I’ll be off line for the next week so I won’t be able to post. Not that it will be any different than a normal period between posts, but this time my absence will at least be planned. Everything’s fine. Just enjoying a little holiday. In the meantime, I will leave you with a large batch of records to watch so you can all comment to your heart’s content. Let’s start with one of the records that would still be on my want list, if, indeed, I had a want list: Sonny Rollins Plays, Period 1204. This looks to be an original deep groove pressing listed in M- condition for the record and EX+ for the cover. Bidding is in the $200 range with almost three days left on the auction. I have no idea how this record has eluded me all these years, but it has. Read more
Tag: Sonny Rollins
Booking
Sorry, yet again, for the long gap between posts. Been very busy around here. Plus, my computer crashed for a few days. Very disconcerting, when you are wondering whether you are going to be able to recover all of your files and settings, which I was able to do, fortunately, with tremendous online support from Apple. Now that we’re safely back in action, let’s catch up on some of the stuff we were watching on eBay before we were so rudely interrupted, starting with Booker Ervin, Groovin’ High, Prestige 7147. This was an original blue label mono pressing that was part of the Jazz Record Center auction we were watching. The record and cover looked to be in M- condition and the final price was $360, which was a new high for this record, according to Popsike. I am somewhat surprised to see the demand for these blue label Prestiges to have increased so much in the past few years, but I am also pleased to see it for a player like Booker Ervin, who, in my view, is quite underrated and always produced some very nice records. Read more
What Really Went on in the Van Gelder Studio?
Speaking of playing favorites, the other night I had a little time to do some mindful listening, so I put on one of my all-timers, Sonny Rollins Plus Four, Prestige 7038, original pressing, original cover, as seen in the accompanying photo. As I’m listening, I’m picturing the musicians in Van Gelder’s studio playing live, looking at one another and giving signals and approvals, all young men in their primes discovering what they were capable of doing and, on this album, doing it as well as anyone ever did it. Then I put on a record I haven’t listened to nearly as often as Sonny Rollins Plus Four, which was Newk’s Time, Blue Note 4001, and I had the same picture in my head with the four musicians on that album, Sonny, Wynton Kelly, Doug Watkins and Philly Joe Jones. And then my mind started wandering and this is what I thought. Read more
Playing Favorites
No sooner did I empty the Jazz Collector eBay watch list did I fill it up again, starting with two of my all-time favorite records from the same seller: Sonny Rollins, Tenor Madness, Prestige 7047. This is an original New York yellow label listed in M- condition for the record and probably VG+ for the cover, based on the description and the pictures. Maybe VG for the cover. I know the seller and he is very reputable. The auction closes in about three days and the start price is about $450 with no bidders yet. Another of my favorites from this seller Benny Golson Sextet, The Modern Touch, Riverside 256. This looks to be an original pressing with the blue label and small logo. The record and cover are both in M- condition. This one also closes in about three days, with a start price of about $250 and no bidders . . . yet. Both of these records will sell, if not to anyone else then perhaps to me. Yes, I have copies. But the M- Golson is a strong upgrade for one of my top records. Love the arrangements and all the playing, especially an impeccable Kenny Dorham. Read more
How Many Original Copies of Rare Jazz Vinyl Have Survived (and Other Existential Questions)
Let’s check out the Jazz Collector watch list on eBay, starting with Introducing Lee Morgan, Savoy 12091. This is not an original pressing. It has the maroon label with no deep grooves. I was fooled at first because the label looks red in the pictures, but the seller is very clear about what it is. Also, it’s not an original Savoy cover, with the white frame. It is in nice condition, graded M- for the record and near mint for the cover. The auction closes today and the bidding is in the $400 range. Read more
Worktime for Jazz Vinyl
Here’s another one of those cool original UK Esquire issues of a U.S. Prestige: Sonny Rollins Quartet, Worktime, Esquire 32-038. This is an original pressing that looks to be in VG++ condition for the cover and VG+ condition for the record. The bidding starts at $400 and so far there are no bidders with more than four days left on the auction. I kind of love this cover, but in looking at it closely, does it make sense? Doesn’t look like work time for Sonny, more like nap time. Or maybe it’s time to wake up and get to work. In any case, trying to look too deeply into covers is often a fruitless exercise, beauty being in the eye of the beholder and, to these eyes at least, this one is a beauty. Read more
Rare Jazz Vinyl, Sonny Rollins, MOMA, Me & Bob Porter
I just logged in to my eBay watch list and the first three items were recent sales from the seller 1molecularrman. Prices seemed really high to me, so perhaps he has a great reputation, or a magic touch, or maybe he is just bobdjukic incognito. Anyway, these were the records: Thelonious Monk/Sonny Rollins, Prestige 7075. This was an original New York yellow label. The record was listed in VG++ condition and the cover was VG+. The final price was $1,375. Based on a quick look over at Popsike, that is the highest price ever recorded for this record. And, to note, neither the record nor the cover was in near mint condition. Read more
Happy Birthday, Sonny Rollins
Yesterday was Sonny Rollins’ birthday. 92.
