“Jazz is a unique art form in that it enables – in fact, it requires – the artist to perform on the fly, as part of a unit of other musicians and without a safety net, and it demands not only immense technical skill, but a mind that can constantly plumb the depths of creativity to avoid cliché and deliver something new, exciting, clever, unique and, at times, innovative. In the mid-1940s there was a revolution in jazz that came to be known as bebop, led by musicians such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk. Sonny Rollins came along as a teenager at the tail end of the bebop revolution and he was able to fuse the concepts of this new generation with the ideas and masters of the previous generation, such as Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, to bring the art of jazz improvisation to levels that the music has rarely seen, before or since. If you listen to some of the masterful Sonny Rollins albums of the 1950s, such as Worktime or Saxophone Colossus, you will hear an artist who was able to set new standards of improvisation – in creativity, in humor, in conception, in technique – that truly changed the course of jazz history and influenced every single jazz musician who came afterwards. With one or two exceptions, Sonny Rollins was without peer as an improviser, as a genius in creating music that was fresh, bursting with energy and ideas, and always inspiring.

“But Sonny was never content to rest on his laurels and, in fact, was never satisfied with his own work, even though his colleagues and peers came to respect, admire and laud him as one of the true masters of modern jazz. One of the things that makes Sonny Rollins so special among jazz artists has been his true humility and belief that he can always improve, always learn more. This quest led him famously to the Williamsburg Bridge, where he spent two years in self-imposed retirement to practice and improve his skills. This quest to be innovative, to improve, to experiment, to pioneer, has also led Sonny in many other directions, and continues to lead him to this day. Not many people realize it, but one of the the first record albums in the United States to use the words “Bossa Nova” was the Sonny Rollins album “What’s New?” Not many people realize that it was Sonny Rollins who composed and performed the music to the original movie Alfie. Not many people realize it, but it is Sonny Rollins who is regarded all around the world – in France and England, in Japan and Russia, in South America – almost everywhere – as one of the true treasures of American jazz and one of the great musicians the world has produced in the past century. It is wonderful, exciting and long overdue that Sonny Rollins is finally receiving this same recognition in the United States.”

Last night I went to bed with tears in my eyes seeing the news that Sonny had died at age 95. This morning I woke up, pulled out a dozen of my favorite Sonny records, and headed to the radio studio in Pittsfield to record a tribute to Sonny. On the way I called my friend Dan Axelrod to reminisce and share stories:

The rainy night in 1972 that Sonny returned to the Village Vanguard for the first time in years and we were able to hear him live for the first time. Bliss!

The night at the Half Note in the middle of the week, last set, there were eight of us in the audience: Danny and me and a table of three dressed-to-the-nines couples from Sugar Hill in Harlem, who said they hadn’t been out to see live jazz in years, and Sonny put on a show for them that might have been the most inspired tenor playing I ever heard in my life.

The time we were shut out of the Museum of Modern Art when Sonny was giving a free solo show and, without hesitation, I went up to the press gate and confidently said I was Bob Porter representing Downbeat Magazine. I was 5’5” and about 150 pounds; Bob Porter was about 6’2” and 230 pounds. No matter. They let us in and we just blended into the crowd. What happened to Porter? Don’t know and don’t care. Danny and I saw Sonny.

This morning I told these and other stories on the radio and played many of my favorite Sonny Rollins records. To be honest, most were from the 1950s. Not that his later material wasn’t worthy, just that this was the Sonny Rollins music I first heard and first fell in love with. And still love and will always love.

Once the show airs, I’ll post it here at Jazz Collector. I hope you enjoy it. I know that the regular crowd isn’t here as frequently as in the past, but if you do happen to stop by looking for words about one of our true heroes, and if you happen to have anything to share about Mr. Rollins, this would be as good a place as any.

It is the end of an era, isn’t it?

