Tag: Sonny Rollins

Vinyl Classics From Riverside and Prestige

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Let’s look at the Jazz Collector watchlist on eBay for an update, starting with Bill Evans, New Jazz Conceptions, Riverside 223. This is an original white label pressing. The record is in VG condition and the cover is also VG. The bidding is in the $294 range with two days left on the auction. As of now there have been 12 bidders and 46 bids. Such a great cover – you wonder what Riverside was thinking when they replace it for the second pressing. The seller for this one is Carolina Soul, which often has nice jazz vinyl on eBay, this week being no exception. Here’s one more: Curtis Fuller, New Trombone, Prestige 7107. This is an original yellow label pressing with the New York address. The record is in VG+ condition and the cover is VG. The bidding is in the $60 range with two days left. The seller mentions a “slight storage warp,” on both of these records, so that may be effecting the bidding, particularly on the Fuller. But , looking closer at the Fuller, the real gating factor is probably the huge writing in black marker on the back cover. When I first started buying jazz records, it was always about the music, but when I became a “collector” my values changed, perhaps not for the better, and the condition of the cover became almost-but-not-quite-as-important as the music. I imagine I am not the only one here was a similar experience. Read more

Sonny Rollins on Art

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Imagine my pleasant surprise, just a few seconds ago, reading The New York Times over a cup of coffee, wading through the distressing news about politics, coronavirus, voter suppression, et al, and then seeing headline “Art Never Dies” and the name “Sonny Rollins.” This is the first essay in a new series called “The Big Ideas: Why Does Art Matter.” It was written by Sonny as told to Ian Carlino. I love the piece and I love the simplicity of the byline, which is simply: “Mr. Rollins is a musician.” I would never normally just reprint an article from another publication, but I realize many of you may not have subscriptions to The Times and this is deserving for everyone here to read, so, if The Times wants to send a cease and desist for Jazz Collector’s 1,000 daily page views, be my guest. Also, the picture is not from the article, just something I chose from the many images available in the public domain. Read more

What Sides Are On Your Turntables?

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What’s everyone listening to in isolation? I can tell you what I’m doing. First off, I’m listening to my records more frequently than I have in a while. I guess being locked down with nowhere to go can be inspirational in that sense. I frequently go to records that I’ve loved but haven’t listened to in a while, or at least records that I haven’t listened to mindfully. Records, versus CDs or streams or anything digital, have sides. l still put on my “go to” sides for a lot of the records, listen to that side, and then move on to another record. Even with the infamous Shades of Redd my temptation was to just listen to Side One, which was my original preference. But, after all of the hoopla I made through the years about finding that record, I would have felt guilty not listening carefully to both sides and was pleased to have done so. Side Two is awesome, the equal of Side One. Read more

Rare Vinyl, eBay Complaints: An Email Grab Bag

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Somebody sent me this link: Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This was an original New York yellow label in nice condition, VG++ for both the record and the cover. It sold for $2,028. Not sure why this particular link was sent to me, but I figured I’d share it nonetheless. Nothing seems out of whack to me, in terms of the eventual price or the provenance of the record as an original pressing. Maybe someone else can find something. You have all been more observant than I have been lately, it seems. Perhaps too many distractions at my end. Maybe I should just retire from work and devote myself full-time to Jazz Collector. 🙂

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Original Blue Notes? $1.57 Each? I’m a Dreamer, Aren’t We All?

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Back on eBay. This seller has a lot of nice records closing today, including: Paul Chambers, Whims of Chambers, Blue Note 1534. This is a West 63rd Street second pressing that looks to be in VG++ condition for the record and probably VG+ for the cover. The bidding is in the $465 range, fairly steep for a non-first pressing. One of the things that caught my eye was the shrink wrap still on the cover. A first pressing wouldn’t have had the shrink, but what struck me was the sticker on the shrink, which said “SPECIAL PRICE $1.57.” Imagine being able to buy this for $1.57. On further examination, the seller has a bunch of other original pressings with the same SPECIAL PRICE $1.57 sticker, including Dexter Gordon. A Swingin’ Affair, Blue Note 4133; Duke Pearson, Wahoo!, Blue Note 4191; and Donald Byrd, A New Perspective, Blue Note 4124, among others. I have a dream where I go back in time and walk into a record store and all of these records are sitting there at $1.57, sealed, and I buy them all, every last one. Read more

