Tag: Sonny Rollins

Catching Up With The Jazz Collector Price Guide

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dolphyI am taking advantage of the holiday time to update the Jazz Collector Price Guide, which could use some new records. So for the next couple of days, at least, I’ll be following up on records I mentioned earlier, or some I never mentioned at all and somehow missed the first time around. Here goes:

Boy did I have my eyes on this one: Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk, Prestige 190. This was an original 10-inch pressing in what looked to be VG++ condition for the record and probably VG for the cover. When I was pondering this there were a few hours to go and the price was just in the $110 range. It wound up selling for $430.

Eric Dolphy, Out to Lunch, Blue Note 84163. This was an original stereo pressing in just VG+ condition for the record and the cover, but it was packaged very nicely and we anticipated it would get a nice bid. It did, topping out at $303.

This was a strange one: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad-Lib 6601. This was an original pressing in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. When we first wrote about it, we noted that there was a buy-it-now price of $2,000. We figured someone would grab it up at that price. No one did. However, the bidding ended up at $1,975. Seems to me if you were willing to bid as much as $1,975 for the record, just buy it for $2,000 and save yourself the stress and aggravation.

 

A Newk 10-Inch LP, Prized Stereo Blue Notes

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sonnyI should watch this record on Jazz Collector each time it appears on eBay, just so I can put the picture of the cover on the site: Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk, Prestige 190. This is an original 10-inch LP in Ex+ condition for the vinyl and VG for the cover. I would think the record plays really well to be graded Ex+. As you may tell from the longing in my first sentence I do not own a copy of this record. But I would love to. This one is in the $110 range with less than a day to go, although it hasn’t yet reached the seller’s reserve price.

Herbie Hancock, Takin’ Off, Blue Note 84109. This looks to be an original stereo pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. Not sure how the stereo compares with the mono, either in sound or in collectibility, but, for me, I’m quite content to have the original mono pressing. This one closes sometime today and is in the range of about $105 with eight bids.

Eric Dolphy, Out To Lunch, Blue Note 84163. The seller does a nice job of presenting/packing this one, with the nice picture and the original inner sleeve. Makes it look attractive, wouldn’t you say? This is a stereo pressing, looks like an original, with the ear, Van Gelder and New York USA label.  Bidding closes tomorrow and is already over more than $200. So, IMHO, the nice packaging seems to help.

 

 

Nice Records, Quite High Price Tags

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Let’s catch up on some rare jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching, starting with: Gene Ammons, HiFi Jam Sessions, Prestige 7060. This was an original New York yellow label pressing. The record and cover were in M- condition. You may recall I posted on this last week when there were no bids and a start price of $200. I was speculating about whether it would sell at all for that start price, and my prognostication was that it would sell. Indeed, it did: for $607. Quite a nice price for a Gene Ammons Prestige, which don’t often sell for such quite a lofty figure. The seller SweeDeeDee had quite a week, with several of his records selling for quite high prices. Here are a couple more: Horace Silver and Spotlight on Drums with Art Blakey and Sabu, Blue Note 1520. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing in VG++ condition for the record and M- for the cover. It sold for $681. Thelonious Monk with Sonny Rollins, Work, Prestige 7169. This is a New Jersey yellow label pressing, but the record is a reissue, an early reissue, but a reissue nonetheless. It was in M- condition for both the record and the cover and sold for $293. Wow.

 

 

Three Tenors

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Just spent some time rummaging through the high-end bins on eBay and found quite a few interesting items, starting with: Dexter Gordon Quintet, Dial 204. This is an original 10-inch pressing listed in near M- condition for the record and M- condition for the cover. Seller took beautiful clear pictures and the record is quite tempting to this Dexter Gordon and 10-inch LP fan. But the start price is around $350 and, tempting as it may be, it is not tempting enough to entice me at that price. Nobody else is enticed yet, either, but I do have a feeling this one will sell.

This is another nice one that is also lacking bids at the moment: Sonny Rollins, Way Out West, Contemporary 3530. this is an original promo copy in M- condition for both the cover and the record. Looks like a real gem, also with nice pictures from the seller. There is a start price of about $500 and a buy-it-now price of about $700. If any copy of Way Out West would set a new price high, this would seem to be it, an original promo in M- condition. But the start price is up there. In the Jazz Collector Price Guide we’ve never recorded a copy of this record selling for more than $300.

One more:

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No Surprise: Colossus in the $1,000 Bin . . . However

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This one was forwarded to me by one of the Jazz Collector readers: Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. It was listed as an “original U.S. mono pressing” and the condition was probably VG++ for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $1,009, so welcome to the $1,000 bin. So why did our reader send this to me? Well, there was definitely some kind of aberration in the price and, surprise, it wasn’t too low. See, the record was not an original U.S. mono pressing, unless you consider original U.S. mono pressing to mean that it was originally produced in the U.S., which perhaps if you were to stretch the truth would be a technically accurate statement. In any case, this one was a New Jersey pressing with the yellow label. It didn’t sell for what a New York pressing would typically fetch, but it sold for quite a bit more than what a New Jersey pressing might typically get. Hard to figure if the price was legitimate — someone wanted to pay $1,000 for a second pressing of a great record in nice condition — of if the buyer was careless and/or ignorant. In any case, the responsibility should be with the buyer because there was a clear picture of the Jersey label. But the seller could also have been more circumspect, don’t you think? I wonder if this means early second pressings of some of the really rare ones — such as Saxophone Colossus, or the Sonny’s Crib we’re also watching — will now become regulars in the $1,000 bin. I wouldn’t be surprised.

