Bob Weinstock and the Prestige All-Star Sessions by Steve Siegel

 © Introduction Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

“In January 1949, Mr. Weinstock directed his first recording session, with Konitz and pianist Lennie Tristano, for a label he first called New Jazz before changing the name to Prestige. His records, including several by Getz and Stitt and Annie Ross ' " Twisted, " were finding success on the radio and in jukeboxes. Phobic about airplane travel, Mr. Weinstock traveled around the country by bus, talking to distributors and disc jockeys, and with his father ' s help he set up an effective promotion and distribution system.

When his label was at its peak in the 1950s, he organized an average of 75 recording sessions a year.

He recruited Monk and Davis when their contracts with other companies had expired. He signed Rollins and Coltrane to Prestige, for which they recorded the monumental saxophone duet " Tenor Madness " in 1956.

In 1953, saxophonist Charlie Parker appeared on one of Rollins ' Prestige albums under the name " Charlie Chan " because of contractual issues.

Few of the recordings made money at first, but in 1952, Prestige scored a jazz hit with King Pleasure ' s vocal version of " Moody ' s Mood for Love. " With the sales of that record, Mr. Weinstock was able to keep his company afloat.

When larger record labels raided his roster, Mr. Weinstock made sure he received every last contractually obligated musical morsel from his players. Before he allowed Davis to sign with Columbia Records in 1956, Mr. Weinstock sent the trumpeter to the studio for two solid days, eventually releasing four albums from the marathon, one-take recording sessions. The albums, " Cookin ' With the Miles Davis Quintet " and its companion volumes, " Relaxin ' , " " Workin ' " and " Steamin ' , " are considered some of Davis ' finest efforts from the 1950s.

By the late 1950s, Mr. Weinstock was hiring others to sign artists and produce the sessions, and the company ' s direction changed with the music. By the mid-1960s it was moving toward soul-jazz, recording many titles by Richard " Groove " Holmes, Willis Jackson and Charles Earland.

In 1972, Mr. Weinstock sold Prestige to Fantasy Records and retired to Florida at 43. He invested in the stock market and commodities, based on formulas of his own devising.”

• Published by San Diego Union-Tribune on Jan. 22, 2006.

With previous features on pianist Wade Legge, the Great Day in Harlem Photograph “Mystery Man” - William J. Crump, drummer Frankie Dunlop, vocalist Jimmy Rushing, critic and author Nat Hentoff, and Jazz Party: A Great Night In Manhattan featuring the Miles Davis Sextet, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the September 9, 1958 fest that Columbia Records put on at the Plaza Hotel for its executives and guests, trumpeter Dupree Bolton, and vocalist Helen Merrill, over the years, Steve Siegel has assumed the role of “unofficial” staff writer for JazzProfiles.

© -Steve Siegel copyright protected; all rights reserved; used with the author’s permission.

Bob Weinstock and the Prestige All-Star Sessions

By Steve Siegel

From August 3, 1956 to April 29, 1959, Prestige Records owner Bob Weinstock produced 21 sessions with an ever-changing group of 65 total musicians. The sessions were thematic and the iterations of musicians in their various groupings at the sessions were referred to as “The Prestige All Stars.” The albums were released under various titles.

The all-stars were mostly either current stars or emerging ones. Hand-picked by Weinstock, many of the all-stars were present at multiple sessions, with Mal Waldron leading the way with 11 appearances, Doug Watkins lugged his bass to 10 sessions with Kenny Burrell’s guitar and Arthur Taylor's drum kit present on nine each. The oldest participant was Coleman Hawkins born in 1906 and the youngest was Louis Hayes born in 1937. But the majority of the participants were in their 20s and early 30s, representing the second wave in the evolution of jazz following the Parker/Gillespie first generation of modernists. 

Weinstock most likely used the moniker “Prestige All Stars” for marketing reasons. In 1956, when the series began, most of the musicians he planned to use were relatively new to the New York scene and did not have the name recognition necessary to sell albums featuring any one musician’s name on the record’s cover. It also allowed him to use ever changing groups and still maintain an identity for the record buying public.

Actually, Weinstock’s first all-star session was the legendary 1954 Christmas Eve meeting of Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and Milt Jackson - as legendary for the controversy generated when Davis asked Monk to "lay-out,” as for the music produced – which was two versions of Jackson's “Groovin' High.”

Weinstock took a rather unique approach to many of these sessions. Generally, any session labeled as an all-star session might merely be a rather tedious series of jam sessions featuring a “head" followed by a series of solos with each player trying to generate excitement through the use of riffs, volume and speed, perhaps explicitly or implicitly competing with other participants. The format might generate excitement but can sometimes offer successive solos with little continuity which serve up the musical equivalent of empty calories and rarely holds the listener's interest throughout the 35-to-40-minute length of an average record.