Random Musings on Random Jazz Vinyl

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Here are some more random jazz records we are watching this week on eBay, starting with Steve Lacy, Soprano Sax, Prestige 7125. This is an original yellow label pressing with the New York address. The record looks to be in VG++ condition and the cover also looks like it is VG++. The start price is in the $100 range and, so far, there are no bids. I’ve never heard this record, nor have I ever owned it, but I would like to. A copy recently sold for around $480, which would be out of my comfort zone anyway, even if I were inclined to buy on eBay. Read more

Cool Struttin’ With Some Bop and Blues

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We mentioned the passing of Jack Sheldon last week and now someone in the Jazz Collector world will get to honor him by purchasing one of his rarer and most highly sought LPs, specifically The Jack Sheldon Quartet, Get of Out Town, Jazz:West LP 1. This is a 10-inch record listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover, although the picture looks more like VG to these eyes. There are 13 bids and the price is in the $170 range with less than a day left on the auction. We’ve written about this record once before, back in 2018, when a copy in worse condition than this one – with a G cover – sold for $450. At the time, we had never seen a 10-inch Jazz:West LP and, to be fair, we’ve still never seen one live, only on eBay. I just checked Popsike, and $450 was the top price for this LP, matched almost exactly a year ago by a nearly mint copy. Read more

New Year’s Vinyl, One More Time

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I’m clearing out whatever backlog I have in my watch list, so I can start the year fresh.This one is from back in November: Dave Burns, Vanguard 9111. This was an original mono, promo record with deep grooves and  white label. The record and cover were both listed in M- condition. The final price was $166. I’m not exactly sure why I was watching this or even saved it for so long, but I can guess that I was wondering how much longer an album like this can remain of interest to collectors? Vanguard was not a premium label and Burns was not a premium artist, although he always accorded himself well on recordings and in live performances, when I had the rare opportunity to see him play. There still seems to be demand for his two original Vanguard LPs, based on Popsike results, so I guess part of the question answers itself: Yes, there is still demand. For how long? Anyone’s guess. Read more

How Do You Listen?

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Lots of philosophical/existential comments on the previous post, which we all love, or at least some of us, or at least me.  I have another one: What do you actually listen to and how do you listen? For myself, I have two primary listening modes. One is really listening, which is sitting down with no other distractions, no devices, no cell phones, no iPads, no books or magazines, putting a record on the turntable, actively listening and concentrating solely on the music. When I do this, vinyl is the only choice and I would say, at this stage of my life, I don’t do this as often as I would like and, when I do, my choices are typically records that I already know and music I am familiar with. I can’t tell you exactly why, but I think it is because I don’t do this frequently enough and, when I do listen to my favorite records, it feels like I am reuniting with old friends, and it’s a great feeling. The other night, for example, I had about three hours I was able to devote to listening, which was a somewhat extraordinary event. I didn’t put a single record on the turntable that wasn’t an old friend. I started with Clifford Brown and Max Roach at Basin Street; moved on the Sonny Rollins Plus Four; Roland Kirk, Volunteered Slavery, the live side at Newport; Thelonious Monk, Criss-Cross; Dave Brubeck plays Bernstein, the West Side story side; then I was in the mood for a vocal, so I went with Ray Charles and Betty Carter. It was a lovely way to spend an evening and, after doing so, I vowed to myself to do it more often. Read more

Jazz Vinyl, Highs, Lows and In-Betweens

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Let’s clear out some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been tracking on our eBay watch list, starting with a few from the Jazz Record Center auction that ended earlier this week, including Curtis Fuller, Bone and Bari, Blue Note 1572. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing that looked to be in M- (or close) condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $1,136. I thought that might be approaching a high point for this record, but it’s not even close. According to Popsike, the top price for this record was $2,550, and there have been at least four other copies that have sold for more than $1,500. It is possible to think that the buyer got a “bargain” at $1,136?

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