Reflections From Sonny Rollins, 1965

I must admit, I’m putting a lot of time into my regular gig these days, and not spending too much on eBay. So, this morning, looking for something quick and simple to write, I came upon an old Downbeat from August 26, 1965, with a cover story titled: “The Further Adventures of Sonny Rollins: A revealing conversation with the controversial tenor saxophonist, by Joe Goldberg.”

 

Without doing major analysis, I will offer a couple of revealing quotes: One today and one tomorrow. Here’s today’s:

 

“The average Joe knows just as much as I do – he knows more than I do. I’m the average Joe, and I think people recognize that. That’s why I play standards. Everybody knows Stardust. These guys who play only their own tunes, they can cover up a lot of things, but if you play the melody of Stardust, everybody can tell whether you’re doing it right or not. I’ve called tunes like that to guys who didn’t know them. How can you call yourself a professional musician if you don’t know all those songs?”

A Milestone for Milestones

I can’t pinpoint exactly when this happened, but sometime over the past couple of years it seems the Miles Davis Columbia LPs crossed the $100-barrier for original mono pressings in nice condition. Kind of Blue has gone way beyond that. Here’s a recent copy of Milestones, Columbia 1193. Price: $102.50

 And here’s Round Midnight, Columbia 949. Price: $122.49

 Here’s another we were watching. Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This was an original New York pressing, but it was not in great condition. The seller listed both the record and cover as a cross between VG and VG+. I don’t know this seller, but in most cases, that means closer to VG. Still it went for the hefty sum of $510.

 Here’s one that went for a higher price than usual: Stan Getz Quartets, Prestige 7002. This was in nice condition and was offered by a very reputable dealer. Price: $282

 

Advice to Sellers on Ebay

Jazz Collector Newsletter, July 2005

Welcome to Jazz Collector. We’ve been very good about updating the web site every day, so if you haven’t been visiting, please take a look: There’s been some interesting discussion and we’ve been watching some nice items on eBay. Speaking of eBay, as we often do, we start this newsletter with advice to sellers, which we hope will generate some reader response. We also have our usual assortment of upcoming items, some new LPs in our Price Guides and an all-time favorite music clip.

I was recently talking to a subscriber who is interested in selling his collection on eBay as a retirement business. Here’s the main advice I gave him:

Read more

High Prices for Prestige Jersey Pressings

Greetings. In addition to our regular monthly newsletter, we are sending out occasional email alerts when we post new items in Latest Prices or when we see particularly interesting auctions on eBay or if we happen to visit a new record store. This alert is to let you know that we’ve just posted more than 100 new records in Latest Prices. Among the ones that interested us were copies of Sonny Rollins’ Saxophone Colossus and Tenor Madness that sold in the $300 price range – for New Jersey pressings. Prices seem to keep rising. We’re going to try to post new price listings every other week and we’re now updating the Web site every day with fresh material. Have you been following the eBay debate on Jazzcollector.com? It’s been interesting and we’ll be posting more letters next week. 

More on the Great eBay Debate

Jazz Collector Newsletter, June 2002

 

We have some positive changes coming at Jazz Collector. We’re updating the Jazzcollector.com Web site and starting Monday we’ll be posting new items each weekday. Plus, we’ll be giving away free collectibles from the site periodically. Finally, we’re going to post more articles and commentaries from readers and increase activity on the site’s Forum. The hope is to create a hub for the Jazz Collector community, so please use the site and offer up any suggestions. The site upgrade won’t affect the newsletter, which will still come out once a month. We have more than 800 subscribers now and the roster keeps growing. Obviously, jazz vinyl is alive and well.

Read more

Quiet Kenny and a Few Blue Notes

eBaying

 Missed out on a few interesting items the past few days. In some cases the prices got a little too rich for my blood, in others I forgot to bid. My friend recommends buying Sniper software, which I plan to do today. I’ll let you know how it works out. Anyway, it was a busy weekend on eBay for some high-end collectibles. Here are some examples.

Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225

 This was an original pressing in M- condition, record and cover. Price: $787.

If you watch eBay very closely, your point of view can get distorted. Case in point: Read more

What’s A Signed LP By Frank Sinatra Worth?

Here are the results of some of the items we were watching yesterday on eBay:

 

Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This was an original pressing of this very rare record. The dealer uses different terminology than we use for grading, but it seems like the record was what we would call VG++ and the cover was VG+. Price: $798

 

Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This was an original pressing from the same dealer as the Jackie McLean record. This was in VG++/VG++ condition. It sold for $713. We expected this to go for a higher price. In our Price Guide Read more

Rarities From Lee Morgan, Jackie McLean

Back watching eBay today and we’re pleased to see that the seller JBLD44000 is back with two of the rarest of the rare jazz LPs. We expect both of these to net prices near or above $1,000. We’ll watch and let you know tomorrow: Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1685. This is an original pressing in nice condition. As of the time we posted today the price was $685. Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This is an original pressing in what appears to be decent condition. As of the time we posted today the price was $618.