The post Sonny Rollins first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]> https://jazzcollector.com/features/sonny-rollins/feed/ 6 9978 https://jazzcollector.com/prestige/a-prestige-eous-day-at-jazz-collector/ https://jazzcollector.com/prestige/a-prestige-eous-day-at-jazz-collector/#comments Tue, 14 Nov 2017 13:47:14 +0000 http://jazzcollector.com/?p=7734 Let’s look at a few from Prestige and related labels today, starting with Hank Mobley, Mobley’s Message, Prestige 7061. This was an original New York [...]

Let’s look at a few from Prestige and related labels today, starting with Hank Mobley, Mobley’s Message, Prestige 7061. This was an original New York yellow label pressing listed as being in “pristine” condition from a reliable seller. The final price was $715.99, which strikes me as quite a bargain for this record in this condition. Or at least as much as any record for $715 can be a bargain. With this personnel — Mobley, McLean, Byrd, Barry Harris, Doug Watkins and Art Taylor — what would this record go for if it was on the Blue Note Label. I think we’d probably be looking in our metaphorical $2,000 bin.

This is another one I thought would fetch a higher price, but there seem to be extenuating circumstances: Miles Davis, The New Miles Davis Quintet, Prestige 7014. This was an original New York yellow label listed in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The final price was $220. You would definitely expect this record to go for a higher price in this condition, particularly in that it’s the first record on which John Coltrane gets a chance to stretch out and solo. The extenuating circumstances in this case are that the seller’s rating is not great, at 98.7%, and the pictures indicate that the condition of the cover is VG, at best. The combination of those two factors would probably scare off some serious bidders. As it was, the record only had one bidder.

Art Farmer and Gigi Gryce, When Farmer Met Gryce, Prestige 7085. This is an original New York yellow label. The record is graded in VG condition and the cover VG+, but, like the Miles record mentioned above, the pictures show that the cover should really be graded VG, at best, with a huge water stain on the back. The auction closes in five days and the opening bidding starts in the $120 range, but so far there are no bidders.

Finally, we have this one back for a return engagement: Sonny Rollins, Worktime, Esquire 32-038. This looks to be the same copy that sold a few weeks ago for about $270. Perhaps  there was an issue with the sale. The record is now back with a start price of approximately $100. The record is listed in VG+ condition and the sleeve as Ex. I still find the cover weird but cool and would like to own a copy. Perhaps this one.

The post A Prestige-eous Day at Jazz Collector first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]>

Meanwhile, I was on eBay watching a copy of Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This was an original promo record listed in M- condition for the record and M- condition for the cover, although the cover had radio station call letters written in large ink on the back, which would diminish the cover in my eyes and in the eyes of most collectors, I would presume. This one sold for $2,334. Without the radio call letters, I think this would have made it into the $3,000 bin. The other Rollins record I was watching, the UK pressing of Worktime, wound up selling for about $270. About that cover — I never meant to imply that the illustrator was trying to convey anything about drugs but, like GTF and other commenters, I see something in the cover where that can come across, although I do like the cover quite a lot, more than the U.S. version.

Also on my watch list was this item from the seller Keca222, who has been quite active lately: Kenny Dorham, Afro-Cuban, Blue Note 1535. This was an original Lexington Avenue 12-inch pressing listed in M- condition for the record and Ex condition for the cover. It sold for$4,049.99. Wow. Don’t forget the real original pressing of Afro-Cuban was the 10-inch record. For the 12-inch release, they added another side of material that had been previously recorded but unreleased. I remember a post several years back where Rudolf mentioned not considering the 12-inch record the original pressing and, for some reason, that always stuck with me. Now the 12-incher is a $4,000 record and the 10-incher would be, what, maybe $1,500 at most? I have an original 10-inch pressing, but a reissue of the 12-incher. Would love to have an original 12-inch LP, but $4,000 is a bit beyond my comfort zone — quite a bit, in fact.

