This week’s theme is a random playlist from the Clef, Norgran and Verve catalogues. Artists include Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto, Art Tatum, Ben Webster, Tal Farlow, Buddy DeFranco, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Williams, Count Basie and many more.
It’s been a long time between visits to eBay for me due to unforeseen circumstances that have been drain on my time and required me to be in New York for a while. Seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, so hopefully I can do my regular posts more frequently, in addition to keeping up with my radio show and podcasts. I’ve been in these circumstances before and expressed similar hopes so let’s see what happens. In the meantime, I’ve been on eBay this morning and put a bunch of jazz vinyl collectibles into my watch list, so here goes, starting with Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. This looks to be an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record is listed in VG+ condition and the cover is VG. There are 20 bids and six bidders so far, with the auction closing later today. The current price is $515 and I would say this one is a candidate for the $1,000 bin. Read more
This week’s Theme: The BeBop Songbook
Random stuff in our watch list. Let’s start with some original 10-inch vinyl, none of which seems to be getting much action: Howard McGhee Volume 2, Blue Note 4024. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing listed in VG or VG- condition for the record, and VG+ for the cover. I could actually be in the mix for this one. I have a nice copy of the vinyl with no cover at all. The starting price is about $80 and the auction closes later today with no bidders yet. Seems like a no-brainer, at least to put in some kind of bid. Here’s another 10-inch Blue Note that has more in common than just the label: Gil Melle Quintet, Blue Note 5033. This is also an original Lexington Avenue pressing, from the same seller, listed in VG condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. No bids yet, with a start price of $100. The common element: Both records feature the great Tal Farlow on guitar. Read more
In my haste to get the last post up on the site, I left out the part I really wanted to talk about. Geez, where is my mind? Anyway, I won my 20 records and made an appointment with Kendra to pick them up at her house. I got there and the records were organized and waiting for me. We chatted a bit and she told me how pleased she was with the auction and some of the top prices she was able to get, especially for the Bill Evans and Kenny Drew records. Casually, I asked if there were any records that hadn’t sold. I tell you I asked casually, but that is a bit of a fib. It was actually not casual. It was carefully prepared. Because on the auction there were two records that had $50 start prices that seemed to get no action. They were (1) the previously mentioned Let’s Have a Session on Ad Lib with Billy Bauer, Tony Aless, Arnold Fishkin and Don Lamond; and (2) Afro Cuban Jazz by Machito on Mercury, which features Charlie Parker. Read more
After buying, curating and eventually selling the Ornette Collection from Dee, I felt myself gripped in that very old, very familiar, somewhat obsessive feeling of wanting more. Not necessarily more records because, Lord knows, I have enough records. No, it was all about wanting more action. So, I reached out to my friend here in The Berkshires who is planning to sell his collection at some point, but he said he isn’t quite ready yet to part with them. Then, out of the blue, another friend up here sent me a note with a link to an online auction of jazz records that was being conducted locally. The site was something called Caring Transitions, so I clicked the link and this is one of the pictures I saw:
I received an interesting question from a reader about sealed records. I am sharing my response here because: 1. It’s an interesting question and I thought it might provoke some interesting responses, and 2. When I tried to reply directly, my email got bounced and I don’t know how to get in touch with the questioner otherwise. Anyway, here’s the question:
“I have a couple of hundred “factory sealed jazz albums from late 50’s to mid 70’s. These are from a store stock I owned. I want to start selling them but I can’t tell a prospective buyer what the label looks like (ex Trumpet Verve). What is best way to offer them for sale? Many have drill holes in cover and you can see that the drill went through the orig plastic.”
And here’s my answer:
The Jazz Record Center had an auction last week and I was keeping tabs on a few of their records, including: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This was an original pressing with a weird variation: Both sides had he same label (Side 2). To me that would diminish the value, not sure why because the music is the same, but it just would. This one looked to be in M- condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. The final price was $2,500, so perhaps the label aberration effected the price, since we’ve often seen this record sell for more than $3,000 and occasionally more than $5,000. It used to be that the Jazz Record Center would get a premium on its records because of it’s reputation, but I find that is no longer the case. I had thought, perhaps, it was because they didn’t take Pay Pal, but now I notice that they do take Pay Pal. The action also included a bunch of 10-inch Blue Notes, which I love, including:
Whilst I’ve been away, a friend sent me this link: A Recital by Tal Farlow, Norgran 1030. This was an original pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It looked pristine, probably with the original inner sleeve. The final price was $121.49. Is that high, low or just right? It seems original Norgrans in this condition are quite hard to find, but the demand is nothing close to the original Blue Notes or Prestiges. For my money, Farlow was the best of the bop-oriented guitarists, but his records rarely sell for high collectible prices, particularly in today’s market as we are seeing prices of some records rising to staggering levels. Is it a question of label, race, style of music, era, artist, instrument or some combination of all of the above? It would be easy to suggest it is race, but then someone sent me this link as well: Art Pepper, Modern Art, Intro 606. This was also an original pressing and it was also in M- condition for the record and the cover. This one sold for $3,506. Pepper was iconic because of all the other stuff in his life, so well told and chronicled in his book Straight Life so maybe I’m just stretching a comparison, but it’s interesting to ponder what makes collectors interested in one set of records or artists, versus others of the same era. Hopefully we can generate some interesting discussion.
Let’s catch up on some more jazz vinyl auctions we are/were watching, starting with: Cliff Jordan, Blue Note 1565. This was an original pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It looked like quite a beauty and, in fact, may still be available. This one received a top bid of $1,525, yet is failed to meet the seller’s reserve price. I know the market is the market and sellers have every right to hold out for top value, but I still find it hard to fathom wanting to pay more than $1,500 for a single record and still being unable to purchase it.
Here’s a fine looking Blue Note for you: J. R. Monterose, Blue Note 1536. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The auction closes in three days and the bidding is in the $565 range. Can’t imagine this will sell for less than $1,000, so the question is how much more than $1,000 will it fetch.
This one isn’t regarded as a collectible anymore (clearly), but I kept an eye on it wondering if anyone would even want it at all:
