A Bird Signature?????????
Don-Lucky, if you are out there, we need you. Or any other autograph experts. I was just perusing eBay on this lovely but chilly Sunday morning in the beautiful Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts and I came upon this listing: Rare Signed By Charlie Parker + Coleman Hawkins 1947 Norman Granz #6 78-RPM Set. And when you open this listing there, indeed, are signatures bearing the names Charlie Parker and Coleman Hawkins. They are clearly signed with the same pen at the same time. The question is: Do they seem legitimate? I’m not expert enough to know. The reality is, I think, for the seller and any potential buyer, it would be very difficult to authenticate something signed before Bird died in 1955 if it hasn’t been authenticated already. Plus, this is not a program from the JATP at which they were both in attendance, but a pair of signatures on the record, which came out many months later. So, someone would have brought this record to a concert or club where both Bird and Hawk were at the same time, and would have gotten them both to cooperate for an autograph signing. I don’t have the expertise of Don-Lucky, but color me skeptical. In any case, the seller has an asking price of more than $2,400 and the auction closes later today. My guess is that even if the signatures were fully authenticated, that would still be a price beyond market value, although, I have to admit, if the signatures were authenticated, it would be an item of interest to me personally. A real Bird autograph, actually signed by Bird. Yeah, I could enjoy having that in my collection.
Following up on some of the jazz vinyl auctions we were watching on eBay. Here are a few from the Jazz Record Center auction
Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. Original pressing, M- or VG++ for both the record and the cover. Final price $3,839
Lee Morgan, Indeed!. Blue Note 1538. Original pressing. Probably M- for the record and VG++ for the cover. Starting price at $2,000 and did not sell.
Lee Morgan, City Lights, Blue Note 1575. Deep groove, West 63rd Street pressing. Probably M- for both the record and the cover. Final price $1,600.
Lee Morgan Sextet, Blue Note 1541. Lexington Avenue pressing. Probably VG++ for the record and M- for the cover. Looked new in the pictures. Final price $2,682.69.
Lee Morgan, Lee-Way, Blue Note 4034. Original West 63rd Street pressing, review copy. Probably M- condition for both the record and the cover. May VG++ for the cover, depending upon the anality of the buyer. Final price $1,160.
This is one I was watching that also did not sell: Charlie Parker, For Collectors Only, Alternate Masters, Volume 2, Dial 905. This one looked VG for the record and the cover. Opening bid price was $900 and the buy-it-now price was $1,170. This is another Bird Item I would like to have in my collection. Someday, if the price is right . . .
