Jazz Vinyl, Sun Ra and a Sax Played by Trane; Welcome Back

Lots to catch up on. Let’s start with a few things that are for sale on eBay now and segue into news and comments from readers and see where that takes us. Here’s one that’s closing later today: J. R. Monterose, Blue Note 1536. This looks to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The seller has a complicated grading process, but he does mention a slight warp on the record, so I’m thinking VG+ if I were to bid, which I won’t, and maybe VG++ for the cover. The bidding is in the $550 range and I don’t think anyone would be surprised to see this end up in the $1,000 bin.

Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore, Blowing in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This looks to be an original New York 23 pressing. This is another seller with a deep description. From what he describes, I would say VG++ for the record and maybe VG+ for the cover? Previous owner wrote his name on the Side One label, which is never a good selling point. There are six days left on the auction and there is already a bid at the start price of $500. I think this will join the Monterose in the $1,000 bin.

I can usually tell when I’ve been away too long, because there is usually a “miss Al” note from Japhy and a bunch of emails in the queue from CeeDee. Thanks for caring. 🙂

CeeDee indeed sent me several notes regarding the recent auction of Sun Ra records from the seller Carolina Soul, which were also noticed by Jay in a comment on the last post, to the tune of $30,000 in total. These were the links CeeDee sent:

Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra, Planet Earth, Saturn Records from 1966. This was listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. There were 23 bidders, 53 bids and the final price was $3,437.

Sun Ra and His Outer Space Arkestra, A Fireside Chat With Lucifer, Saturn Records. The record was listed as VG++ and the cover was VG+. This one had 20 bidders, 43 bids and a final price of $1,500.

Sun Ra, Lanquidity, Philly Jazz. This one was in VG+ condition for the recrod and VG for the cover. The final price was $1,350.

Whilst on the subject of Run Ra, I received a note from a reader as follows: “Looking for ‘Live at Slugs’ have exhausted ebay and other channels I know of, even Discogs. Wondering if you had any search ideas or a reader that has a copy they would like to sell for a reasonable price.”

I replied that I don’t have any search ideas, but I would put his inquiry into my next post and see what pops up.

Here’s a note from Bonhams Music Auction, with a link to: A Buescher Alto Saxophone Played by John Coltrane.

“I thought you would be interested to see and share with your readers and incredible piece we have included in our Music auction running online here at Bonhams until October 19 – an alto saxophone played by John Coltrane on a Gene Ammons All Stars recording session for Prestige Records at the Van Gelder studio in NJ in 1958. There is a photograph of Coltrane playing the sax in the studio and the sax has been on exhibition at the Grammy Museum, amongst others. A link to the sax in our auction is below. Of you click through the sale, you will also see we have an incredible collection relating to Billie Holiday.”

The starting bid for the Coltrane Buescher alto is $40,000, with the expected price to be in the $50,000 to $70,000 range. The Billie Holiday ephemera is pretty cool, lots of signed stuff, including contracts and correspondence, more than 20 lots worth of stuff The other thing that caught my eye was this tablecloth, with a sketch by John Lennon and signatures by John as well as the other Beatles. It would definitely be a cool thing to own, but the bidding is already at $65,000 on an item that had been expected to fetch $15,000 to $25,000.  Given the history and provenance of the item, plus the fact that it is a drawing by John, there is no price that would surprise me. We may have to start a million-dollar bin for this one. Here’s an article about the tablecloth from The Washington Post.

One more item: The New Jersey Jazz Records Collectors’ Bash, which had been scheduled for Oct. 27-29, has been cancelled. The note states that there weren’t enough confirmed vendors to make the event financially viable and, to top it off, one of the event organizers fractured his ankle and would have been out of commission. The note expresses the disappointment of the promoters and suggests that the Bash will not go on under their auspices. It ends: “If you, or anyone else you know, is interested in taking over the reins, please let me know.”

Too bad. Although I hadn’t been to a Bash in many years, I always found it enjoyable when I went in the past, and I’m sure many Jazz Collectors and dealers look forward to it. Maybe, someone else will take the reins. Perhaps even someone reading this post, although certainly not the person writing it.