The best of these Prestige All-star Sessions hold together surprisingly well due to some of the good choices Weinstock made in terms of instrumentation and repertoire, as well as how he selected and grouped the musicians for each session. Because of this preplanning, every so often, an all-star session managed to transcend its structural limitations as “just a jam session” and could produce jazz of a high level.

Weinstock has rarely received the credit he deserves for the conception, execution and resultant commercial and aesthetic success of the series.  One possible reason for the oversight is that the series was overlooked due to the sheer volume of product that “The Big Two” - Prestige and Blue Note (as well as other smaller labels) put out in what was possibly the busiest year in the recorded history of jazz-1957. Prestige held 70 sessions that year and Blue Note held 51, for a total of 121 sessions. As a point of contrast, in 1958 Prestige held 38 sessions and Blue Note 34 for a total of 72 sessions, or 49 less than there was in 1957. So, 1957 was a great year for the record buying public, but not so good for any one album trying to stand out in such a crowded market, much less a series of 15 all-star sessions released that same year. As we sift through the written history of jazz, until recently, with Tad Richard’s well researched book, Listening to Prestige, there is surprisingly little written about Weinstock. He is essentially treated as the “Black Knight" of the industry. What has been written of him sometimes compares him to the “White Knight" of jazz, Blue Note’s, Alfred Lion.

 Weinstock was rather parsimonious in all aspects of his operation and was said to  oftentimes take financial advantage of his musicians. Lion, though not perfect, was mostly fair in his dealings. Lion provided paid rehearsal time, Weinstock none; or if provided, did not pay musicians for the time. Weinstock is even criticized for the fact that even though they both recorded at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio, the result of the overall audio quality of Blue Note recordings seem to be a bit better than Prestige’s. The argument goes that Alfred Lion was heavily involved in the sound of his productions and worked with Van Gelder to get the sound he wanted and conversely Bob Weinstock left Rudy alone and did not really have a vision for a “house" sound on Prestige. Consequently Van Gelder, would experiment and try different equipment, different microphone placements and other tweaks at the Prestige sessions, some of which worked quite well and others not so well. Weinstock generally wanted things done in one take and if any further takes were necessary, he would insist that Van Gelder tape over the first take to save money, which explains why few or no rejected takes exist in the Prestige vaults. 

Many of these criticisms are valid but for others there are apparent reasons for what Weinstock did. When listening to some of the more successful all-star sessions, it’s evident that Weinstock was able to coax some sublime solos from the participants by simply getting out of the way and letting them play - something that Alfred Lion probably would be less apt to do. Lion would most likely not give up that much control to the musicians by allowing pieces to build organically over the 15-20 minutes it took for soloists to finish their statements during these “jam" like sessions. In February 1957, uncharacteristically, Lion took a revolving group of musicians into Manhattan Towers for a three-day marathon recording session featuring Jimmy Smith's organ. Evidently, Lion was in a “jammin'” mood, as eight of the pieces recorded ran between 10 and 17 minutes.

As far as finding musicians, Weinstock was able to cast a wide net during this period. Quite possibly the largest influx of young musicians, schooled in the language of bebop  arrived in New York during the mid to late 1950s. Further, most of those jazz musicians that Weinstock might have had an interest in were not signed to long-term contracts with any labels. Generally, if they were a member of a working group that was recording, the group leader would have a contract that stated that the group as a whole were restricted to only recording for that label but the sidemen were free to record for any label that they wished. The first classic Miles Davis group was a good example of this type of structure. Davis was signed to Prestige but Garland, Chambers, Coltrane and Jones were able to individually or in combination record for other labels.  

So, Weinstock was essentially the musical equivalent of the little boy in the candy store in that he had many choices of talented musicians. Some came to Prestige based on word-of-mouth from players who had recorded for the label, some were simply brought to sessions by other musicians. Still, others who recorded for other labels were heard by Weinstock, who then contacted them.

Most record label owners and producers spent time in the clubs actually hearing the musicians, Weinstock spent little if any time in the clubs but relied on word-of-mouth recommendations from people whose judgment he trusted. So, from this pastiche of sources, Weinstock had many musicians to choose from for his sessions.

Though Weinstock did not pay well and had a reputation for economically exploiting musicians, he had no trouble finding willing participants. Despite all his personal and professional flaws, he had one characteristic that the musicians appreciated. He held loose reins on their performances which provided more artistic freedom than other labels might have been comfortable with.

Though he might have given up a great deal of artistic control during the actual sessions, there does seem to have been much thought put into the pre-planning of instrumental configurations as well as the choice of musicians for each session. 

