Kenny Drew | jazzcollector.com

Odds and Ends and Blue Notes

September 1, 2010 Al One comment

Here are some jazz vinyl odds and ends we’ve been watching for various reasons. We’re not expecting that all of these will end up in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, but they all have something of interest.

We were watching this one because it was listed as an original pressing even though it wasn’t: Kenny Drew Trio, Riverside 224. This was a blue-label pressing when the original was really a white label. The seller was very clear in stating that this was a “first mono pressing.” Ah well. The record was only in VG- condition and the cover was VG. Not an original and not in great condition and it sold for $87. That seems to be the going rate these days perhaps and, perhaps, maybe someone needed a new cover. Not for me in that condition at that price.

We were watching this to get a sense of what the solid blue label Blue Notes are selling for these days: Dexter Gordon, Dexter Calling, Blue Note 84083. This in M- condition for both the record and the cover and it sold for $29. This probably means that a Liberty pressing of this record would be in the $50 or $60 range, don’t you think?

Bidding, Losing & Bidding Again

August 16, 2010 Al 23 comments

I’ve actually bid on a few records recently, but these days I don’t even get close, unless I want to really gamble on condition, which I don’t. Anyway, I was watching this record on eBay: Walter Davis Jr., Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. This was an original pressing and it was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. A few hours before the bidding closed it wasn’t getting much action. My theory: Even though the listing described the cover as M-, it didn’t look that good in the photo. I know, however, that when you are taking pictures of black covers you often get a glare that distorts the image and makes it look worse than it actually is. I took a shot and set up my Bid Nip to put in a bid of about $350 with five seconds to go. Hah!. The record

Tracking Rare Jazz Vinyl That Didn’t Sell

May 30, 2010 Al 6 comments

Let’s catch up on a few odds and ends in the world of collectible jazz vinyl:

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

For the Price Guide: A Blue Note Bonanza

January 26, 2010 Al Leave a comment

We’ve been quite busy updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so we will do a few posts over the next few days highlighting some of the new entries, starting with some Blue Notes, of course. There are no links to these, FYI.

Kenny Drew, Undercurrent, Blue Note 4059. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address and just one side deep groove. The record was listed in VG+ condition for both the vinyl and the cover and it sold for $285.

Baby Face Willette, Stop and Listen, Blue Note 4084. This was an original pressing with the NY USA label. the record looked to be in VG++ condition for both the vinyl and the cover. It sold for $200.

This one sold for a big price, but it didn’t seem to be an original pressing:

Price Updates: Lights Out, Zoot, Kenny Drew

December 21, 2009 Al 2 comments

Here are some of the items we’ve been watching on eBay:

Jackie McLean, Lights Out, Prestige 7035. This was an original New York pressing with the deep groove and heavy vinyl. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was VG+. It did not have a flat edge, according to an answer to a questioner, but I’m not sure that doesn’t mean it wasn’t original. Anyway, the price was $639.49.

Phil Woods, Warm Woods, Epic 3436. This was an original pressing and it was listed in M- condition for both the vinyl and the cover. The price was $495.

Zoot Sims, Zoot, Riverside 228. This was an original white label pressing and it was listed in VG++ condition for the vinyl and VG+ for the cover. The price was $413.

Here are a few we were watching the other day:

Collectibles Anyone? Astaire, Kenny Drew Riverside

December 18, 2009 Al Leave a comment

There are quite a few interesting items on eBay now. Here are a couple:

Fred Astaire, The Astaire Story, Mercury 1001 1004. Most of you are probably familiar with this set, produced by Norman Granz in the early 1950s. There were 1,384 copies produced, all autographed by Astaire, and the set came with four LPs, a booklet with exclusive photos and a set of drawings by David Stone Martin. The music is all jazz even though Astaire was not a “jazz singer,” and the sidemen include many of the greats within the Granz stable, such as Oscar Peterson, Flip Phillips, Ray Brown, Barney Kessel, Charlie Shavers. Anyway, it is quite a nice set and used to regularly sell in the $2,000 range. Our top price in the Jazz Collector Price Guide is