Speaking of Sonny, that effort to rename the Williamsburg Bridge in his honor is gaining some momentum. According to a report in Bowery Boogie, a Brooklyn Councilman has actually introduced a bill that would make this a reality, and the Brooklyn Borough President is also supportive of the idea. I will follow up on this in the next few days and see what we can all do to help move this along. I cannot describe how cool it would be to drive over the Sonny Rollins Bridge.

Here’s a second item, this one from The New York Times, about the acquisition of Sonny’s personal archive by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which is part of the New York Public Library. The collection includes rehearsals of recordings and practice sessions; a Selmer saxophone; notes, letters and other written material, some musical, some not. The Schomburg Center is located at 515 Malcolm X Blvd. in Harlem. Can’t wait to check it out.

And here’s one from the Wall Street Journal about boxed sets. The article was occasioned by the release of “The Jazz & Blues Artbox,” which consists of 230 DVDs from Bern Jazz Festival Concerts from 1983 to 2002. It is 400 hours or so of music, plus 96 interviews, plus a book and booklets. Oh, yes, and the set its own cabinet as well. Five thousand copies are being produced, which seems somewhat optimistic to me, given the $8,400 price tag. But, who would have thought years ago that a single Hank Mobley record would routinely sell for more than $5,000?

Just as I’m typing this, here comes another note from CeeDee, with a link to: Blue Mitchell, Blue Moods, Riverside 336. This was an original pressing listed in VG+ condition for the record and VG for the cover. The final price was $460.55. This has always been one of the Riversides that has attracted been of high interest to collectors, so this is no surprise to me, particularly as we are seeing a huge rise in prices among collectible records in lesser condition. It used to be that the big bucks were reserved for records in top condition, not that anyone would consider $460.55 to be “big bucks” anymore.

And now one from Fredrik with this link: Lous Smith, Smithville, Blue Note 1594. And this note: “I just wanted to highlight an auction from JRC where a copy of Luis Smith on Blue Note 1594 just sold for $3300. It smashed the previous high price of $1825 by quite a distance. Quite interesting, cause the cover was less than perfect with a large tear on the front, lower right hand corner, and a bottom seam split.”

bag full of records and a lingerie store in Manhattan.
It starts, as always, with an e-mail. This time from South America. A list of records – well more than 1,000. Not a killer collection, but enough good stuff to make it interesting, particularly if you could cull the collectibles. There’s one caveat: The seller already has a deal to sell some of the prime records to another buyer. This other buyer has chosen about 30 records, all top-grade, and he has made a fair and substantial offer. I let those 30 records pass and inquire about 30 or so other records. They are all in great condition, I am told, and should be original pressings. I make an offer, also fair and substantial, and it is accepted. Of course, I would like to actually see the records before making payment and, it turns out, the seller’s friend is traveling to New York and she has room to carry about 45 records in her carry-on bag. So, with the previous buyer getting 30 records, I am left to choose the 15 I want stuffed into the luggage compartment and flown to New York. This was weeks ago. I was supposed to hear something before Christmas, but nothing happened and I went away for a few days.

When I got back I remembered about the records and shot an e-mail to my friend in South America. What happened, I ask. Nothing, he says. The records are in New York. He just didn’t want to bother me during the holidays. Very thoughtful, I think. OK, now I am back, can I look at the records? Of course, he says. My friend will get in touch. A few minutes later the phone rings. Yes, I can pick up the records. Where are they? They are in a lingerie shop on West 28^th Street in Manhattan. Why they are there is not the point – the point is that was the location for the records and ten minutes later I was on the one train with a wad of cash in my pocket. I was coming home with something, one way or another. I was hoping it would be jazz records and not leather bustiers.

So I get there and, as promised, there is a carry-on bag with about 15 records. Shows you where head was at – I gaped over the records, and didn’t even look at the lingerie. I didn’t expect Giant Steps to be an original pressing but, indeed, it was. There were also several other very nice records, most of them in excellent condition, rarely played, if ever. A couple of the records had funky covers with tape and other repairs, so I took a few dollars off the previously agreed-upon price. In all, I came home with 11 records, all original pressings. The accompanying picture will give you the best of the lot.

