A Period Piece and More
As a collector, I have always tended to focus more on musicians than on labels. So, for example, it was more interesting to me to have original Coltrane, Miles or Cannonball records, than to focus on the Blue Note, Prestige or Riverside catalogues. Anyway, the key artists for me have been the key artists for many of you – Miles, Trane, Clifford Brown, Monk, Dexter, Sonny Rollins, and a few more. One of the records that has somehow slipped my grasp after all of these years of jazz collecting is this one: Sonny Rollins Plays, Period 1204. This is an original pressing listed in VG condition for the record and the cover. The start price is $500 and so far there are no bidders. I haven’t been buying in a while, but a record like this would be of interest for sure and would fill in that one Newk hole in my collection. And I always liked that cover.
Speaking of Sonny, here is Sonny Rollins, Tour De Force, Prestige 7126. This looks to be an original yellow label pressing with the New York address. The record is listed in VG condition and the cover is VG++ with a promo stamp on the back cover. The start price is $400 and so far there are no bidders with more than five days left.
This one is closing in a few hours from the time I am posting this: Dexter Gordon, A Swingin’ Affair, Blue Note 4133. This is an original New York USA pressing that looks to be in VG++ or better condition for the record and the cover. The seller got some nice photos of the cover, which always helps. The bidding is at $510. The top price for this record has been about $700, according to Popsike. I’m betting this one surpasses that. From the same seller is Andrew Hill, Compulsion!!!!!, Blue Note 84217. This is an original stereo pressing listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It also closes in a few hours and is in the $250 range.
The two Rollins albums are interesting to follow. The Period concocted by Leonard Feather is scarce. Sonny’s last recording for Prestige is made up of two extremes, the ultra fast tracks and the baritone voice of Earl Coleman in some nice ballads. In that sense the album is equilibrated. I for one prefer the ballads, which were skipped in the re-issue, 7207, Sonny Boy.
I LOVE those fast Sonny tracks, personally. I don’t even understand how one practices to play that fast, given that it is at the limits of human perceptive ability.
Rudolf — the great thing about the Sonny Boy reissue is the addition of The House I live In, from the Rollins Plays for Bird session. Fantastic track, vintage Sonny, as good as it gets.
afro-blue-cats can grade, which is why he tends to get pretty decent prices for his items. I’d be leery of buying a VG record on the internet though I know sometimes people have lucked out.
speaking of records and prices, this is still kinda blowing my mind: https://gripsweat.com/item/304323073857/huseyin-ertunc-trio-musiki-1974-lp-intex-83-free-jazz-michael-cosmic-phill-musra
Great record, but sheesh!
For me the best things on Tour de Force are the Earl Coleman ballads. I have always regretted they didn´t use him instead of Johnny Hartman on that Coltrane record.
Staffan — Interesting. I think Hartman is amazing on the Coltrane record.
@Clifford
Yeah, I’ve been meaning to bid on that Ertunc – Musiki LP, but deleted it from my watch list when it hit the 1000 EUR mark and therefore didn’t see for how much it actually sold. Quite mindblowing indeed and, if there is any conclusion to be drawn from a single auction, not a good indicator for future auctions of that title…
Not that this comment thread should turn into a debate on the merits of Johnny Hartman, but I have to agree with Staffan (assuming that I’m accurately reading between the lines of his comment). I never got the appeal of Hartman. To be sure, his baritone is smooth and rich and full of timbre, but the dude really lands flat — a LOT. In this listener’s opinion, there’s a reason he’d pretty much fallen off the radar by the time Trane resurrected him for that session. I love that LP dearly, but Hartman really hits a lot of sour notes.
It’s interesting on that Sonny Rollins on Period someone put “SPL 1200” stickers (a catalog number that was never used) over the SPL 1204 catalog numbers which it shared with The Best Of Django Reinhardt https://www.discogs.com/release/10812269-Django-Reinhardt-And-The-Quintette-Of-The-Hot-Club-Of-France-The-Best-Of-Django-Reinhardt
The Ertunc LP was reissued by Holiday Records Italy and is still available.£22 delivered to the UK!
No surprise that I agree with Staffan. The torpedo fast tracks may be admirable, but are insatisfactory. Speed for speed’s sake!. Tour de Force, it is all said.
Alan, The House….track is essential Rollins. Conclusion, one needs both albums.
Yeah, the Holidays reissue of the Ertunç is probably nice (and certainly authorized). They tend to do a good job. I do have an original, bought many years ago before the price jump… pretty unique record, blew my mind when I first heard it as a college student.
Al, I find Earl Coleman a far more expressive singer than Johnny Hartman who is to smooth by half. We shall have to agree to disagree about that record.