Peter A

That's funny - I also bought my copy of Breakthrough from euclid on eBay about a year ago. I like it very much. Later I found a copy of Carnival Sketches. Still lookin' for Debut in Blues. Good luck!

Only 10? Well, let's give it a try... Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue Kenny Dorham - Una Mas Hank Mobley - Soul Station Lou Donaldson - Blues Walk Lee Morgan - Lee-Way Art Blakey - Moanin' Grant Green - Idle Moments Larry Young - Unity Harold Vick - Steppin' Out Donald Byrd - Live At The Half Note Cafe Wait...how could I forget Jackie McLean...and Horace Silver...and Dexter...and....

Try to find - or listen to - The Excitement Of Trudy Pitts (PR 7583), a swinging live date recorded in NYC in 1968, with incredibly wild guitar by Wilbert Longmire.

But, on the other hand, not ALL records have gone up in value. Prices of early Blue Notes and Prestiges, like Saxophone Colossus, have certainly risen quite a bit. But prices of other (supposedly) rare records, like most English Tubby Hayes LP's, and especially not-so-rare records have stagnated or even gone down a bit. For instance at some point almost all the Dexter Gordon BN LP's (4000 and 4100 series) reached prices of more than 300$. Nowadays it is possible to buy them - even on ebay - for around 150$. You see the same kind of development in the art world (especially modern and contemporary art): more or less common paintings are less wanted, but the real masterworks have increased dramatically in value.

You make it all look a bit like a conspiraracy. I don't think Japanese buyers suddenly had a "three times the prices" bidding policy since 2000; it is a fact that prices have always been much higher in Japan. Main cause for the current high prices is the fact that ebay has created a "world wide market" for rare jazz records. Of course I - like you - regret that thanks to eBay it has become very difficult to find original Blue Note records for reasonable prices at record fairs and local shops, buts it's a development which can't be turned back. And this development of course attracts a lot of lunatics, who try to sell not so rare records for high prices (via "buy it now'). On the other hand one should not underestimate (potential) buyers; I have rarely seen that such not so rare records were sold for crazy buy-it-now prices.

Art Pepper - Surfride always fetches around 200-250$, Jazzmen Detroit and Booker Ervin around 150$. The 3 Bill Barron LP's are pretty rare too.

Every time he's for sale, bidders become crazy. i don't know this one. So great ? I have it on cd. Nice, but nothing special, imo. How very sad for you . . . The thing is...when I had this one on CD I did not find it and incredible record either. But after I found the original Savoy DG LP and played it...I think it is a masterpiece!

According to this site Toshiba Musical Industries started releasing Blue Note LP's in Japan in 1966. However, between 1966-1968 these 'Japanese' editions seem to have been imported American pressings supplied with obi's. In 1968 Toshiba started pressing vinyl editions in Japan, initially only 45's but later (1970?) also LP's. Regards, Peter

It's common practice now in shops all over the world. Even a shop like JRC in New York, which buys and sells many records, keeps the rare items for eBay. Only the ones which are not suitable for auction (e.g. small scuffs or slightly damaged jackets) are offered in the shop. Speaking about damaged covers: a couple of years ago the largest second hand store in Amsterdam bought a very large (6000) collection of jazz records (only originals). The good news is that I was able to buy many, many LP's, also rare Blue Notes like Hank Mobley (1568), Candy and True Blue. Pricing was based on the Umphred Rolling Stone Record Guide (fortunately often much lower). The bad news is that almost all covers have writing - sometimes severe - on the back; sometimes the previous owner even cut out photo's from the back of the jacket with a razor blade! One of the worst cases is True Blue, where he cut out the very small photo of Tina Brooks from the front jacket . Fortunately a lot of the others have escaped his scalpel and only have numbers and name stamps on the back...

Like Michel I had a problem with Undercurrent on eBay. In answer on my question the seller confirmed that the copy he offered for auction had 'ears' on both sides (it was not the one side DG version). I won the record for around $300. When the record arrived it appeared to have no ears, so it clearly was a reissue. After my complaints the seller asked me to return the record, which I did. I have never heard from him again... I agree that sellers on eBay like Ron Rambach (jazz5060), JRC, Roundagain and a few others are reliable. Atomic is reliable with their grading, but not entirely with their descriptions. For instance they advertise some Blue Note copies as "original pressing with the RVG stamp in the dead wax" while these are clearly are reissues (Liberty era vinyl with old labels). So one should exactly now what to bid on with the records offered by Atomic. I also agree that the prices of records offered by reliable sellers go through the roof on eBay. For that reason I rarely buy on eBay anymore and buy a lot from private dealers here in the Netherlands. Regards, Peter

All jackets starting with BLP 4022 (Duke Pearson - Profile) up to (around) BLP 4256 (Stanley Turrentine - The Spoiler) have the 61st St. address printed on the back. This site may help.

Labels with the 61st St. address do not exist (except for BN singles, I think). The confusion may be caused by Neil Umphred in one of the earlier editions of the Goldmine Jazz Record Guide. By mistake he mentioned the existence of the 61st St. label in that guide.