Nice way to start the new year, I’d say.

One other thing, while I’m thinking about it. Giant Steps has to be one of the most amazing albums ever recorded. From the opening notes of Giant Steps to the closing notes of Mr. P.C. it is an absolute tour de force. Coltrane is playing with such passion and confidence, it’s like he’s in a different world. Think about this in the context of 1959, when it was recorded, and 1960, when it was released. It was his first album for Atlantic and his first where he had written all of the songs. Imagine you’re a tenor player and you hear this for the first time. No wonder Sonny Rollins retired around this time and began practicing on the Williamsburg Bridge, with all due respect to my long-time tenor idol.

both the record and the cover. In fact, the pictures with the listing look pretty spectacular. This one is currently at about $430 with about 15 hours to go. I think it will sell for more than $1,000 and, as much as I’d love a copy (as much as I’d love THIS copy), I just can’t pull that particular trigger. So the hunt shall continue.

I’ve also been catching up on my email and found this interesting article from The New York Times. Apparently, they have a feature on “Walking New York” and they got Sonny Rollins to write about how he wound up practicing on the Williamsburg Bridge. Enjoy:

“In the late 1950s, I moved into a loft on Grand Street between Clinton and Suffolk. I used to go to Ratner’s to pick up pastries for my wife, Lucille. On her way home from work, she used to visit a man named Izzy and his wife, who ran a pickle store on Suffolk near Grand. We bought our chickens at a kosher butcher next door. We were welcomed on the Lower East Side, as an interracial couple. The rest of the world isn’t like that. That’s a special place.

The problem was that I had no place to practice. My neighbor on Grand Street was the drummer Frankie Dunlop, and his wife was pregnant. The horn I’m playing, it’s loud. I felt really guilty. One day I was on Delancey Street, and I walked up the steps to the Williamsburg Bridge and came to this big expanse. Nobody was there, and it was beautiful. I went to the bridge to practice just about every day for two years. I would walk north from Grand Street, two blocks up to Delancey Street, and then from Delancey Street down to the entrance of the bridge. Playing against the sky really does improve your volume, and your wind capacity. I could have just stayed up there forever. But Lucille was supporting us, and I had to go back to work. You can’t be in heaven and on earth at the same time.”

Having said that, I found both the biographical tribute and the musical tribute to be really uninspired and disappointing. This was the one opportunity to explain to the country why, among all of the thousands of jazz musicians in the world, it was Sonny Rollins who was being honored on that stage. Even in just a couple of minutes with the opportunity Bill Cosby had in his introduction and in the video tribute, there was so much that could have been said that wasn’t. Here are some of the things I would have said:

“Jazz is a unique art form in that it enables – in fact, it requires – the artist to perform on the fly, as part of a unit of other musicians and without a safety net, and it demands not only immense technical skill, but a mind that can constantly plumb the depths of creativity to avoid cliché and deliver something new, exciting, clever, unique and, at times, innovative. In the mid-1940s there was a revolution in jazz that came to be known as bebop, led by musicians such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk. Sonny Rollins came along as a teenager at the tail end of the bebop revolution and he was able to fuse the concepts of this new generation with the ideas and masters of the previous generation, such as Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, to bring the art of jazz improvisation to levels that the music has rarely seen, before or since. If you listen to some of the masterful Sonny Rollins albums of the 1950s, such as Worktime or Saxophone Colossus, you will hear an artist who was able to set new standards of improvisation – in creativity, in humor, in conception, in technique – that truly changed the course of jazz history and influenced every single jazz musician who came afterwards. With one or two exceptions, Sonny Rollins was without peer as an improviser, as a genius in creating music that was fresh, bursting with energy and ideas, and always inspiring.