A 10-Inch French Beauty, And A Pair of Blue Notes

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Goodness, it’s been days since I’ve been on eBay and nearly a week since my last post. Thank you for not complaining, although in the future please feel free to do so. When I get caught up in my regular work, it is nice to be jolted back to Jazz Collector so I can do my fun stuff. So here are some of the jazz records we missed while we were away, starting with: Zoot Sims, Henri Renaud and Jon Eardley, Ducretet-Thomson 250 V 023. This is a 10-inch French pressing from 1956. I have to admit, I have never seen this record before. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG+. There were more than 250 page views, 21 bids and a final price of $2,281.

Sonny Rollins, Volume 2, Blue Note 1558. This was an original pressing with the New York 23 deep groove labels. It was listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover and the listing was accompanied by some nice clear pictures. The final price was $1,227.99. We see a couple of these sell for more than $1,200 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, but this is quite near the top of the market for this record.

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A Period Piece, and More

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Here are some updates on the jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching, starting with: Sonny Rollins Plays, Period 1204. This is a pretty cool cover, don’t you think? The record looked to be in VG++ condition for the record and the cover, although the seller seemed to wanted additional emphasis by putting in a few more plus signs. It sold for $543. And while we’re on the subject of Sonny, that British Esquire pressing of Saxophone Colossus? It sold for $449.

Bud Powell, The Scene Changes, Blue Note 4009. This was an original pressing that as described in excellent condition for the record and the cover, which I will interpret to VG++ when I place this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, which I will do eventually. This one sold for $515.

Guess I’m not going to get a black-label copy of Giant Steps this week. This one had no bidders when we last looked, but wound up attracting three bids and sold for $284.99. C’est la vinyl.

 

 

 

Developing a Thing For European Prestiges

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Watching a potpourri of jazz vinyl on eBay now. Here’s another one of those European Esquire Prestiges I’ve never seen before: Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Esquire 32-045. This one doesn’t have the classic U.S. Saxophone Colossus cover, but there’s something about the simplicity of this cover that I find quite appealing. I tell you, I’m developing a thing for these records, which is always dangerous. This one looks to be VG++ for both the record and the cover. The auction closes in more than two days and the bidding is in the $160 range.

Here’s another tempting one: Kenny Burrell and Jimmy Raney, Two Guitars, Prestige 7119. This is an original New York yellow label pressing listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding is in the $160 range and the auction closes today. If I could get this for less than $250, hmmm . . . . .

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Aberration is in the Eye of the Beholder

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Since everyone is getting so worked up over the prices of some of the latest auctions, I decided to take a look at all of the recent completed listings from the bobdjukic sales to get an overall sense of things. There are definitely some aberrations between what we expect to see in the market, and some that fit in just fine with market expectation. Just for fun, I’ll pull out a few more of the aberrations.

Sonny Rollins, What’s New, RCA 2572. I love this record, but I’ve never really looked at it as a collectible. I have several copies, in fact. This was a promo copy in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $161.50.

Horace Silver, Song For My Father, Blue Note 84185. This is a stereo pressing. It was listed in VG++ condition for the record and probably VG+ for the cover, although you can clearly see ring wear on the photo. It sold for $385.

Chet Baker, Baker’s Holiday, Limelight 86019. This is an original stereo pressing. The record was in VG++ condition, the cover around VG+. It sold for $136.50.

Thelonious Monk, Monk’s Dream, Columbia 8765. This is a stereo pressing, with 2-eye label. The seller claims it is much rarer than the mono??????? It sold for $152.50.

 

 

 

 

 

Tracking Tres Blue Notes

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Just popped over to eBay and noticed this one closing in about an hour: Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This looks to be an original pressing. The record is listed in VG condition, although the seller notes that it “plays great,” and the cover is VG+. The price is only $565. I say “only” because I would expect this record to sell for more than $1,000 in this condition. And perhaps it will.

Here’ another from the same seller, similar description: Lee Morgan, Indeed, Blue Note 1538. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing, also listed in VG condition for the record, this time without the “plays great” proviso. The cover is in VG+ condition and this one also closes in about an hour. The bidding is in the $500 range.

And one more from this seller: Sonny Rollins Volume 1, Blue Note 1542. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The cover on this always has the West 63rd address, right? I’ve never seen this with a Lexington Avenue cover and I’m pretty sure they don’t exist. I have to get another copy of Fred Cohen’s Blue Note Guide. I left the last one on a plane. This record

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