Listening to Prestige

Chronicling Its Classic Jazz Recordings, 1949–1972

Tad Richards

$40.95 $35.22

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

State University of New York Press
01 January 2026

Music; Discographies & buyer's guides; Jazz; Music recording & reproduction; History: specific events & topics

Series: Excelsior Editions

A complete chronicle of one of the greatest postwar jazz labels.

Founded by jazz enthusiast Bob Weinstock, Prestige Records recorded the leading jazz artists of its day, many of whom were at or approaching their creative peak, from its inception in 1949 until 1972. It documented the changing jazz styles as they emerged, from bebop and post-bop, to third stream, hardbop, free jazz, and soul jazz, while honoring the previous generation of jazz musicians. Prestige was also among the first labels to work with recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder, who revolutionized the way jazz was recorded. The 1950s were a growth era for jazz, as modern jazz came to be accepted as part of mainstream American music. Prestige captured the leading artists of the era, including the Modern Jazz Quartet, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, and especially Miles Davis, all of whom did some of their most important work for the label in this period. The 1960s saw an exciting and challenging new avant-garde, making the music that came to be known as ""free jazz,"" epitomized by leading Prestige artists Eric Dolphy and Booker Ervin. Other musicians looked back to their roots, developing the earthy, danceable style called soul jazz or jazz funk. Prestige became the epicenter of this new sound, thanks to artists such as Gene Ammons, Shirley Scott, Eddie ""Lockjaw"" Davis, Brother Jack McDuff, and George Benson. Listening to Prestige presents the author's lifelong enthusiasm for the label and takes a deep dive into Prestige's impressive catalog, documenting the key artists who shaped postwar American jazz.

By: Tad Richards
Imprint: State University of New York Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
Weight: 386g
ISBN: 9798855804959
Series: Excelsior Editions
Pages: 278
Publication Date: 01 January 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Preamble. How This Book Came About Introduction. Bob Weinstock and Prestige 1. Postwar Independent Jazz Record Labels 2. Weinstock's Beginnings. New Jazz 3. Early Artists on New Jazz 4. The Birth of the Prestige Label 5. The First Jazz on LP 6. Wardell Gray, James Moody and King Pleasure 7. Miles Davis 8. Thelonious Monk 9. Enter Rudy Van Gelder and Recording More Monk 10. The Modern Jazz Quartet 11. Cover Art, and a Dual Role for Esmond Edwards 12. Sonny Rollins 13. Miles Davis Back and Ready to Work. the Contractual Marathon 14. Changing Times and Technologies at Prestige 15. Other '50s-era Prestige Recording Artists 16. Miles's Sidemen and John Coltrane 17. Mose Allison and Yusef Lateef 18. A New Era. Soul Jazz 19. Prestige's Satellite Labels 20. Soul Jazz Organists 21. Moving On. Free Jazz and Eric Dolphy 22. Dolphy's Peers at Prestige 23. Booker Ervin 24. Stars of the Early '60s 25. Final Days Epilogue Acknowledgments Works Cited Index

Tad Richards is a prolific visual artist, poet, novelist, and nonfiction writer who has been active for over four decades. He is the author of many books, including Jazz with a Beat: Small Group Swing, 1940–1960, also published by SUNY Press. He lives in Kingston, New York.

Reviews for Listening to Prestige: Chronicling Its Classic Jazz Recordings, 1949–1972

""When it comes to jazz, this is one of the rare books that we actually need, that does not cover the usual ground with the usual suspects. Prestige Records, for all the attention it has received from audiences, is not well known in the historical sense. Every jazz fan has these records, which is important, but few know the inside story, the complex process of the jazz independent label in the era before independent labels became as common as recording projects. And Tad Richards is the writer to do this, with a firm grasp of jazz's historical succession, the bebop era, and the musical needs of musician and audience. Read this book."" — Allen Lowe, saxophonist and historian who has recorded with Julius Hemphill, David Murray, Doc Cheatham, and Marc Ribot