Got a few emails from our friend CeeDee, starting with The Booker Ervin Quintette, Cookin’, Savoy 12154. This looks like a red label, but it’s not clear. Some of the photos look red, some look maroon. Not sure this record had deep grooves, but there are none in the picture. This copy was in Ex condition for the record and the cover and sold for about $558. The previous high for this record was $175, according to Popsike. Read more
Let’s get back to the mundane business of watching prices of rare jazz vinyl soar on eBay, shall we. Let’s start with Thelonious Monk Plays the Music of Duke Ellington, Riverside 12-201. This is the original pressing of the first record in the 200 series of Riverside. It is an original white label pressing with the original cover, featuring photos of Monk, Oscar Pettiford and Kenny Clarke. The record looks to be in nice condition, although the description is pretty vague for a seller who does not offer returns. Cover also looks pretty nice, based on the pictures. The bidding starts at about $750 and so far there is no action, with the auction closing in about two days. I would love to own an original copy of this record and I came close about 20 years ago for what at the time was a reasonable price. I was at the Jazz Record Center in New York and had a copy in my hand in very nice condition and the price was $100. I thought long and hard, asked Fred what he thought and he said it was a bargain at that price, but I guess I didn’t have the money, or the balls, at the time, so I left it behind. Came back a few days later to get it, but it was gone. Read more
Sorry for the long gap between posts. I spent a week in New York and when I got back I began a major record reorganization project to clear space in the house, which has resulted in me moving 2,000 records and my entire Downbeat collection into storage for potential sale and/or donation. I imagine that sentence may pique some interest, so feel free to email me if you have questions. The time is ripe: I’m in a purging frame of mind, and who knows how long that will last? Anyway, I’m back on eBay once again and, as always, watching jazz vinyl for sale, starting with: Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk, Prestige 190. This is an original 10-inch LP, listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG for the cover (and what a great cover it is). The bidding is in the $240 range. Seeing this record, which I don’t own, I am wondering why Prestige chose to issue this on 12-inch in Monk’s name and not Sonny’s. Anyone venture a guess or opinion? Rudolf, our Prestige expert, any insight? Read more
I heard back from the reader who sent me the original link to the auction for the autographed copy of John Coltrane Ballads, Impulse A-32. The one that sold for more than $5,000 a few weeks ago. His name is Bill and, it turns out, he has a passion for collecting autographs—as well as an impressive collection. With his permission, here is a copy of our correspondence after I replied to his initial note.
Al:
My jazz collecting the past 25 years has morphed mainly to jazz autographs. There is something about a genuine signature that makes an item come alive: This was actually in the hands of Billie, Bird, Trane, etc. One must be careful to not obtain a fake, but I have mainly dealt with reputable dealers, and over time, I have become more savvy in finds on sites such as eBay.
I did bid on this Coltrane item, but exited the bidding when it went above $2000.
The prizes of my collection are signed photographs, some contracts, some personal letters, etc. To give you an idea of some of my prized items, here is a partial list: Read more
Pardon the interruption. Since I last posted, I’ve driven back and forth to Chapel Hill, written about a dozen papers for work and even tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies. It’s been busy here and I haven’t been able to spend a lot of time on my records or on Jazz Collector. Having said that, I plugged back into eBay this morning and pulled a few records to share with you, starting with Kenny Drew, This is New, Riverside 236. This is an original white label pressing and it looks to be in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. This is a nice quartet/quintet record featuring Donald Byrd and Hank Mobley. Put it on Blue Note with this personnel from this era and you have a record that would be a regular in the $1,000 bin. On Riverside, the bidding is in the $275 range with the auction closing later today. Read more
Yeah, that Bill Evans New Jazz Conceptions LP with the original cover sold for $1,725, as someone pointed out in comments. With a VG cover and VG record. I guess not even a global pandemic can halt the market for original jazz collectibles. A few more from the same seller: Gil Melle, Patterns in Jazz, Blue Note 1517. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing in VG MINUS condition with a VG cover. Despite the condition it sold for $910. Curtis Fuller, Bone & Bari, Blue Note 1572. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing in VG MINUS condition for the record and VG for the cover. It sold for $706. Read more
Time to get back to eBay, starting with Webster Young, For Lady, Prestige 7106. This is an original New York yellow label pressing listed in Ex condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. I’ve always had a soft spot for this record because it was one of the first yellow label Prestige originals I ever owned and because it was, and is, quite a lovely record. It was, I presume, also my introduction to Webster Young and Paul Quinichette, two very fine, very underrated players, IMHO. Writing this post, I just talked myself into putting this on the turntable next time I have time to listen mindfully. The bidding for this one closes in more than for days from this writing, with a top bid now of about $245. Read more
Here are a couple of nice $1,000 records we were watching on eBay: Dizzy Reece, Progress Report, Tempo TAP 9. This was an original U.K. pressing that was listed in excellent condition for the vinyl and great condition for the cover and, even though those terms are not precisely Goldmine-approved, you get the sense from the description and pictures that the record was in extremely nice condition. This one sold for about $1,025. Also, Lee Morgan, The Cooker, Blue Note 1578. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing listed in M- condition for the record and cover. We said “under normal circumstances” this record could set a new high water mark for the Cooker. What we meant was that we felt the pandemic would perhaps be dampening prices for high-end records. We were wrong. This record did set a new high at $1,625. So much for my theories and hypotheses—so far at least. Read more
Bobby Bradford
Dee had already been in contact with a guy who has a record store in Maine. He was disappointed that I wound up with the records. He had no way to know and didn’t realize, I’m sure, I had no intention of keeping them all. Dee put him in touch with me and we arranged for him to come to The Berkshires and make an offer for whatever he wanted. We struck a deal and he took about 220 records, including many of the rock and blues records. There were probably about 400 jazz records left. I reached out to a friend who owns a record store around here and invited him to take a look and make an offer. He came, but didn’t take anything. He did, however, bring a friend who did buy a few choice items, including the two Monk Blue Notes, which, for the record, were not original pressings but early West 63rd labels. Read more
Dizzy
It was a Thursday when I went to Dee’s, the week before the Thanksgiving holiday here in the States. Before I left Dee’s with my five records and four-hour drive, we had one last conversation as I was getting into my car. For a variety of reasons, Dee needed to sell the records by the Spring, hopefully in the May/June time frame. She was concerned that Spring would come and she would still have the records. I told her not to worry; if she still had the records in the Spring, I would drive back, pay her a fair price and take the records so she wouldn’t have to be concerned. She offered on the spot for me to take them all, sell them at my own pace and then pay her later. She was obviously comfortable placing a lot of trust in me, but I politely declined. I didn’t want that much responsibility, tempting as it may have been. Read more
