(Excerpted from a DownBeat article posted on 7/3/2014. The complete article is here).
Prestige Records Celebrates 65th Anniversary with Reissues, Videos
Concord Music Group is commemorating the 65th anniversary of revered jazz label Prestige Records with a plethora of digital and vinyl reissues, an online video series and special concert events.
Among the iconic jazz artists who recorded for Prestige are Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Eric Dolphy and Stan Getz. . . .
This year’s special anniversary festivities will culminate this fall with a 90th birthday celebration honoring legendary recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder, whose work was not only integral to the success of Prestige but also to the evolution of jazz.
Throughout 2014, Concord will release hi-resolution digital reissues of 60 Rudy Van Gelder Remasters series titles, along with more than 30 vinyl reissues of Prestige classics.
Digital releases include Davis’ Cookin’ With The Miles Davis Quintet, Rollins’ Saxophone Colossus, Coltrane’s Soultrane, Dolphy’s Outward Bound and the trio recording We Three (by Roy Haynes, Phineas Newborn and Paul Chambers), as well as At Ease With Coleman Hawkins.
Vinyl reissues include Thelonious Monk Trio, Mose Allison Sings and The Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Cookbook, Vol. 1.
Several classic titles, the first of which were released in April, are being made available each month through the end of the year.
"These are not only some of the most influential artists and important recordings on the Prestige label, they’re also some of the most iconic artists and recordings in the history of jazz, period," said Nick Phillips, Concord Music Group’s vice president of catalog development/A&R and co-producer of the Rudy Van Gelder Remasters series. "It’s a pleasure to be reintroducing this timeless music and legendary label to jazz fans, old and new." . . .
Concord has produced a video series titled Prestige Lives!, which presents artists discussing the label’s influence and the impact of Van Gelder’s work. The videos, created by Bret Primack, are posted at a special website developed in collaboration with DownBeat.