Prez to Rollins to Trane and More

Thanks for all the great comments and discussion on Saxophone Colossus. I think the consensus is blue cover, GEM, AB hand engraved, all of which I have on both of my copies. JLike our friend Lennib and other commenters, I love these discussions and get a lot out of them. Now, on to more records. Join me while I clear out some of the older items on my eBay watch list, starting with one I’d threated to bid on, but somehow lost track of along the way: Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore, Blowing in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This was an original New York 23 pressing. This was one I thought had been under-graded based on the seller’s description.

He said VG+ for the vinyl but described it as nearly perfect. Also, VG- for a cover that sounded at least VG to me, although looking more closely at the picture, VG- may be the thing. Anyway, the bidding was in the $400 range and I thought I might take a shot. It sold for $710, but we’ll never know how high the winning bidder bid, since he only had to top the second highest bid. If someone offered me this record for $710 in this condition would I take it? Probably, based on my belief that the record is in better condition than VG+.

That New Jersey pressing of Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079, which started the previous discussion, sold for $934 in M- condition. So we are getting very close to the $1,000 bin for New Jersey pressings. I like it. Who wouldn’t want a yellow label Saxophone Colossus with the original cover?

We were also watching:

John Coltrane, A Love Supreme, Impulse A-77. This was an original white promo copy listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $1,083.77. Not quite a record, but a $1,000-binner nonetheless.

Phil Woods, Woodlore, Prestige 7018. This was the one in VG condition for the record and cover. It sold for $449. Then there was Woodlore in M- condition for the record and VG for the cover. This one had no bidders when we first looked at it and we were once again tempted. Never mind. It sold for $1,391.

Walter Davis Jr., Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018, original pressing, VG++ for the record and the cover. Final price was $905.67

Lester Young Trio, Mercury MG-C-104. This was an original 10-inch record with the David Stone Martin cover. The record and cover seemed to be in M- condition. The final price was $720, which, to me, was surprisingly high on a couple of levels. One, there seems to be less demand for 10-inch records overall and, two, Lester is kind of in that pre- Blue Note/Prestige category for collectors. Of course he is a genius and his influence immeasurable, but as far as the collector mentality, I have expected Lester to slip a bit. I’m glad he hasn’t. For the record, as I type this I am in my small studio apartment and, hanging to my left is one of my favorite jazz portraits of all time, a signed copy by the photographer, Bill Gottlieb. If you look carefully at the photo below you may be able to see my reflection in the President:

 

 

 

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16 comments

  • Testing, testing. Are comments working? It’s not usually so quiet out there.

  • That Lester Young Trio price is crazy! Seems like a $200 album to me (and probably is most days).

  • It’s so quiet out here because the postings are so intermittent and the content untimely. Al, what’s happening to your site? Used to be a ‘go-to’ for me and many other collectors, now it’s becoming somewhat irrelevant.

  • Well I for one love the Jazz Collector and enjoy it tremendously ! So ….how shocking it must be for the die-hard Blue Noters and Prestigeless collectors to see a 10” Pres going for a lot of $$$ I sincerely hope you all recover. By the way , a tip of the hat to Al for writing “ of course HE IS a genius “ that’s right because for me he is still alive, Prez lives !

  • Yeah Al, I see ya. Love Jazz Collector

  • are we sure that Prez is an original?
    there’s a different label for that Mercury series.
    no trumpeter, no personnel and reads “under the personal supervision of Norman Granz”.
    furthermore the label is shiny, not matt and is wrinkled at touch.
    I’ve got different examples: Bud, Bird, Lady Day, Oscar.
    any thoughts?

  • my comment did not appear so I try again.
    I’m not sure that Prez is original.
    Mercury MG-C 100 series, at least for first numbers, has a different label.
    -no trumpeter
    -no personnel
    -shiny and wrinkled label, not matt
    -“under the personal supervision of Norman Granz” just above cat #
    I have different samples, Bird, Bud, Lady Day, Oscar.
    or mine aren’t original, or this ain’t.

  • Hey Doc, it just goes to show ya that the B.N. label controversy is also to be found on other labels. Where is Sherlock Holmes when we need him ? My research only confirms that “both labels ate 1st editions”. That’s as far as I can go on this chase. By the way the piano player sure sounds a lot like Nat King Cole…or Aye Guy!

  • I don’t have an opinion in this case. For me, the only distinction is between a mat grey Mercury and a glossy black Clef label, Mercury being the first.

  • That Prez record is iconic, one of his best, and among the best piano Nat Cole ever did

  • Lester Young, man. Having a record store in Chicago’s Hyde Park area and being known as a “Jazzer,” I gots to meet/talk with lots of oldsters who were around ‘back in the day’. When the area was filled with clubs such as The Beehive, Crown Propeller Lounge, McKie’s , Sutherland and on.
    And the stories I heard, of Dexter and Ammons jams, Wardell Grey doing ‘Talk of the Town’ solo for “like forever” they said, and Lester at the Beehive, not long before his demise, playing with this poignant beauty, and I would listen to the telling of the tale(s) and I was there, for real.
    Of course it’s all gone now, the clubs, the tellers of the tales and the players. It must have been a time.

  • Lenni I’m happy to be good friends with an older man who saw Lester Young in 1955 at a JATP concert. In 1953 he saw Buddy De Franco with Art Blakey and Kenny Drew. He’s seen all the greats in their prime…saw Coltrane multiple times including the show with Wes and Dolphy. Miles at the Blackhawk. Ornette in 1958. Sonny Redd and Don Cherry in 1957. He is *full* of stories and tales and I cherish hearing them multiple times whenever we get together for listening sessions. It really gives me the feeling of being there…

  • Yeah Mark, to me at times that’s the real music. Hearing those tales, when the sound was in the air and alive.

  • Happy arrival day Mr. John Coltrane!
    9-23-1926

  • Routinely tuning in to Jazz Collector / Just bought my Miles Davis “Birth of the Cool” movie ticket – here in San Diego.

  • About a year ago thinking an original pressing of Saxophone Colossus would never be affordable for me, I spent $100 on a NJ pressing. Guess I shouldn’t feel so bad about having to stub for the NJ pressing anymore. Can’t believe it almost reached $1,000, even in that condition.

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