Prestige Records Story
Along with Blue Note, Verve, and Riverside, Prestige was one of the most significant independent jazz labels of the '50s and '60s. It was especially important in the '50s, recording the decade's greatest figures--includingThelonious Monk,Miles Davis,Sonny Rollins, andJohn Coltrane--long before the major labels would beckon. This four-CD set traces the label from its founding by Bob Weinstock in 1949 until 1971 when it was sold to Fantasy.The first two CDs in the collection take the music up to 1960, and they brim with superb tracks that demonstrate the label's depth, range, and vision, with performances by Monk, Lennie Tristano, andGil Evansthat sound as quirky and inspired as when they were recorded. Miles Davis was clearly the label's most significant artist until he left for Columbia in 1956; his work here ranges from the sparse and extended "Bags' Groove," with Monk andMilt Jackson, to hard-bitten bop. There's room here for the cool lyricism ofStan Getzon "Round Midnight" and the earlyModern Jazz Quartet's beautiful "Django," as well as Rollins's hard-edged calypso, "St. Thomas," and Coltrane's brilliant, forward-looking contribution toTadd Dameron's "On a Misty Night." Prestige also managed to have a few surprise hit vocals in the period, and it's terrific to have a disc that matchesWardell Gray's original "Twisted" andJames Moody's "I'm in the Mood for Love," withAnnie Ross's andKing Pleasure's joyous, vocalise transformations.As the set continues its chronological journey through the label's history after 1960, however, it takes an unusual turn. Prestige was remarkably diverse in the early '60s, with separate sublabels like New Jazz, Swingville, Moodsville, and Soulville to cover different genres, spanning the classic swing piano of Claude Hopkins and the atonal experiments ofDon Ellis. It had an extensive, and excellent, blues catalogue and even released an LP of Norman Mailer's poetry. In this set's view of Prestige's history, however, that range gets very little attention, with the reissue producers favoring stylistic consistency over diversity. While there are nods to swing (Coleman Hawkins), the avant-garde (Eric Dolphy), and classic bop (Dexter Gordon), the set emphasizes the tenor-organ-guitar funk bands that were the label's commercial mainstay in its final active decade. That's not to argue with the quality of what's here, though.Gene Ammons's "Ca' Purange" is as potent as soul-jazz ever got, and there's much heartfelt, gritty music that communicates immediately.It may simply be that the project required more discs (seeThe Blue Note Years) than this set includes, but the cumulative effect is schizophrenic, moving from the musically adventurous to the populist. Meanwhile, the first two discs provide as rich a view of jazz in 1950s New York as any single label could hope to provide (only Blue Note might hope to match it); they're an essential experience for listeners new to jazz or the period, while disc 4 may serve handily as exalted party music.--Stuart Broomer