Riverside

Catching Up: Kenny Drew, Rouse, Nichols

October 1, 2009 Al Leave a comment

Here’s an update on some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been watching here at Jazz Collector. We sense a slight softness in the market the past couple of weeks compared with the end of the summer, when prices seemed to be skyrocketing. This sense comes not only from what we are watching, but from what we are selling as well. These things go back and forth all the time, so we don’t see much use in trying to time the market as a seller, but for buyers, this might be a time to be active. Prices surely will go up again if past is prologue to the future. Here are a few recent sales:

Kenny Drew, This is New, Riverside 236. This was an original white label pressing. The record was listed as VG++ and the cover was VG+. The price was $125. This one features Hank Mobley and Donald Byrd and is quite a nice collectible — and quite a bit cheaper than comparable Blue Notes of the same era with the same artists.

Speaking of Blue Notes: Herbie Nichols Trio, Blue Note 1519. This was

Price Guide Update: Wallington, Drew, DeFranco, Tal

August 27, 2009 Al 6 comments

We’ve missed a couple of days posting. Sorry. Up in the country. The weather is beautiful and the Internet connection is inconsistent. We will attempt to be more regular. To get back into posting shape, this morning we will list some of the new items we’ll be entering into the Jazz Collector Price Guide. Nothing in the $1,000 bin — we’ll save those for later — but some nice, interesting collectibles. Here are several:

George Wallington Quintet at the Bohemia, Progressive 1001. This is an original pressing and the seller listed it as near-mint condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $810.

Kenny Drew, Undercurrent, Blue Note 4059. This was an original pressing, also in near-mint condition and was one of the items sold by the seller herschel78. This one also sold for $810.

Here’s a record I actually bid on (and lost, by $1):

Today on Ebay: Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On

August 23, 2009 Al 2 comments

The seller Herschel78 is back with some very nice items that are closing today. Here are a few:

Jackie McLean, Lights Out, Prestige 7035. This record is VG++ and the cover is near and it’s an original pressing with the New York address and yellow label. A real beauty, at least in the picture. The current price on this one is $620 and there are still a few hours to go. Tempting, but I’m trying to get rid of records, not acquire them.

Also, Here Comes Louis Smith, Blue Note 1584. This is an original pressing in near mint condition, “the finest copy you’ll ever see,” according to the listing. This is now at $800 and is a near certainty to crack the $1,000 barrier. In the Jazz Collector Price Guide we’ve seen it go for as much a $1,420.

This one is also in beautiful, near-mint condition:

Price Updates: Roy & Diz, Tal, Stone Martin, Drew

August 8, 2009 Al One comment

Time to catch up on some of the items we were watching earlier in the week. We’ll do another of these catch-ups tomorrow or Monday when some of the high-tagged Blue Notes close.

We don’t often see Dizzy Gillespie among the higher-priced LPs, but here was a nice one that was sold earlier this week by Euclid records: Dizzy Gillespie and Roy Eldridge, Roy & Diz #2. This record was in M- condition, both record an cover, and sold for $145. No doubt helping the value of the LP is the great illustration by David Stone Martin.

Also featuring a David Stone Martin illustration is The Tal Farlow Album, Norgran 1047. This was also sold by Euclid and was also in M- condition. It sold for $83, not bad for a quality record like this in today’s market. Seems that within the Norgran/Clef/Verve pantheon there are still bargains to be found. Also, please take a look at our earlier post on this album Today on eBay: Tal, Drew, Kenny Dorham, True Blue. I had mentioned that my good friend Dan Axelrod was a good friend and protege of Tal, and he shares some personal insight about the album that’s worth reading.

Speaking of Kenny Drew, that copy of The Kenny Drew Trio, Riiverside 224, that

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