Tag: Sonny Rollins

Jazz For A Friday Afternoon: Miles, Cannon, Newk

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Here’s a few more jazz vinyl items we’ve been watching or are watching on eBay, starting with: Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, Columbia 1355. This one is listed as sealed, although it seems it is not the outside cover that is sealed but the inner plastic sleeve. If that is the case, it is pretty cool, better than the cover being sealed because you can actually see the label and the record. The cover is listed in VG++ condition and the record, of course, is listed in mint, unplayed condition. There are a couple of days left and the bidding has topped $300. Seller also took a nice, clear picture, which always helps to secure a top price.

Speaking of Miles, this one got a nice price: Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else, Blue Note 1595. I say speaking of Miles, because after all of these years I still tend to think of this as more of a Miles record, than a Cannonball record. It’s got much more of the Miles vibe than the Cannon vibe. This one was in M- condition for both the record and the cover and it sold for $1,475.

One more Blue Note while we’re at it:

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Gary Bartz, John Coltrane, Jazz At Lincoln Center

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So the other day I’m sitting home working and I get a forwarded email from The Lovely Mrs. JC about a John Coltrane Festival taking place in New York between October 18 and November 3 and on that very night there will be something called a “listening party” with the saxophonist Gary Bartz and it is free and it is three subway stops away at Jazz At Lincoln Center at Columbus Circle. So I do a quick search on the Internet and it turns out that Bartz has a new album out called “Coltrane Rules: Tales of a Music Warrior,” and at this listening party he will discuss the album and play some tracks. Now I am a big fan of Gary Bartz, ever since I saw him three nights running at Bradley’s down on University Place at least 20 years ago and was blow away by his sensitive, passionate and inventive playing, the closest thing on alto to Sonny Rollins. So, I went down to Jazz at Lincoln Center and I went to the listening party and it was terrific. There were maybe 30 people in the place, a small studio with folding chairs, and at the front there were Bartz sitting on a chair with Read more

Sonny Rollins: “Jazz is a Meritocracy”

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Somebody sent me this interview of Sonny Rollins by Dave Pehling that came out today in SF Weekly. I will skip the intro, figuring anyone here knows enough about Sonny’s history, and go straight to the interview, in which Sonny is quite open and thoughtful

Q: You initially played piano and alto saxophone before settling on tenor, but from what I gather, that was because an alto horn just ended up in your household?

Sonny: No, my mother bought me an alto. I was an aficionado of the rhythm and blues band of Louis Jordan, and he played alto. He played tenor too, but mainly he played alto. So at that time I just wanted a saxophone, and it didn’t really matter until a few years later when Coleman Hawkins’s “Body and Soul” was the big sensation. Then I wanted to play like Coleman Hawkins. I wanted to get that tenor sound.

Q: Had you played piano much before you got your first horn?

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Various Vinyl Odds and Ends

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Haven’t been on eBay in a few days. Here are the results of some of the jazz vinyl auctions we missed:

John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic 1311. This was an original black label pressing. It was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $510. It’s nice posting Giant Steps every once in a while so I can put a picture with the post and just take a look at it again — inspiring me to put the record on the turntable.

Perhaps I owe CeeDee an apology for this one: Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams, Out of this World, Warwick 2041. This was an original pressing in what looked to be VG+ condition for the vinyl and probably VG+ or VG++ for the cover. It sold for $159.99, higher than I would have expected. CeeDee and I made a trade involving this record and Dexter Calling a few months ago and at some point I may have made some kind of disparaging remark about the Byrd/Adams record. No doubt, it had more to do with the quality of the recording than the quality of the music. My copy just sounded very dull and flat, particularly compared to a Blue Note pressing from the same era.

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Catching Up on Jazz Vinyl Auctions

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Here’s an update on some of the jazz vinyl we were watching last week, and a few that we’re watching this week:

Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This was an original pressing. The record was listed in VG+ condition and the cover was VG. The price was $1,025.

Sonny Rollins, Volume 1, Blue Note 1542. This was not an original pressing, but was an early pressing with the West 63rd Street address. The record was in M- condition and the cover was lasted at VG+. It sold for $251.39.

Grant Green, Idle Moments, Blue Note 4154. This was an original pressing that was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. The seller was bobdjukic and it was only listed as “rare” not “insanely rare.” No matter. It still got top dollar: $570.

