Tag: Sonny Clark

Explorations in the Jazz Collector Stratosphere

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Time to clear out the watch list, starting with The Arrival of Kenny Dorham, Jaro, JAM 5007. This was an original mono pressing with the blue label and deep grooves. The record and cover were both listed in EX+ condition. The final price was about $1,248. From what I can see on Popsike, this is a new high for this record, beating the pervious top tag of $1,050. Speaking of new highs, I had to do a double-take on this one: Get Happy With Freddie Redd Trio With Guests, Nixa Jazz Today Series, NJL 19. We wrote about that a few weeks ago and the post received 59 comments (and counting). At the time of the writing the bidding was in the $460 range and there was some speculation that would end up in the $1,000 bin. How about the $4,000 bin, as in $4,377. Read more

What is Your Most Valuable?

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OK, I did not bid on that Cliff Jordan/John Gilmore Blue Note last night. By the time I logged in about 15 minutes before the auction ended, the price was already past what I would have entered as my top bid. So I just watched as it spiked from about $760 to $960 at the last minute. It is not for me to judge whether the record is worth that price. Obviously, it is to the buyer. To me, after the auction closed I played my United Artists copy. While it doesn’t sound quite like an original pressing, it sounded plenty good to these ears. It was actually nice to get the inspiration to listen to the record again. Damn good record, for sure. Meanwhile, back to eBay with this gem: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This is an original mono, West 63rd Street pressing with the ears, deep groove, etc. It is listed in M- condition for the record and Ex for the cover, which looks like M- in my nomenclature, based on the description and the picture. The bidding is already at more than $3,300 with more than three days left on the auction. Get ready for a big number on this one. Read more

Will There Be A New Normal in Jazz Collecting?

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I haven’t really been on eBay since the pandemic started and I’m wondering: Could this be a seminal event for jazz collecting? With the world economy in collapse, will people still care about whether their copy of Sonny’s Crib has a New York 23 label or not? And, assuming some will care, will enough collectors care enough to keep laying out the big bucks for original copies, thus extending the rising market for certain collectibles that we have witnessed since we started writing this blog back in 2003? The other thing I’m wondering: Will collectors continue to trust shipments from overseas, wherever they live? If you are in England, say, will you have faith that a package from New York won’t be carrying the Covid-19 virus across the Atlantic? It may sound crazy, but crazy things are happening. I go food shopping, come home and The Lovely Mrs. JC wipes down every package with disinfectant and then asks me to strip before I take a step into the house. You’ve seen my picture in the last post: It is not my body she is after. Read more

Cool Struttin’ With Some Bop and Blues

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We mentioned the passing of Jack Sheldon last week and now someone in the Jazz Collector world will get to honor him by purchasing one of his rarer and most highly sought LPs, specifically The Jack Sheldon Quartet, Get of Out Town, Jazz:West LP 1. This is a 10-inch record listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover, although the picture looks more like VG to these eyes. There are 13 bids and the price is in the $170 range with less than a day left on the auction. We’ve written about this record once before, back in 2018, when a copy in worse condition than this one – with a G cover – sold for $450. At the time, we had never seen a 10-inch Jazz:West LP and, to be fair, we’ve still never seen one live, only on eBay. I just checked Popsike, and $450 was the top price for this LP, matched almost exactly a year ago by a nearly mint copy. Read more

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

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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Back At Our Post, Watching, Lamenting and Celebrating Jazz Vinyl

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I don’t know what to say about my extended gap(s) between posts, so I will just apologize and hope to do better. I have somewhat of an excuse for the latest gap, sort of, in that part of that time has been in pursuit of a small record collection that has resulted in success, sort of, in that I am in possession of the records. Whether I want to be is another story, and what I will do with the records is also another story, and, sorry to do this to you, but I am not in a position to tell any of the stories yet, because we are still in progress. But all the stories bill be told in time, when they are complete. In the meantime, let’s get back to basic business, i.e,. looking at records on eBay.

Here’s a nice 10-inch Blue Note that caught my eye: Introducing the Kenny Drew Trio, Blue Note 5023. This is an original 10-inch Lexington Avenue pressing, in what looks to be M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The bidding is at $250 with more than three days left on the auction. The record is from the Jazz Record Center, so, naturally, I clicked over to their other listings, and these are some of the items I saw: Read more

To Bid, or Not to Bid

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Needless to say, I did not bid on that copy of Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. I was convinced that there was enough difference of opinion on the cover to avoid taking the risk. In any case, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have bid enough to win the record anyway. The final price was $1,624, and who knows how much higher the winning bidder actually bid. Perhaps if it had been a mint copy, but I’m guessing that mint copies will now only be available in the $2,000 or even $3,000 bin. In any case, time to move on. The Jazz Record Center has a copy of Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This is an original pressing. The record looks to be in VG++ condition and the cover probably around VG+. The bidding is in the range of $2,250 and the auction closes in a little more than a day. I would love to replace that record in my collection, and I like the fact that it is from the Jazz Record Center, but the price is beyond my reach, financially and philosophically.

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Blue Notes Galore, For a Price

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Catching up on a recent interesting Blue Note auction from the Jazz Record Center. Lots of items for the $1,000, $2,000 and even the $3,000 bin, starting with Lee Morgan Volume 3, Blue Note 1557. This was an original New York 23 pressing that looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $3,248. This was not the highest price ever for this record, but it’s close. A couple of years ago a similar copy sold for $4,177, according to Popsike. We’ll keep going on these for a bit, continuing with Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. This was an original West 63rdStreet pressing that was listed in Mint condition for the record and “virtually new: condition for the cover. This one sold for $2,638, also close to a record high, but not quite reaching the $3,051 for a copy in 2015.

Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. Original West 63rdStreet pressing, Mint condition for the record and the cover, $2,425.

Walter Davis Jr., Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. Original West 63rdStreet pressing. Mint condition for the record and the cover, $2,413.

Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. Original West 63rdStreet pressing, Mint condition, $2,137.

Sabu Martinez, Palo Congo, Blue Note 1561. Original West 63rdStreet pressing, promo copy, Mint condition, $1,580.

Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights Volume 1, Blue Note 1596. Original West 63rdStreet pressing with the Andy Warhol cover. Mint condition for the record, perhaps slightly less for the cover, $1,221.

Lou Donaldson, Wailing With Lou, Blue Note 1545. Original New York 23 pressing, probably VG++ condition for both the record and the cover, $1,225.

That’s it for now. I could go on, but my fingers have gotten sore from typing in all of those numbers.

 

 

 

 

Rare Blue Notes in All Shapes, Sizes and Formats

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Record temptation came and went. The Blue Note 78s from the Jazz Record Center sold for $910 and, by the time the auction came around, I had forgotten all about them. I seem to be less obsessive in my old age. I think this is a good thing. The Lovely Mrs. JC certainly does. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have topped $910 even if I had remembered. There was also this odd item from the same auction: Rare Blue Note Salesman’s Folio. This was a spiral-bound portfolio with promoting Blue Note releases from August 1967, with a “salesman’s demonstration record.” I have to admit, I’ve never seen one of these. It sold for $1,009.99. Imagine if there was a pre-Liberty portfolio, or one from the ‘50s? Read more

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