Theme: Jazz instrumental and vocal versions of songs written by Frank Loesser. Featured artists include Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Red Garland, Philly Joe Jones, Paul Chambers, Bill Evans, Eddie Costa, Charles Rouse, Julius Watkins, Gildo Mahones, Teddy Charles, Phil Woods, Bob Brookmeyer, Zoot Sims, Herb Geller, Gene Quill, Hal McKusick, Al Cohn, Ray Charles, Betty Carter, Sammy Davis Jr., Carmen McRae, Hoagy Carmichael, Art Pepper, Rosemary Clooney, Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache, and many more.

Here are a few we’re watching now: The Dual Role of Bob Brookmeyer, Prestige 7066. I’m trying to see if there’s something wrong with this one. It looks like an original New York yellow label pressing and it seems to be in pretty nice shape, at least VG+ for both the record and the cover. The auction closes tomorrow and the bidding is only at $30, which seems kind of low for an original Prestige in the early part of the 7000 series. Is there so little interest in Brookmeyer? I mean, Moondog Prestige  records sell for a lot more than Brookmeyer records, it seems.

Dexter Gordon, Go, Blue Note 4112. This is an original New York USA pressing, featuring Sonny Clark on piano, which always adds to the value of a record. This one is in M- condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. The bidding is in the $275 range, but it still hasn’t met the seller’s reserve price.

A few others from the Jazz Record Center:

Kenny Dorham Quintet, Debut 9. This is an original 10-inch pressing, also from the collection of Thomas Stewart. The record is in M- condition and the cover looks to be VG++, with similar writing as the Red Mitchell record. The start price for this one is $150.

The Amazing Bud Powell, Blue Note 5003. This is another original 10-inch pressing from the Thomas Stewart collection. The record is in M- condition and the cover is probably VG++. The start price is $100.

First one of the heavyweights: Lee Morgan, Indeed, Blue Note 1538. As noted this was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. This one looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover and was described by the seller as “museum quality,” which is an interesting term we don’t see very often. We predicted that this one would make the $2,000 bin and speculated that it would perhaps even hit the $3,000 bin. It sold for $2,450.

Another really nice one that fetched top dollar: Lou Donaldson, Lou Takes Off, Blue Note 1591. This was also an original pressing, also in M- condition for the record and the cover, also described as a “museum copy.” It sold for $766.99, which is the top price we’ve seen for this one in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

I’ve never seen this cover on this record:

After Hours With the Prestige Jazz All Stars, Prestige 7118. This is clearly a second press, with the New Jersey address on the label rather than New York. It was described as an original pressing in VG+ condition. It sold for $78.70.

If I were buying these days, I would have bid on this: Bob Brookmeyer Plays Bob Brookmeyer, Clef 644. Not that I am a huge Brookmeyer fan, although I do like him, but it’s an original Clef with a great cover by David Stone Martin, and I do value those. This one was in VG+ condition and sold for just $46, so I might have even won it.

Blue Mitchell, Blue Soul, Riverside 309. This was one of the ones from the recent bobdjukic auction. It was listed in VG++ condition for both the vinyl and the cover and it looked to be an original deep groove, blue label pressing. It sold for $275. One of the reasons I was watching this is that I just bought another small collection and a nice original mint copy of this record was in the batch. There were also a few original Blue Notes so, if I ever get back to selling records on eBay, I’ll have some nice items to start with . . . . or if I have Jazz Collector readers come to the house, as previously proposed.

Harry Carney With Strings, Clef 640. This looked to be an original pressing, although there was no picture of the label, with a beautiful cover illustration by David Stone Martin. It was listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover and sold for $110.50. You have to wonder how much longer there will be a market for Harry Carney LPs. Case in point: The Astaire Story. This was the original Mercury boxed set in beautiful condition, signed by Astaire, with the Stone Martin illustrations and the exclusive photos. In M- condition, this would have sold for somewhere in the range of $2,000 just a few years ago. Now, the seller had a start price of $800 and there were no bidders.

Bill Perkins, Just Friends, Pacific Jazz 401. This was an original pressing, featuring Art Pepper and Richie Kamuca. The record looked to be M- and the cover was VG+. The price was $113.50.

Zoot Sims and Bob Brookmeyer, Whooeeee, Storyville 914. This was an original pressing that was listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $170.27.

The Blue Notes continue to be getting top dollar, but there seems to be a drop-off in prices in the middle of the market, records that would normally sell in the $30-$150 range. I’ve noticed it with my own sales on eBay and I was talking with Steve at Round Again Records in Providence yesterday and he said he believes the market has fallen off by as much as 40 percent in the past couple of years. I was thinking about that when I looked at some of the records I’ve been watching on eBay that failed to get bids, despite what seemed to be reasonable starting prices. Here are a few:

Kenny Drew and his Progressive Piano, Norgran 1066. This was an original pressing from a reputable seller. The record was in nice condition, M-/VG++ and the cover seemed nice as well with a partial seam split. The start price was $74.99 and there were no bidders. The picture accompanying the listing wasn’t great and perhaps that dampened the enthusiasm.

