Tag: Walter Bishop Jr.

What is Happening to the Rare Jazz Vinyl Market?

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I first started doing Jazz Collector as a newsletter/web site back in 2004 and moved over to the blog format in 2008. Back then, I used to pore through eBay every single day, looking at the complete jazz listings for every 24 hours so I could not only spot the big-ticket items, but also to identify potential bargains. I was really into it then, because I was selling records and, more often, buying records. At some point, however, my real work started accumulating, I bought two major collections to fill out my own collection, the prices on eBay soared into the stratosphere, and the idea of looking at 24 hours of eBay all day and every day became more of a nuisance than a pleasure. It did change the dynamics of Jazz Collector a bit, because I still wanted to write about the market and identify rare records, but I started doing searches based on price, as in the highest priced records.

And that’s what I’ve been doing for many years now. I’m sure most of you noticed, particularly long-time readers such as Rudolf. Which is a long way of getting to this point: As I’ve been doing these searches recently, I’ve been finding that the sellers are asking for higher prices consistently, and the buyers are becoming less interested. I just went on to eBay for the first time in a few weeks and most of the records I looked at had high asking prices and zero bidders. It feels like the market is changing right before our eyes. In any case, rather than focus on records that are not getting bids, let’s start with a couple that are: Read more

More Rare Jazz Vinyl, Of Course

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Hank Mobley Jazz VinylLet’s start the day with one of the rarest of the rare, although as rare as it may be, copies seem to be up on eBay quite often: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This looks to be an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address and, for those who really care, the New York 23 label on one side. This copy is listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG++ for the cover, although based on the pictures the cover may be more in the VG+ range with some damage on the back. The seller is not an eBay regular and has only 11 feedbacks. This one closes Saturday night and is currently in the $2,000 range.

While we’re on Mobley, there is also: Hank Mobley Sextet, Blue Note 1560. This is an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address, deep grooves, Van Gelder, ear, etc. This one is listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The start price is $1,250, but so far there are no bidders.  This seller has three other records on eBay now, all with starting prices of more than $1,000, all with zero bids as of now. One more, for the record: Bill Evans, Waltz For Debby, Riverside RS 9399. This is an original black label stereo pressing. It is listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The start price is $1,100.

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Back in the Vinyl Saddle Again

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Sonny Clark copyTWO WEEKS!!!! The longest I’ve ever gone without posting. Weren’t any of you, aside from Mac, worried about me? I didn’t go anywhere, just took an unexpected and unscheduled break. Now I’m back, but only for a few weeks. I have a two-week vacation coming up in October. Anyone interested in doing some guest hosting for a couple of weeks? Send me an email and we’ll see what we can do.

In the meantime, let’s get back to eBay and see what’s going on. This was on my watch list the last time I looked and now it has sold: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This was an original pressing with the west 63rd Street address, deep grooves, etc. The record was in VG+ condition and the cover was only VG, but it still sold for $2,081. There was also this one for the $1,000 bin:

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For What It’s Worth (Or More)

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freddie hubbardI’m way, way behind on my posting. Let me catch up on a little on some of the items I was watching, and then we can move forward with some new stuff. Sorry about that. Promise not to wait that long between posts anymore.

Freddie Hubbard, Open Sesame, Blue Note 4040. This was an original West 63rd pressing listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $1,136.22.

Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. This one sold for $1,555. As many of you may recall, I recently purchased a copy of this in the Baltimore collection. I have been going through this weird process of putting a label on each of my records, describing the condition, whether it is an original and assigning a value to it. Why am I doing this? Well, if I were to die suddenly, it would prevent my kids from getting ripped off. Anyway, for my copy of this record, in M- condition for both the record and the cover. I had put in $1,000. Perhaps it’s time to make an adjustment.

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Two For the $1,000 Bin

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bishopWe’re watching a couple of records now that look as if they will sell for big dollars, including: Walter Bishop Jr., Speak Low, Jazz Time 002. The record and cover are both in M- condition. What I find interesting here is that it is a Canadian pressing. Typically, Canadian pressings are not considered nearly as collectible as their U.S. counterparts. This one seems to be doing okay in the bidding, however. The current price is $1,111 with a full day left on the auction. The other thing is that the cover is listed as M-, but there seems to be some clear ring wear in the picture. I don’t quite understand the bidding, but it is not my record to buy or sell.

Jutta Hipp with Zoot Sims, Blue Note 1530. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG for the cover. The bidding had been slow, but it has picked up steam. There are now 28 bids and the price is $1,136.

 

 

How Would You Like These in Your Collection?

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We’ve gotten so tied up in the J.R. Monterose stuff the past couple of days, we forgot to go back to eBay to catch up on all of those hot records we were watching last week. So we just took a look and, WOW! The prices are quite staggering, and we will be adding more records to the $1,000 bin — and $2,000 bin — and $3,000 bin — than we have ever previously added at one time. Here’s the list:

Dexter Gordon, Dexter Blows Hot and Cool, Dootone 207. This was an original pressing with the red vinyl. It was in M- condition, both the record and cover. It sold for $3,059. The seller was Herschel78, who had a bunch of hot records last week, a few more of which will appear in this post. I had tried to reach out to Herschel78 to find out more about these beautiful records, but he never replied. Perhaps I’ll try again.

Cliff Jordan, Cliff Craft, Blue Note 1582. This was an original pressing in M- condition, both record and cover. It sold for $2,303.

Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore, Blowing in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This was another original pressing in M- condition. It sold for $1,692. A second copy of this record, this one in VG+ condition for the record and the cover, sold for $676.

Lee Morgan Volume 3, Blue Note 1557. This was a Mint copy, sold by our friend and  Read more