Sonny Clark | jazzcollector.com

Would You Pay $5,000 For This Record?

April 28, 2014 Al 28 comments

As promised, here is the original DownBeat review of Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568, perhaps the most valuable and treasured of all the Jazz Collector collectibles. This is from Oct. 30, 1958 and the reviewer is John A. Tynan:

“Hank Mobley — Blue Note 1568: Might Moe and Joe; Falling in Love With Love; Bags Groove; Double Exposure; News.

“Personnel: Mobley, tenor; Curtis Porter, alto, tenor; Bill Hardman, trumpet; Sonny Clark, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Art Taylor, drums

“Rating — Three and a half stars

“One of the nicer things about Al Lion and associates at Blue Note is that they don’t hesitate to present new talent they consider worthwhile. On this set is presented 29-year-0old Philadelphia saxman Curtis Porter, who is equal to the company. Although it is Mobley’s date, the leader allows generous space for the wailing of his fellow reedman, which makes for a high degree of hard blowing.

Not-So-Cool Struttin’

April 27, 2014 Al 16 comments

I happened to be perusing old DownBeats yesterday when I casually opened up the issue of Oct. 30, 1958. The “jazz record reviews” listed on the cover were for Harry Belafonte, Terry Gibbs, Benny Goodman, Earl Hines, Shorty Rogers and Bob Scobey. Nothing too interesting, and I almost passed up on reading the reviews. So I was a bit surprised to see that this issue contained reviews of two of the rarest and most highly treasured records in the entire Jazz Collector pantheon: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588 and Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568.

Let’s start with Cool Struttin’. The reviewer, Don Gold, gave it two and a half stars out of a possible five stars. To put it in perspective, Cool Struttin’ had a lower rating than these records, also reviewed in this issue: Steve Allen All Stars Featuring Terry Gibbs; Danny Alvin and His Kings of Dixieland Play Basin Street: Belafonte Sings the Blues; Paul Horn Plenty of Horn, and Moe Koffman, The “Shepherd” Swings Again. This is what the reviewer had to say about Cool Struttin’:

Lou REALLY!!! Takes Off, and More

April 16, 2014 Al 26 comments

Here’s some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:

Lou Donaldson, Lou Takes Off, Blue Note 1591. This was an original pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,499.99. If you ever needed evidence on the increasing value of Blue Note originals, here it is. It has the presence of Sonny Clark on piano, which always seems to raise the value of the records (for good reason, IMHO), but this is quite a hefty price for a Lou Donaldson LP. Very happy to have acquired a mint copy recently. The gift of Baltimore keeps coming for me.

Sonny Clark is on this one as well and, again, the price is somewhat reflective: Curtis Fuller, Bone & Bari, Blue Note 1572. This was an original pressing, probably in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. This one sold for $1,624.99.

Here’s another Blue Note from the same era, although no Sonny Clark:

Breaking the Bank

March 10, 2014 Al 52 comments

Back to the insanity. There were a lot of comments on this record on the previous post, but let’s just put it in here for the record, slight pun intended: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This was the one that had the New York 23 on one side, satisfying the most precise collectors of original pressings. There was definitely debate over the condition, but it seemed like the cover was at least VG++ and the vinyl was probably VG++, although not everyone would agree with that. Where everyone would agree, I presume, is that this one fetched quite a high price: $5,223.45. That’s not the highest price we’ve ever seen for this, or any other record, but it’s right up there in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

As staggering as I find the Mobley, this one, to me, is even more telling of the state of jazz collecting in this era of eBay: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. As I noted previously, Read more

Soundin’ Off On Some Jazz Vinyl

March 7, 2014 Al 26 comments

I had a couple of hours to kill the other night and I spent them both on eBay, just perusing through the listings and looking for interesting stuff. I pretty much filled my watch list. Here are some of the items that caught my eye:

Dizzy Reece, Soundin’ Off, Blue Note 4033. This one looked quite promising with original shrink wrap. The record was in Ex or Ex+ condition and the cover VG+. But on close inspection, there were no deep grooves and no mention of an ear in the deadwax, so that probably wasn’t there either. Still, the record sold for $166.50. Would you think this was a Liberty issue with old labels, or would it be pre-Liberty? Is there any real way of knowing? It so happens there is a second copy of Soundin’ Off that looks to be an original pressing, ears and all. This one is in VG+ condition for the record and the cover and is currently priced at about $120 with well more than two days left on the auction.

