Concord Music Group are set to launch a year-long 60th anniversary celebration of Prestige Records, with a full slate of assorted CD releases and other special bonuses, beginning next week (March 24th) with the release of The Very Best Of Prestige Records 2-CD set.
The Very Best Of Prestige Records is a 2-CD set of classic tracks from the legendary label’s catalog featuring the iconic Jazz artists of the ‘50s and ‘60s; John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, and more. The new ‘must have’ collection features 25 essential Prestige tracks, and is packed with classic photographs covering a 20-year span from 1949-1969, truly representing Prestige’s golden era.
(Est. 1949) Like several other prominent jazz producers of the Fifties, Bob Weinstock started out as a traditional jazz fan but soon found himself standing at the cutting edge of modern jazz. He launched his own label – originally called New Jazz, soon renamed Prestige – in 1949 and, during the next decade, recorded such giants as Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy, Thelonious Monk, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and John Coltrane, often in informal "blowing" sessions. Weinstock turned over the reins over to other producers in 1958, and Prestige soon became the leading purveyor of what is now known as acid jazz with its recordings of Jack McDuff, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Charles Earland, and others. Prestige became part of the Fantasy group of labels in 1972.
The Very Best Of Prestige Records is available 3.24.09 (CD &Digital)