I just saw a CD in the shop with the same cover: it's called the Original Quintet Complete Recordings.

That's really interesting, I have never seen (a picture of) stampers before. Thanks for posting. By the way, are stampers usually stored in these cardboard jackets? Don't they get damaged easily? I ask this because I have several, otherwise mint looking, LP's from the 50's and 60's which have, if you look very closely, countless little pits and (very short) scratches. It always wondered if these problems could be caused by damaged or worn stampers.

You hit the nail on the head. For instance Blue Note LP's, especially the older ones, often play without problems, even if they have heavy and feelable scratches. I have a couple of abused early Blue notes, w/ flat edge and Lexington labels, which really play quite well! Slightly scratched or scuffed LP's on other labels, for instance Riverside, often sound much worse.

A VG+ graded record should not skip. However, the problem is that most sellers only visually grade their records. Sometimes a scuff or scratch does click - or even skip - and sometimes it does not sound at all. I have had so so experiences with buying VG+ graded records. Nowadays I only bid on NM graded records, unless I know a seller quite well.

No, all were issued after the takeover by Liberty. So non of these were pressed at Plastylite. However, Liberty still used NY labels for these titles (except for the Gigolo which was issued much later). Apparantly the labels were already printed, or perhaps they used "blank" (NY) stock labels. For some reissues of the early titles Liberty even used old labels, with the Lexington St. or 47 W 63rd St. address. Non of these have ears, though.

Blue Note records fetch high prices because a lot of people want them. It's all a question of supply and demand. Most obvious example is Kind Of Blue: not a rare record at all, there must have been pressed thousands of - now collectable - copies with six-eye labels. But is always sells for $100-$150 (recently even more than $200). So there seems to be a "world market price" for KOB. I think the fact that many BN records have been offered on Ebay recently, also the ones which are considered as "rare", does not mean that these records are not rare at all. First one should realise that BN records are hardly sold in shops or record fairs anymore. Trade in BN LP's seems to have shifted almost completely to eBay. Also, the fact that certain records fetch high prices, may attract some collectors to sell there own copies. For instance, the last couple of years I have seen perhaps 15 or 20 copies of True Blue being sold on eBay. Does this mean TB is not a rare record at all? I don't think so, it has always been a very sough after record. But it has been sold from places all over the world: the US, France, the UK, Italy, the Netherlands and even Russia! But it is not only eBay were BN records get high prices. I have sold many BN copies (often copies with little defects after I found a better copy myself) via a record shop of a friend here in Amsterdam. I also put much rarer items in the shop but the Blue Notes always sell! And to answer your second question: Yes, I have payed many $$$ for jazz records, but never (nearly) 1K. I think the most I have spend on a single record is 400 euro (Candy or J.R. Monterose).

I know you know him too. It was you who gave me his e-mail adress a couple of years ago (remember?). The guy gave me a lot of information about first pressings.

I remember a (real) NM copy of this record being auctioned two or three years ago for more than $2000. I know the guy who bought it. He has been a Blue Note (only) collector for more than 20 years and he told me that this is one of the most difficult originals (w/flat edge and kakubuchi jacket) to find in a good condition. So $1293, although a huge amount of money for a single record, is not as bad as it looks.

My NM copy of the Trio probably is as noisy as yours! Very frustrating if you succeed in finding a wanted record in - what seems to be - impaccable condition and then it turns out to be a lousy pressing. Probably all copies of this title are as bad as yours and mine. I have mixed experiences with Riverside - some pressings are very good (e.g. Interplay by Bill Evans) and some are lousy, like the Trio.

Try to watch out for real first pressings if you consider to buy LP's on the New Jazz label. They need to have wide deep grooves. Second (or second run) pressings are without deep groove and are often pressed on vinyl which has a tiny spots or a kind of haze (which produces the hiss). These second pressings come often in unlaminated jackets. My DG copies of 8252 and 8253 sound fine!

More complaints about the sound quality of the Prestige RVG's (from the Steve Hoffman forum): Is anyone else getting fed up with the sound problems on some of the Concord Prestige remasters? There are a few I've bought that have sound dropouts or distortion. Some are minor, and others are quite bad (Django by MJQ, for example). I don't think I can blame RVG for this. His Blue Note remasters have been outstanding (to my ears anyway). So, what's the deal? Are the master tapes damaged, or is it just a lack of Quality Control on Concord's part? And, more importantly, if they're aware of this issue, are they doing anything about it? __________________ Darren See this thread

There is a Lee Morgan single on Blue Note which is interesting for vinyl collectors as it was not issued on LP: Midnight Cowboy/Popi (Blue Note 45-1951). It was issued in 1969 or 1970, so it does not have any address but Liberty on the label. Lee Morgan Tentet Burt Collins, Lee Morgan, Joe Shepley (tp, flh) Toots Thielemans (hca, g) Duke Pearson (p, arr) Wally Richardson (g) Al Gafa (el-g) Ron Carter (b) Mickey Roker (d) Airto Moreira (per) A&R Studios, NYC, May 22, 1969 4377 Midnight Cowboy (Blue Note 45-1951, CDP 7243 8 57748-2) 4378 Popi