In addition to these items, this seller has several others closing today, tomorrow and later in the week. Interesting, he sold a copy of the Art Pepper LP Modern Art, Intro 606, for more than $2,000 last week, but it’s up on eBay again for a start price of $1,500. We assume something happened to prevent the other sale from going through. Here are some of the other items we’re watching:

Sonny Rollins Volume 1, Blue Note 1542. This is an original pressing with the Lexington Avenue address on the label. At one point there was a question in our Forums whether this LP was issued with that address. Here’s definitive proof.

Sonny Rollins, Moving Out, Prestige 7058. This is an original pressing with the New York address on the label. It’s not in great shape but, for those who are not sticklers for condition, it’s an opportunity to add a rare record to the collection at, perhaps, a reasonable price. We’ll see: Sometimes even records in not-so-great condition fetch hefty price tags on eBay.

The seller Atomic_records is also back on eBay with some nice items. Take a look at this one and click “View Seller’s Other Items” for a complete list. Donald Byrd at the Half Note, Volume 1, Blue Note 4060Another dealer with some interesting records is sadg. He is selling several later Blue Notes and Prestiges. Check this one out and look at the others. John Patton, Let ‘Em Roll, Blue Note 4239

Finally, the seller bullsite2000 has this item and several others in very nice condition. Take a look: Sonny Rollins Plus Four, Prestige 7038

That’s it for today. See you at Jazzcollector.com tomorrow. — Al

Summer Doldrums?

If it’s Monday, it must be time to check in on the weekend’s activity on eBay. A few high-priced items sold over the past few days, but my general sense is that activity is beginning to slow down for the summer. At the bottom, I’ve listed a few items that failed to meet reserve prices this weekend. In some cases, the reserve prices may have been a bit high, but in others the items were selling for bigger prices just a few weeks ago. We’ll continue to monitor pricing and keep you posted. Anyway, here are some of the items we’ve been watching:

 

Sonny Rollins, Worktime, Prestige 7020.  This was an autographed copy in VG++/M- condition. Price $482

 

Tina Brooks, True Blue, Blue Note 4081, in M-/VG++ condition. Price: $1,625. Of course $1,625 is a high price for any record, but we anticipated this one might break the $2,000 barrier, considering its rarity and the condition.

 

Curtis Fuller Volume 3, Blue Note 1583. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address on the label in VG++/VG++ condition. Price: $401.88

 

Jim Chapin Ensemble featuring Phil Woods, Prestige 213. This was a 10-inch LP in VG+/VG++ condition. Price: $202.49

 

Sonny Rollins, Sonny Boy, Prestige 7207. This was an original yellow-label in M-/VG++ condition. Price: $79.99

 

Sonny Stitt, 37 Minutes and 48 Seconds, Roost 2219.  This was an original pressing in VG+/VG+ condition. As we anticipated, the price was not too high. Price: $39

 

Miles Davis, Steamin’, Prestige 7200. This was an original yellow label in VG++/VG+ condition. Price: $34.33

 

Mal Waldron, Mal-1, Prestige 7090. This was an original yellow label with the New York address in M-/VG++ condition. Price: $274.99

 

The following items all failed to meet their reserve prices:

 

Richie Kamuca Quartet, Mode 102, in VG++/M- condition. High bid: $178.49

 

Horace Parlan, Speakin’ My Piece, Blue Note 4043, in M-/M- condition. High bid: $158.50

 

Gil Melle Quartet Featuring Lou Mecca, Blue Note 5054. This was an original 10-inch LP in M-/M- condition. High bid: $178.50

 

Sabu, Palo Congo, Blue Note 1561. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address in M-/VG++ condition. High bid: $338

 

We’ll spend some time today looking ahead at eBay for the coming week. We’ll post the results tomorrow on Jazzcollector.com. See you then. — Al

Another Day, Another Thousand Records

Another day, another thousand or so records on eBay. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to go through them all and it may as well be me. Here are some of the items we’re watching over the next couple of days: Don Sleet, All Members, Jazzland 45

After you click this item do yourself a favor and click “View Seller’s Other Items.” You will see some great records in great condition that will sell for high prices.

This is another dealer with some good items this week. Art Taylor, Taylor’s Wailers, Prestige 7117

One of these days we will get this record, but not this week. The price tag of $450 is already a little too steep. Read more

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