Tag: Prestige
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Mose Allison, Back Country Suite, 1957 on Prestige
Mose Allison’s debut album, recorded at Van Gelder’s studio in Hackensack in March 1957, with Taylor La Fargue (bass) and Frank Isola (drums). Largely instrumental. The song titled here just “Blues” was later recorded on Live at Leeds by the Who as “Young Man Blues”: Well a young man ain’t got nothing in the world…
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Booker Ervin, The Freedom Book, 1964 on Prestige
Sixth full-length with Ervin as leader, recorded by Rudy Van Gelder in 1963, for Prestige. Ervin is joined here by Jaki Byard (piano), Richard Davis (bass), and Alan Dawson (who was a drum instructor at Berklee in Boston) (drums). My copy—via a private sale—is the 2023 Analogue Productions / Craft Recordings reissue, in the Prestige…
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Oscar Peterson featuring Stephane Grappelli, Peterson/Grappelli, 1974 on Prestige
2xLP from Prestige bringing together Canadian jazz pianist Peterson with French jazz violinist Grappelli. The two also appeared together on a live Pablo album (Skol) in 1982 (recorded in 1979). This double LP was recorded in Paris February 22nd and 23rd, 1973. Peterson and Grappelli are joined by Niels Henning Oersted Pederson on bass and…
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Teo Macero with the Prestige Jazz Quartet, Teo, 1957 on Prestige
Macero is likely best known as the producer of both Bitches Brew and Time Out but he was also a great saxophone player and composer. He made multiple albums with Mingus and cofounded the Jazz Composers Workshop. Here he is joined by Addison Farmer (bass), Jerry Segal (drums), Mal Waldron (piano), and Teddy Charles (vibes).…
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Mose Allison, Down Home Piano, 1966 on Prestige
This 1966 release collects instrumental performances from six albums he released on Prestige in the late 50s and early 60s. There’s a similar Mose Allison Sings which collects “the vocal side of his talents.” The performers include Allison, Addison Farmer (Art Farmer’s twin brother) on bass, and Ronnie Free / Nick Stabulas on drums. Liner…
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Oliver Nelson with Eric Dolphy, Straight Ahead, 1961 on Prestige / New Jazz
Nelson on sax and clarient, with Dolphy also on sax, bass clarinet, and flute, supported by Richard Wyands on piano, George Duvivier on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums. Recording supervised by Rudy Van Gelder. Nelson had earlier recorded Screamin’ The Blues with Dolphy and Richard Williams. It is safe to say that if you…
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Eric Von Schmidt, Eric Sings Von Schmidt, 1965 on Prestige
I first heard of Eric Von Schmidt via Bob Dylan’s “Baby Let Me Follow You Down” which begins with the intro: I first heard this from Ric von Schmidt. He lives in Cambridge / Ric is a blues guitarplayer. I met him one day on / The green pastures of the Harvard University As someone…
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Gil Evans, Gil Evans & Ten, 1957 on Prestige
My copy is the 2023 reissue by Craft Recordings for Record Store Day. Players: Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder, this was Gil Evan’s fist recording as a pianist. Not sure if Lee Konitz couldn’t appear under his own name for contractual reasons (he was recording with Gerry Mulligan Quartet and solo at this same time).…
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Boogaloo Joe Jones, No Way!, 1971 on Prestige
Jones is joined by Grover Washington, Jr, Sonny Phillips, Butch Cornell, Jimmy Lewis, and Bernard Purdie. Recording by Rudy Van Gelder with Bob Porter. Great early seventies soul/jazz fusion. My copy is the Vinyl Me, Please reissue in the Classics track from 2022, via Craft Recordings (CR00476).
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Dave Van Ronk, Folksinger, 1962 on Prestige International
Van Ronk was a key figure in the Greenwich Village folk scene of the 60s, sometimes called the Mayor of MacDougal Street. He’s the most visible model for Llewyn Davis in the Coen Brothers film. This was his third studio album and first for Prestige, and was engineered by Rudy Van Gelder. Per the liner…
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Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Hard Travelin’: songs by Woody Guthrie and others, 1977 on Fantasy
This is really a 2xLP reissue of two Prestige records: Jack Elliott Sings The Songs of Woody Guthrie (1960) and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott (1961). Fantasy purchased the catalog of Prestige, Riverside, and Milestone in the early seventies. My copy is a pressing from some time in the 80s with the blue Fantasy labels, which I…
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Barbara Lea, Lea in Love, 1957 on Prestige.
Barbara Lea, Lea in Love, 1957 on Prestige. My copy is a 2022 Vinyl Me, Please reissue - great underappreciated vocalist
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Lightnin’ Hopkins, Double Blues, 1972 on Fantasy.
Lightnin’ Hopkins, Double Blues, 1972 on Fantasy. Continuing on the blues compilation front, this reissued tracks from the Prestige LPs Down Home Blues and Soul Blues from the 60s. Fantasy was a label out of Berkely CA that first issued Dave Brubeck and Creedence Clearwater Revival and then purchased rights to the catalogs of Prestige,…
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Tiny Grimes / J.C. Higginbotham, Callin’ The Blues, 1958 on Prestige.
Tiny Grimes / J.C. Higginbotham, Callin’ The Blues, 1958 on Prestige. With Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Ray Bryant, Wendell Mardhall, and Osie Johnson. 80s reissue as part of the Original Jazz Classics series – recorded by Rudy Van Gelder Quite an all star band
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Gerry Mulligan, Mulligan Plays Mulligan, 1956 on Prestige, reissued 1982 in the Original Jazz Classics series.
Gerry Mulligan, Mulligan Plays Mulligan, 1956 on Prestige, reissued 1982 in the Original Jazz Classics series. Gerry Mulligan, A Profile of Gerry Mulligan, 1958 on Mercury, original pressing. Two daily albums today – cool bop jazz from Blbaritone sax genius Gerry Mulligan.
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Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, originally 1957 on Prestige.
Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, originally 1957 on Prestige. This copy, 2020 on Jazz Images, a reissue label out of Barcelona Recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack NJ in 1956, with Max Roach, Doug Watkins / George Morrow, and Ray Bryant / Tommy Flanagan I do typically prefer an older original pressing but I think Jazz…