note records. I was able to dig up my copy of the magazine — I don’t have a subscription anymore, but I had purchased this one on the newsstand because of the cover. It was from March of 2009. The cover, as you can see, has Joe Lovano with his favorite Blue Note: Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, Free For All, Blue Note 4170. It’s quite gratifying to see his picture with a vinyl pressing, and a mono vinyl pressing at that and perhaps even an original mono pressing. Inside, the magazine asked a variety of other jazz artists to name their favorite Blue Notes as well. Here are their replies:

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Price Updates: Steve Lacy, Pres, Sonny Criss

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Here are some interesting items we’ve been watching the past couple of days.

Steve Lacy, Soprano Sax, Prestige 7125. This was an original pressing with the New York label. The record was VG+ and the cover was VG++. The price was $130.50.

Illinois Jacquet, Jazz Moods, Clef 662. This was an original pressing and it was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The price was $89.50.

Lester Young, Lester’s Here, Norgran 1071. This was an original yellow label. The record was listed as VG+ and the cover was VG++. The price was $121.

Sonny Criss Plays Cole Porter, Imperial 9024. This was an original pressing that

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An Appreciation of Sheila Jordan

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From the Jazz Collector archives:

Like all collectors, I’ve let prized records slip through my fingers through the years. I would go to Dayton’s on 12th Street in Manhattan in the early 1980s and balk at their astronomical prices. Looking back, these “astronomical” prices were in the $50 and $60 range for original pressings of Blue Notes, Prestiges and other rarities. I remember passing on a mint copy of Hank Mobley’s Second Message, Prestige 7082, because I thought $45 was exorbitant. If you look at the Jazz Collector Price Guide on Jazzcollector.com, you’ll see that a copy recently sold for $661. Ah, to go back in time. Even more irksome are the lost treasures of my collection that I either sold or traded. I’ve gotten rid of some prized records this way, always figuring it would be no problem replacing them. Sure. Many of those that slipped away are gone forever, never to return. Read more

Catching Up With A Few Titles

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Here are a few more we’ve added to the Jazz Collector Price Guide:

Johnny Glasel, Jazz Session, ABC Paramount 165. This was an original pressing featuring Dick Garcia on guitar. The record  and cover were both in M- condition. The price was $86. We had asked if anyone knew much about this record. Turns out our good friend Dan Axelrod knew Johnny Glasel quite well. He was president of the musicians union in New York and a regular on club dates. I’ve asked Dan to fill in the blanks on some of this and he has promised to do that, so stay tuned. 

Sheila Jordan, a Portrait of Sheila, Blue Note 9003. Speaking of jazz guitar (that was Dick Garcia we just mentioned), this LP features some great work by Barry Galbraith. This was an original pressing. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG+. The price was $79.16.

John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic 1311. This was an original black label in M- condition. The price was $154.27. A similar copy sold for more than $1,000 a few weeks ago. What was the difference? Who knows.

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