Tag: Sonny Rollins

Sonny Live and Well: Better Late Than Never

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We’re doing some housekeeping here at Jazz Collector and in cleaning out email we discovered some interesting items that our friend Don-Lucky sent to us all the way back in December. Don-Lucky drove down from Canada to see Sonny Rollins in Tarrytown and what follows are some souvenirs from his trip, which he graciously shared with us and which we in inadvertently put into a hold file and ignored for lo these many months. This first item is a New York pressing, by the way:

Next up are some photos that are a bit more current:

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Watching eBay: Blue Train, Sonny Plus Four

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Here are some records we’re watching now on eBay:

The same seller that has the copy of Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568 with a start price of almost $3,000 also has this: John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing and it is listed in VG++ condition. The start price is about $900. It’s interesting to watch this and the Mobley because the seller obviously decided to go with a high start price rather than put the record up with a reserve price. I actually prefer it this way as a buyer, but as a seller I’m not sure which is the best way to get people to bid.

I’m watching this one because it’s mine: Sonny Rollins Plus Four, Prestige 7038. This one is a New York pressing with a New York cover. The cover is not the kakubushi frame, but it’s hard not to consider this an original pressing with both

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Jazz Vinyl Countdown: Sonny 10-Inch Prestige

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How do you place a value on an album like this: Sonny Rollins Quartet, Prestige 137? Here’s my story: I purchased a copy of this record about 25 years ago as part of a large collection. It is quite, quite rare, Sonny is one of my favorite artists and it has this great cover picture of him from the early 1950s with slicked-back hair and a wisp of a mustache. A real beauty, right? However, the copy I owned was in pretty poor shape and a few years ago I picked up a near mint copy on eBay for $200. Actually, it was advertised as near mint and it’s not near mint, but that’s another story. So I’ve been sitting with two copies of this record, one in poor shape, and as I’ve been trying to weed doubles out of my collection, I’ve put this one aside and avoided making a decision. For some reason, this week

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More Blue Note Favorites, Courtesy of Downbeat

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I did that post earlier today and mentioned that Downbeat had done a whole feature asking various artists about their favorite Blue Note records. I was able to dig up my copy of the magazine — I don’t have a subscription anymore, but I had purchased this one on the newsstand because of the cover. It was from March of 2009. The cover, as you can see, has Joe Lovano with his favorite Blue Note: Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, Free For All, Blue Note 4170. It’s quite gratifying to see his picture with a vinyl pressing, and a mono vinyl pressing at that and perhaps even an original mono pressing. Inside, the magazine asked a variety of other jazz artists to name their favorite Blue Notes as well. Here are their replies:

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Catching Up: Walter Davis on UA, Jackie, Sonny

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Here are a few items we’ve been watching on eBay. Given our recent interest in later pressings, particularly Blue Notes, we were curious about this record: Walter Davis, Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. An original pressing of this would normally sell for more than $1,000, and we’ve recorded one instance of this record fetching $2,000 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. This record was not of that distinctive lineage: This was a United Artists pressing, similar, unfortunately, to the one in my collection. It sold for $34, which seems about right, unless you’re the seller bobdjukik and can somehow sell it for $400 or more.

This was from the same seller, but it was an original: Jackie McLean, Swing, Swang, Swingin’, Blue Note 4024. This one was in VG+ condition for the vinyl and VG or VG+ for the cover. The price was $273.60.

Here’s one of my favorite Sonny Rollins records, at a reasonable price:

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Are Later Pressings on The Rise?

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I’m still gathering my thoughts to write the final chapter in my Confessions of a Vinyl Addict but in the meantime, I’ve noticed something interesting: For many of the rare records, it seems even early pressings that are not originals are increasing dramatically in value. We saw a few week ago several of the United Artists Blue Notes selling for more than $400, but those were clearly an aberration created by a seller who seems to have discovered some kind of new method of record sales based on the P.T. Barnum theory of a sucker being born every minute. We’re not talking about those $400 United Artists Blue Notes. But here’s one we were watching this week that was clearly not an original pressing: Sonny Rollins, A Night At the Village Vanguard, Blue Note 1581. This one has the New York USA label, so Read more

On eBay Now: Duke, Fuller, Newk

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In addition to having an occasional existential crisis, I have also been putting some interesting items on eBay that are worth watching. Here are a couple:

The Complete Capitol Recordings of Duke Ellington, Mosaic MD 5-160. I got this a dozen years ago and never even opened it, so I figured it might be time to sell it. The CDs are unopened and the price is close to $100. Also: The Complete Blue Note/UA Curtis Fuller Sessions, Mosaic MD3-166. Similar situation as the Duke, with the CDs unopened. This one is currently at $50, but I’m hoping it goes for a lot more.

I had this one hanging in a frame above my desk: Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This is an original New York pressing. It is

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Updates: $1,000 Bin, Dizzy, Sonny, Trane

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Still updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide. It can be a bit tedious, but it’s important, isn’t it? Let’s hope so. Anyway, here are a few items on the extremes: A couple more for the $1,000 bin and a few that normally don’t make the Price Guide but, for one reason or another, have broken through.

First the big ones: Walter Davis, Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. This was an original pressing and it was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,300. Also, Paul Chambers Quintet, Blue Note 1564. This was an original pressing. The record and cover looked to be in VG+ or VG++ condition. The price was $1,032.

Here are a couple that don’t often get collectible prices: Dizzy Gillespie, Afro, Norgran 1003. This was an original yellow label pressing with a cover design by David Stone Martin. It was only in VG condition and sold for $72. That may not be a Blue Note price, but it is still somewhat surprising. Few of the Dizzy record

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Some Top LPs That Didn’t Sell

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We usually keep track of records that sell on eBay. Here are a few records that did not sell. Why? Because they did not meet the seller’s reserve price. We will probably see these records back on eBay either with a lower reserve or no reserve at all. I know many of you refuse to bid on records that have a reserve, but I’m open: If I bid my price and it doesn’t meet the seller’s reserve, so be it. Actually, I do get a bit angry, truth be told, and I am circumspect of that seller in the future. So maybe I’m not as open as I would like to be.

This first one is a record we’ve been watching quite a bit lately: Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This was a New York pressing. It wasn’t pristine. The vinyl was described as having a few marks and the cover was noted as having a small tape repair. The top bid was $1,554, which was below the reserve price.

Here’s another Prestige: Curtis Fuller, New Trombone, Prestige 7107. This was an original New York pressing. The record was

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A Couple of New Ones For The Price Guide

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Here are a few items that don’t normally make the Jazz Collector Price Guide:

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:

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