Lou REALLY!!! Takes Off, and More
Here’s some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:
Lou Donaldson, Lou Takes Off, Blue Note 1591. This was an original pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,499.99. If you ever needed evidence on the increasing value of Blue Note originals, here it is. It has the presence of Sonny Clark on piano, which always seems to raise the value of the records (for good reason, IMHO), but this is quite a hefty price for a Lou Donaldson LP. Very happy to have acquired a mint copy recently. The gift of Baltimore keeps coming for me.
Sonny Clark is on this one as well and, again, the price is somewhat reflective: Curtis Fuller, Bone & Bari, Blue Note 1572. This was an original pressing, probably in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. This one sold for $1,624.99.
Here’s another Blue Note from the same era, although no Sonny Clark:
Here Comes Louis Smith, Blue Note 1584. This was an original pressing in probably VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $803.50. A bargain perhaps? Relatively speaking, of course. What this record is lacking in Sonny Clark, it perhaps makes up for in the once-only appearance of Buckshot La Funke.
Buckshot Lafuncke was also on BLP 1595.
Love that nom de plume!
He also played in Chicago with John Coltrane? Know what i mean ?
$1’500 for a Lou Donaldson’ record, knowing that Lou lives a very basic life with his wife in the Bronx? I am positive he’s happy that people appreciate his music but not sure about his reaction for such an amount (he will not see a penny from that sale). Good for the seller but what’s about Lou and other jazz players living in difficult conditions ?
So no Al, Lou is not taking off….
Greg’s comments suggest a focus of interest for the JC community, perhaps. Is there a way to support/assist aging jazz artists who have not realized (or retained) the funds necessary to support themselves in old age? Is there a debt that we owe from both the music they’ve created and/or profits we may realize from their work? The Jazzcollector Foundation anyone?
There is already a Jazz Foundation of America and I believe other nonprofits here in New York doing similar work.
The record business doesn’t have anything to do with an album’s collectibility – I always get a little confused when artists are mad their albums go for big bucks on eBay. Resale markets have nothing to do with artists’ rights. If I sell a Warhol drawing, the money goes to me and the dealer’s commission, not the artist’s estate.
@Lou : What kind of DG is that ?
Is it DG ?
greg says>I am positive he’s happy that people appreciate his music
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Do you think the buyers that pay a high price simply love the music or have a love for owning a rare pressing? After all, a lot of these recording are available from most libraries and can be borrowed for free.
What are your thoughts?
Not sure what you mean, it looks like the normal DG to me?
greg: do you send a check to the estate of every artist you buy a secondhand record from?
Gregory: no but a) I am not buyer records because they are rare but because I like the music – I am not sure that most selfish nerds reading this blog do such and b) I try to see as much Lou Donaldson as I can since I know that part of the entrance fee is going in his pocket.
When was the last time you went to a gig ?
greg: this is a place of civility, so i’ll save my choicer words, but my response is this:
i’ve seen dozens and dozens of live jazz performances in the past year. matana roberts, pharoah sanders, sonny rollins, herbie hancock, billy harper, you name it. i’m not sure what that has to do with anything but the last time i went to a gig was last friday, since you asked. and i’ve seen lou donaldson 3 times.
i can assure you that i and most everyone else here collect original and vintage pressings for love of the music. please peruse any previous comments section to see this. we are responsible for those who collect for profit, but since that’s how a free market works, there’s nothing wrong with that.
your attempt to guilt us into feeling bad for buying collectibles is absurd, and your rudeness and judgmental tone is even more absurd.
Thank you gregory for this lesson. You’re a beautiful person.
Here’s my email address. Please contact me and we will be best friends.
gregmatthis@gmail.com
Hmmm..how about”Greg And Gregory Take Off”? Gentlemen,spring is INDEED in the air(lol)!
BTW,arguing about musicians who don’t profit from the sales of their rare lps is like banging your head against the wall after you read that the Dodgers Y.Puig signed a contract for 48 million dollars before playing a single game in the majors. The morale? “Life ain’t fair.”
And support live jazz whenever you can…
The “moral”,duh.
Oh man discussions about my 2 favorite things! Vinyl and Dodger baseball! Agree ceedee, we can’t control the market but we can do everything in our power to support those that make this great music by going to shows and showing them how much we appreciate what they do. Also, go Dodgers!
ceedee knows what’s up.
+1 for the Dodgers.
Old Jazz Musicians and us life long Cubs fans. Always getting the short end of the stick.
If artist royalties is a primary concern I suggest buying only new records from reputable companies like Fantasy/Concord (and maybe the new Blue Note) where the artist still gets paid for what they sell.
Go Giants!
As an outsider to the fray, I have no allegiance. Neither do I suggest that anyone who profits from a record’s valuation owes a debt to anyone. It could be, however, that if our profit rises beyond the pale, coupled with the artist’s fall beyond the common, we would benefit from working together to provide an outlet for supporting struggling, aging musicians, should they not be covered elsewhere. This is neither an ought or should; this is a perhaps.
It would also help artists to make a better living off their music if the U.S. would adopt the system of all civilized countries to pay royalties for radio airplay.
That’s what US performance rights organizations like ASCAP and BMI do. Unfortunately most of this great jazz is never on the airwaves aside from maybe one public station on the small end of the dial.
It pains me to see the way U.S. jazz artists had to live their lives in virtual poverty, while pop stars with perhaps a tenth of their talent live in mansions. On several occasions, I and some friends, have taken up collections for jazz musicians who were close to losing their homes. I don’t have the wisdom to know the reason why the greater the genius, the less chance he has of being appreciated in his lifetime. A perusal of Van Gogh’s journal cannot fail to bring a tear to any feeling person’s eye. By the time he was discovered, he was too weak and sick from living in poverty to appreciate his new position. The German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, explores the reasons why great minds are rarely recognized by their own generation. An American literary critic has an apt title to one of the chapters of his book on the greatest 19th century American writers: “An Alien to His Contemporaries.”