Another $1,000 Record, and A Few More

Here’s another record that recently broke the $1,000 price barrier: Lee Morgan, Indeed, Blue Note 1538. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The vinyl was in VG++ condition and the cover was listed as VG+. The final price was $1,114. In the Jazz Collector Price Guide, we’ve previously seen this one sell for as high as $895. We’ll be adding this copy to the Price Guide later today. Also breaking the $1,000 barrier was that test pressing of the Jackie McLean Quintet, Blue Note 84116. This was a very rare pressing in M- condition and sold for $1,220. The other two test pressings that were available yesterday, also sold for fairly high prices: The Leo Parker, Rolling With Leo, Blue Note 84095 test pressing, sold for $631; the one from Sam Rivers, Dimensions and Extensions, Blue Note 84261, sold for $480.55.

Today on Ebay, January 19, 2009

Things are kind of slow on eBay today, but there are definitely a few items of interest for those of us in the Jazz Collector world. Of particular note are several Blue Note test pressings from the seller Bluenotesound, which, we believe, is affiliated with Mosaic Records. This one is of the Jackie Mclean Quintet, listed as Blue Note BST 84116. It was recorded in 1962 — the record has the date 9-2-62 — but wasn’t released until the 1970s. It features Kenny Dorham and Sonny Clark and, according to the seller, Blue Note only issued 25 test pressings of each LP, so it would be extremely rare. In addition to this Jackie test pressing, there are two other test pressings available: Leo Parker, Rolling With Leo,  and a copy of the Sam Rivers LP Dimensions and Extensions. All of these are in near mint condition. It’ll be very interesting to see the final prices. 

Among the more conventional jazz collectibles are:

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Bye, Bye Freddie, and Other EBAY UPdates

Just to catch up on a few items we’ve been watching at Jazz Collector, before we head into Manhattan for the WFMU Record Fair later today. That test pressing of Freddie Hubbard, Open Sesame, Blue Note 4040, is no longer available. After being on auction and failing to meet the seller’s reserve price, it sold for $1,500 as a buy-it-now item. Two of the other items we were watching from that seller are still available: Sonny Rollins Quartet, Prestige 137. This 10-inch LP can be had for $99.99; and The Julius Watkins Sextet, Volume 2, Blue Note 5064. This can also be had for $99.99. 

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Tracking Some Blue Note Test Pressings

I’ll soon post an item looking ahead to some of the nice items on eBay the next couple of days. Before that, I wanted to point you out to a couple of very interesting items from this past weekend. The seller Orto had two test pressings of nice Blue Note LPs. One was Sonny Clark, Leapin’ and Lopin’, Blue Note 4091. This one was dated 12/04/ 1961, about a month after the session was recorded. Very cool item. It sold for $1,950.  The other was Freddie Hubbard, Open Sesame, Blue Note 4040. This was also dated one month after the recording session, and it has a stamp on it and it’s in near mint condition. The top bid on this was $830, and it did not meet the seller’s reserve price. The Hubbard LP was listed first, and I get the feeling when it did not meet the seller’s reserve, the bidding on the Sonny Clark LP increased. If you didn’t see these items, they’re worth a look.