And here are a few we’re watching for this week:

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Another Batch of Blue Notes For Your Perusal

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We’ve got a bunch of Blue Notes on our watch list. Here are a few:

These closed yesterday: Sabu, Palo Congo, Blue Note 1561. I must admit, this is one I’ve never owned in any form, so 1561 has always been a blank in my Blue Note Collection. How is this record? Is it worth a listen? This one was in VG++ condition for the record and VG for the cover. It sold for $811. This one didn’t look quite right to me: Sonny Rollins, Volume 1, Blue Note 1542. It was listed as an original pressing, although it was a West 63rd Street pressing, so it wasn’t quite an original as we define it here. And it looked like the wrong cover for an original. The start price was about $300 and there were no bidders, which seems appropriate.

This one also has no bids and is closing in just a few hours: Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights Volume 2, Blue Note 1597. This is an original pressing with the Andy Warhol cover. The record is listed in VG condition with “quite a few surface scratches.” The cover is listed as VG++. The start price is around $200, which is pretty tempting if the cover is, indeed, really VG++.

Here’s another temptation:

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A Few For the $1,000 (And More) Bin

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Here are the results of some of this week’s jazz vinyl auctions from the Jazz Record Center:

Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This was a New York pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $2,483. I have to admit, I just got a copy in similar condition from the Irving Kalus collection, which I am happy to be keeping. Also from Sonny: Sonny Rollins Volume 2, Blue Note 1558. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing that also looks to be in M- condition. The price was $780.

Wow, did you see what the Mobley sold for? You will now: Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing also in M- condition for the record and cover. It sold for $3,728.90.

Another Wow: Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights Volume 2, Blue Note 1597. This was an original pressing and it has the Andy Warhol cover. It was a review copy in M- condition. It sold for $2,728.90. Volume 1 sold for $1,350.

I’ll be reviewing some more of the results from this auction in another post. There was a lot to take in.

 

 

Watching Rare Jazz Vinyl In Tip-Top Condition

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We’re watching the latest auction of jazz vinyl from the Jazz Record Center, which closes in a few days. Here are some of the highlights:

Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This is an original New York pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. This one is in the $900 range. I am happy to say, I recently purchased a near mint New York copy of Colossus in the Irving Kalus collection, which I will be writing about as soon as I get a chance.

Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550. This is an original pressing in beautiful M- condition for both the record and the cover. This price is already more than $1,800 and at the rate it is going you would expect that it may even top $3,000.

Kenny Burrell, Blue Notes Volume 1, Blue Note 1596. This is an original pressing and of course it has the Andy Warhol cover. This one is also in beautiful condition and is currently at $500. I’d expect this do break into the $1,000 bin, wouldn’t you?

A couple more:

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Jazz Vinyl: Zoot, Newks and More

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Let’s catch up on the results of the latest jazz vinyl auction from the Jazz Record Center. I follow their auctions closely because, to me, they are the most reputable of all dealers and, therefore, I see their auctions as fully reflective of market realities, no hype.

Zoot Sims, Down Home, Bethlehem 6051. This was an original red-label pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $510. I recently picked up my first copy of this record and listened to it the other day. Quite nice: Great Zoot and nice to hear early Dave McKenna. The copy  I purchased is in M- condition for the vinyl and VG+ for the cover. Very pleased.

Sonny Rollins, The Sound of Sonny, Riverside 241. This was an original white label pressing in what looked to be M- condition for both the record and the cover. The price was $426. This one went for a little more than usual: Sonny Rollins, Sonny Boy, Prestige 7207. The record looked to be M- and the cover was probably VG++, with a couple of minor blemishes. It sold for $170.39.

Grachan Moncur III, Evolution, Blue Note 4153. This was an original New York USA pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $688.90. Wow.

Lee Konitz, Tranquility, Verve 8281. This was an original pressing with the trumpeter logo. It was in M- condition for the vinyl and probably VG++ for the cover. It sold for $111.87.

 

Catching Up On Some Rare Jazz Vinyl

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Here’s an update on some jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay:

Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. Interesting, isn’t it, that we’re no longer surprised when VG+ records sell for more than $1,000. This one fetched a price of $1,009. Interesting to look at the cover of this record, given most of the covers that Blue Note was producing at the time, usually featuring some kind of picture of the artist. Simple graphic of a red suitcase and not sure what that has to do with Peckin’ Time or Mobley. There are also no pictures on the back cover. A little bit strange, no? I wonder if there is a story behind the cover?

Here’s another one that broke into the $1,000 bin: Freddie Hubbard, Open Sesame, Blue Note 4040. This looked to be an original pressing, although the seller put in the wrong catalog number. It was listed in VG++ condition for the vinyl and Ex for the cover, which I still take to mean around VG+, although it could be better. This one sold for the same price as the other, $1,009.

I seem to be a bit focused on $1,000 Blue Notes today. Here’s another:

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