This listing struck me because it seems pretty clear that the seller did not use a picture of the actual record cover and showed no pictures at all of the labels or vinyl:

Records That Are Not Quite Records

February 19, 2014 Al 5 comments

Let’s catch up on a few more jazz records from our watch list, starting with: George Wallington, New York Scene, New Jazz 8207. This was an original pressing with the deep grooves and the purple label. The record and cover both looked to be in VG++ condition. The price was $698, which we though was the highest we’ve ever seen for this record until we looked at the Jazz Collector Price Guide and realized that we’ve seen this one sell for as much as $865. I literally bought a copy of this record for a quarter many years ago, when one of the young workers at Mr. Cheapo in Mineola mistakenly threw it into the bargain bin, for which I have been forever grateful.

That copy of Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’ that we were watching would up selling for $3,507, also not a record, but a pretty hefty price indeed.

I just sold a copy of this record to a dealer, and I would have expected it to get a higher price than it did here:

A “Rare” Evans And Really Rare Blue Notes

February 16, 2014 Al 10 comments

CeeDee is back with another missive under the subject “Bob dj strikes again!!!!!” Attached is a link to the following record: Bill Evans, Trio 64, Verve 8578. This was an original stereo pressing. It has never really fetched collectible prices, being a later Verve and pretty readily available for many years. It is a terrific record, however, one of my personal favorites among the Evans trio records. This one happened to sell for $153.50, due, of course, to whatever black magic it is that bobjdukic uses to get higher prices than anyone else selling jazz vinyl in eBay. The record was in M- condition and the cover was listed as VG++. Point of fact, for those of you interested: When I write about bobjdukic auctions, which I do just as a matter of course, the traffic on Jazz Collector tends to spike a bit. Why do you think that is?

I imagine Mr. Djukic would have liked to be selling this one: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding is already at $3,100 and there’s still nearly 20 hours to go. Wow.

This one also fetched quite a nice price:

For What It’s Worth (Or More)

February 13, 2014 Al 17 comments

I’m way, way behind on my posting. Let me catch up on a little on some of the items I was watching, and then we can move forward with some new stuff. Sorry about that. Promise not to wait that long between posts anymore.

Freddie Hubbard, Open Sesame, Blue Note 4040. This was an original West 63rd pressing listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $1,136.22.

Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. This one sold for $1,555. As many of you may recall, I recently purchased a copy of this in the Baltimore collection. I have been going through this weird process of putting a label on each of my records, describing the condition, whether it is an original and assigning a value to it. Why am I doing this? Well, if I were to die suddenly, it would prevent my kids from getting ripped off. Anyway, for my copy of this record, in M- condition for both the record and the cover. I had put in $1,000. Perhaps it’s time to make an adjustment.

A Few For the Jazz Collector Price Guide

January 21, 2014 Al 7 comments

Let’s catch up on some of the earlier jazz vinyl auctions we were watching on eBay, starting with Hank Mobley All Stars, Blue Note 1544. This was an original pressing with the New York 23 labels and deep grooves. The record was listed in probably VG++ condition and the cover was probably VG++ as well, with a small cut-out hole, which you don’t often see on Blue Notes of this vintage. The record wound up selling for $1,009.

Sonny Clark, Leapin’ and Lopin’, Blue Note 4091. This was an original New York USA mono pressing in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $567, which is the highest price we’ve recorded for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Art Taylor, Taylor’s Tenors, New Jazz 8219. This was an original purple label pressing in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $394. Read more

Leapin’, Lopin’ and eBayin’

January 18, 2014 Al 4 comments

Here’s some more jazz vinyl to watch, starting with Sonny Clark, Leapin’ and Lopin’, Blue Note 4091. This looks to be an original New York USA mono pressing. The record and the cover are both listed in VG++ condition. The bidding is at about $180 and there’s more than a day left on the auction. I now am the proud owner of two copies of this record, so perhaps I will be putting one of mine up on eBay soon.

Art Taylor, Taylor’s Tenors, New Jazz 8219. This is an original purple label pressing with the deep grooves. The record looks to be in M- condition and the cover looks to be probably VG++. This one is now in the $225 range with more than a day left on the auction. This seller has several nice records on eBay now, also including: Sonny Rollins Plays, Period 1204. This is an original pressing that looks to be in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding is approaching $500. I think this is the only Sonny Rollins collectible record I don’t own as an original pressing.

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