The first time I saw Sonny play was in 1972. He was coming off one of his intermittent hiatuses. He was doing a week at the Village Vanguard. The first night, Tuesday, it was pouring rain. Dan and I waited on 7th Avenue. We had no idea what Sonny would sound like on his return. One of us said that we hoped he was playing more straight-ahead, not too outside like Pharoah Sanders or Arche Shepp. The guy in front of us turned around and gave us a look, half smile, half sneer. It was, of course, Pharoah Sanders. He was just one of many famous musicians in the audience that night, all to witness the return of Sonny. It was triumphant, as you would have expected. Albert Dailey on piano, Larry Ridley on bass, Dave Lee on drums. Lots of straight-ahead music. St. Thomas, It’s Easy to Remember, A Nightingale Sale in Berkeley Square, some blues. Maybe Green Dolphin Street? I don’t remember everything, but I remember the energy in the Vanguard, and it was explosive. One standing ovation after another. My recollection is that Dan and I went back every night during that gig, and every night for the next gig that followed just a few weeks later. Read more
Starting Points for Rare Jazz Vinyl
I haven’t been watching eBay as diligently during the summer as I normally do, and I haven’t actually sold anything on eBay in more than a dozen years, so this observation may be dated, but . . . . is it just me, or are sellers consistently putting a higher start price on their auctions of rare jazz vinyl? I was just updating my watch list and flagged several titles that had high starting prices and no bidders. At first I assumed it was all from a single seller. But when I opened up the listings, they were all from different sellers. Here are some of those records, starting with Mal Waldron, Left Alone, Bethlehem 6045. This was an original red label pressing. If you can read through the seller’s tome and ‘tude, eventually you can find the condition of the record, which was listed as NM-. The cover was described as “pretty nice-very nice” and the picture shows a pretty clean front cover, with wear on the top and some old tape on the back. To me, pretty nice-very nice translates to VG+. The bidding start at $800 and so far there are no takers. Read more
Updates
The seller of the U.K. Esquires we were watching did all right. I guess the buyers did too. Miles Davis, Miles His New Quintet, Esquire 32-201. This was in M- condition for the record and Ex for the cover. When we wrote about it, the bidding was in the $55 range. It sold for $533.99. I find myself siding with Maarten on this one. I like the cover design. It is an artwork, at least to my eyes. In fact, I tend to like the cover designs on most of the Esquire Prestige releases. Case in point: Elmo Hope, Informal Jazz, Esquire 32-039. This one was listed in Ex+ condition for the record and cover. It was also in the $55 range when we posted. It sold for $338. Even this cover has a simplicity that is appealing, although they probably could’ve put a little more effort and oomph into it, Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Esquire, 32-045, particularly considering that they had two years to work on it after the U.S. release. This was listed in Ex+ condition for the record and Ex for the cover, with a partial seam split on the top. It sold for $356.12. Read more
April is Jazz Month
