A Couple of Rare Birds, One For the $1,000 Bin
We’re still running the contest to give away a free copy of The Charlie Parker Memorial Album, Savoy 12000. Please comment on the site to be eligible to win. Meanwhile, here are a couple of nice bird collectibles that sold recently on eBay, including one for the $1,000 bin.
Charlie Parker, Alternate Masters Volume 2, Dial 905. This was an original 12-inch Dial, quite rare. It was in very nice VG++ condition and was sold by the seller Herschel78, who has been selling some beautiful items lately. This was fetched a price of $1,350.
Also from Bird is this: The Charlie Parker Story, Savoy 12079. This was an original pressing, with a great cover of a relaxed Bird sitting on a throne. This was from the same seller and was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $150. You don’t often see the Bird Savoys selling for these prices.
Joining Bird in the $1,000 record bin is this:
Here Comes Louis Smith, Blue Note 1584. This was an original pressing beautiful near mint condition. It sold for $1,175, which, given some of the other prices of near-mint rare Blue Notes lately, could be considered something of a “bargain?” I use the question mark because I’m not even sure myself if that makes any sense: A $1,175 bargain.
this record has always fetched less since insiders know that it is not a real Blue Note recording. The masters were bought by Blue Note from people connected to the defunct Transition label (Tom Wilson).
ref. my last: Louis Smith BLP 1584 refers.
There is no better example of greed or ignorance(take your pick) than some current listings by one “coopercorner” on Ebay. Having seen some Blue Notes fetch 1k and beyond,this seller hopped the BN ‘bandwagon’ and listed an original CRAZY BABY by Jimmy Smith and a GEMS OF JAZZ BN Liberty compilation-remember that?-for a buy it now price of $1,000 each! That’s right,one grand if you simply have GOT to have it..RIGHT NOW! A simple search would have shown the far more reasonable prices-40-60$ the Smith brings,and as for the compilation,who would pay that kind of coin for such a generic collection? Those who DO pay thousands of dollars for rarities,Blue Note or otherwise,that in many cases are just NOT that good(yeah,I said it-and your ears often confirm it),obviously have an itch to scratch and money to do it with. Somebody with knowledge of the music needs to help this “coopercorner” out,though. Those kind of prices tells people he doesn’t know what the heck he’s doing. Or maybe he does? In the meantime,let’s all sit around and watch as the ‘collector community’ prices itself out of contention for the music we say we love. Grrr…
ceedee: it is without interest to which seller you refer in partular, but you are correct in stating that some sellers with ludicrous “buy it now” prices show a mix of greed and incompetence. The matter is so disturbing that, when I consult the listings, I select “auctions only”.