“But Sonny was never content to rest on his laurels and, in fact, was never satisfied with his own work, even though his colleagues and peers came to respect, admire and laud him as one of the true masters of modern jazz. One of the things that makes Sonny Rollins so special among jazz artists has been his true humility and belief that he can always improve, always learn more. This quest led him famously to the Williamsburg Bridge, where he spent two years in self-imposed retirement to practice and improve his skills. This quest to be innovative, to improve, to experiment, to pioneer, has also led Sonny in many other directions, and continues to lead him to this day. Not many people realize it, but the first record album in the United States to use the words “Bossa Nova” was the Sonny Rollins album “What’s New?” Not many people realize that it was Sonny Rollins who composed and performed the music to the original movie Alfie. Not many people realize it, but it is Sonny Rollins who is regarded all around the world – in France and England, in Japan and Russia, in South America – almost everywhere – as one of the true treasures of American jazz and one of the great musicians the world has produced in the past century. It is wonderful, exciting and long overdue that Sonny Rollins is finally receiving this same recognition in the United States.”

What I wrote off the top of my head just now attempts to put Sonny’s place in history in perspective, which the tribute last night did not. If I wanted to take more time, I’m sure I could do better, but you get the point. As far as the musical tribute, it was just a bunch of guys up there playing a bunch of songs and doing a bunch of improvisations that also lacked perspective and, in my opinion, missed an opportunity to connect with a national audience. There could have been something to either explain the music or to connect the music to Sonny, but instead it was just a bunch of guys playing. To me it was a missed opportunity and, frankly, pretty boring. There was a later tribute to Yo-Yo Ma that was much more compelling, exciting and interesting. Sonny deserved more, but he also deserved what he received – the honor from the Kennedy Center and a place among the world’s most important and inspirational performing artists of the past half-century. Congratulations once again to one of our true jazz heroes.

Sonny Rollins, The Bridge, RCA 2527. This was an original stereo pressing listed in M- condition by a very reputable seller who also owns the best record store on Long Island. Still, while this is an interesting record with an interesting history — the return of Rollins after his legendary practice sessions on the Williamsburg Bridge — it has never really been a collectible item, at least in terms of its selling price. Perhaps it’s starting to move up the ranks: This one sold for $90.99. Not quite Blue Note prices, but a collectible price nonetheless.

Here’s another one we normally don’t track:

Roland Kirk, The Inflated Tear, Atlantic 1502. This was an original mono pressing, with a promo stamp on the cover and a white label. The seller notes that there were very few mono pressings of this LP because it was only available in the promo copies. I had never heard this story. I looked at the copy in my collection and it is a stereo. Anyway, this didn’t get an outrageous collectible price, but it sold for $43.67, more than usual for this LP. It also hit my radar because, if the mono pressing is truly unusual, I would expect that additional copies will sell for more money in the future. That’s how we collectors think, isn’t it: If something is rare, it must be of value.

I got into pulling some of the old files as I’m updating the site and here’s something I wrote a few years ago about the album Sonny Rollins, What’s New?, RCA Victor LPM-2572.  If you keep reading there’s a question here for readers that was never answered on the Jazz Collector site, so perhaps, if you know the answer, you can provide it.  Anyway:

What’s New was Rollins’s second album after he came back from one of his self-imposed retirements in the late 1950s/early 1960s. This was the retirement during which he gained notoriety for practicing on the Williamsburg Bridge. After this comeback, his tone was a bit harsher than it had been during the ‘50s and his attack was a bit more staccato, but his playing was very inventive and inspired. In particular, he seemed to have a strong rapport with

guitarist Jim Hall. They seem to be in synch on this entire record, especially on the jewel of the session, “If Ever I Would Leave You.”  I had always heard that this was the first record in the U.S. to use the term “bossa nova.” It was back released back in 1962 and George Avakian’s liner notes talk about the bossa nova as if it needed explanation to an uninformed audience. Perhaps one of our readers knows whether this album was, indeed, the first to talk about “bossa nova” in its liner notes. In any case, it’s a wonderful LP, highly recommended.