Ken McIntyre, Looking Ahead, New Jazz 8247. This was an original pressing with the purple labels and the deep grooves. The record and cover were in VG+ condition and the start price was $99.99. This record, which prominently features Eric

Dolphy, musically and on the cover as well, would have fetched that price, or more, in the past, but not this week. In fact, if you look at the listing this record was only viewed 16 times. Quite unusual.

We’ve seen this one fail to sell at two price points, much to our surprise both times: The Dual Role of Bob Brookmeyer, Prestige 7066. This is an original New York yellow label pressing and it is listed in M- condition for both the vinyl and the cover. The first time we watched this it failed to get a bid at $99 now and another seller has listed it and failed to get any action at $79.90. The second time around it got six views. How is that possible, only six views? Actually, I have a theory about that. Stay tuned for our next post.

Phil Woods, Woodlore, Prestige 7018. I had a vigorous internal debate about putting this one on Jazz Collector, since I wouldn’t mind it myself.  It’s an original New York pressing and it’s in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The seller is quite reliable, from my experience. This one closes tomorrow and is still less than $40. As for my vigorous internal debate, obviously here it is on the site. I decided to not show the picture. Small compromise, no?

This seller has a whole batch of items, including: The Dual Role of Bob Brookmeyer, Prestige 7066. This is an original New York yellow label pressing and the item is listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It closes in two days, the start price is $99 and so far there are no bidders. Check out the seller’s other items as well. There are a few in this category, starting price of about $100 and no bids.

Here’s another nice one:

John Coltrane (et al), Wheelin’ and Dealin’, Prestige 7131. This is an original New York yellow label. The record is listed in M- condition and the cover is VG+. The price is $90 and there are a couple of days left. I used the “et al” in the description because Coltrane is not really the leader on the date. It is one of those Prestige all-star sessions with three horn players, also including Frank Wess and Paul Quinichette. I have always filed this record with my Coltrane records and I would wager almost everyone out there who owns this record has done the same thing. Right?

Lou Donaldson, Sonny Side Up, Blue Note 4036. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record and cover were both in VG+ condition. The price was $246.

Beverly Kenney, Born To Be Blue, Decca 8850. This was an original pressing. The record was VG+ and the cover was VG. The price was $202.49.

Lorez Alexandria, Sings Pres, King 565. This was an original pressing in VG++ condition, record and cover. The price was $167.50.

Mal Waldron, Mal1, Prestige 7090. This was an original New York pressing. The record

was VG++ and the cover was VG+. The price was $329.99.

Jackie McLean, Jackie’s Bag, Blue Note 4051. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address. The record and cover were both M-. The price was $416.

Bob Brookmeyer, Plays and Some Others, Clef 644. This was an original pressing with a cover by David Stone Martin. The record and cover were M- and the price was $102.50.

Art Farmer Septet, Prestige 7031. We found one copy that was in VG+ condition. This sole for $163.50. There was another copy in better condition, VG++/VG+. This one sold for less money: $143.50. But that’s eBay, isn’t it?

Ray Bryant Trio, New Jazz 8227. This was an original purple label pressing in VG++ condition, both record and cover. The price was $132.39.

The Expubident  World of Babs Gonzales on Expubident Records. This was an original stereo pressing in VG+ condition. The price was $76.51.

Blue Mitchell, Big Six, Riverside 273. This was an original blue label pressing. The record was VG++ and the cover was VG+. The price was $189.10.

While I’m here, I may as put in a reminder that we have a few records for sale on eBay today. Here are a couple:

Mundell Lowe, New Music of Alex Wilder, Riverside 219. This is an original

pressing with the white label. It has liner notes by Frank Sinatra and the cover is in M- condition. The starting price on this is just $12 and so far there are no bidders, which is a surprise to me. I thought this would get a lot of action from jazz guitar enthusiasts.

Bud Shank and Bob Brookmeyer, Pacific Jazz 20. This is an original 10-inch LP in VG+ condition. The current price is $20.50.

Johnny Griffin, Night Lady, Emarcy 26001. This is an original Emarcy European pressing, pretty rare. The record is M- and the cover is VG+. The current price is just $14.50. I put this record on last week when I was posting it. It’s a great quartet session.

We have one copy of this to give away, so we will conduct a drawing. In order to participate in the drawing all you have to do is comment on the site — you can comment on this post or ANY post — between now and the end of the day on Feb. 4. This gives you more than two weeks to comment anywhere on the site. At the end of the day on Feb. 4 — which happens to be my birthday — we will put all of the names of the participants into a hat and ask our lovely bride, Mrs. Jazz Collector, to pull out one lucky winner. Then we will send the record to that person for no charge at all — we will even pay for the shipping. So good luck to all, and we hope to see some of your comments on the Jazz Collector site.