There existed somewhat of a dichotomy between the clear pre-planned structure at the all-star sessions, with, on the one hand, Weinstock successfully putting together musicians who had a history of working together, being occasionally offset by his quest for unique combinations of instruments on some sessions. This would yield mixed results, with the overall quality of the playing being good, but the aesthetic value of the music, at times, being rather variable.

To point out two examples:

Formats such as using two baritone saxes and two French horns (Pepper Adams, Cecil Payne, Julius Watkins, Dave Amram - Modern Jazz Survey 2 / Baritones & French Horns 1957) or  four alto saxes- (Phil Woods, Gene Quill, Sahib Shihab, Hal Stein - Four Altos 1957, could be confusing to the listener as they attempt to figure out which saxophones or trumpets or horns, they were listening to. Most of these records were only available in monophonic sound, so liner notes that map out who is in which channel were useless as well as the sonority of instruments clashing.

But Weinstock's efforts also yielded a few classic sessions within the realm of all-star groups “jammin’" together. We could also go as far as to say that even though most of these very young musicians were already forming a reputation in New York City, their work on these sessions helped to further advance their solo careers. 

Examples of quality All-Star sessions which have stood the test of time and have been  reissued or at least well recognized by reviewers and/or critics over the last 70 years:

All Night Long- December 28, 1956 PR 7073

All Day Long- January 4, 1957 PR 7081

Earthy- January 25, 1957, PR 7102

The Cats- April 18, 1957 NJLP 8217 (New Jazz)

After Hours- June 21, 1957 PR 7118

*All Morning Long- November 15, 1957 PR 7130

*Soul Junction- November 15, 1957 PR 7181

  * These were not labeled as all-star sessions but under the title The Red Garland Quintet with John Coltrane and Donald Byrd. I include this as an all-star session because the Red Garland Quintet was not a working band and the albums' format is consistent with other “All-Star" sessions. By late November 1957 Garland, Coltrane and Byrd had enough name recognition to be listed on the cover as featured artists so, for marketing purposes, the “Prestige All-Stars" cover title was not necessary.

So, we might ask: “What makes the best recordings of these all-stars so special that they transcend the many other so-called ‘jam sessions’ that were rather ubiquitous in the late 1940s and early 1950s?” What factors led Art Taylor, who appears on five of the seven albums to opine: “ All Day Long and All Night Long are milestones in the careers of all the musicians involved.”

After all, similar to most Prestige sessions (at least those that didn't involve Miles Davis or Sonny Rollins or working groups) these sessions often involved disparate groupings of musicians, oftentimes material cobbled together at the session, no rehearsals, no second takes, a producer (Weinstock) who was not a musician and was willing to settle for less than perfect takes. This is obviously not the usual formula for success.

Perhaps one important reason for the quality of the all-star sessions was the presence of so many young and talented musicians from Detroit, Michigan, who had emigrated to New York City between 1953 and 1957. These Detroit musicians not only worked together in New York but came out of the same musical environment. Many even went to the same high schools, e.g., Cass Technical High or Miller High School. A list of those who appear on the all-star sessions and received their music education in the Detroit area includes; Kenny Burrell, Tommy Flanagan, Thad Jones, Paul Chambers, Doug Watkins, Frank Foster, Donald Byrd and Louis Hayes. These eight recent émigrés from Detroit to New York appear a total of 18 times on these seven albums. 

As Mark Stryker puts it in his Jazz from Detroit book:

 “The combination of exceptional music education in the public schools, thriving nightlife, and influential mentors… in the community, transformed the city into a jazz juggernaut in the 1940s and 50s.”

Stryker went on to say:  “With their hard swinging styles, affinity for the blues and polished craftsmanship, Detroit musicians were to the hard bop manner born as they migrated east. They populated the top bands, clubs and record labels the way an earlier crop of Detroit exports (did).”

We might add to this that they were all friends or at least acquaintances from the same generation and therefore were generally more amenable to collaboration than to competition with one another.

Unlike a jazz session with young musicians competing to prove themselves, the all-star sessions contained these young but musically advanced musicians who had survived jam sessions as well as the scrutiny of the very hip and very knowledgeable audiences in the Detroit of the 1950s. As tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson puts it:

 “Detroit had the best listening audience.  The audiences around Detroit were like musicians. I mean, they knew. No way to come up on the bandstand jiving. That could be injurious to one’s ego.”

So, the high musical standards and educational opportunities of Detroit jazz which served to prepare the Detroit based musicians and provided them with the skills and confidence necessary to succeed in New York City, was one factor in preparing them for the sessions at Prestige. But some of the credit has to go to Blue Note’s Alfred Lion. 

In late 1955 and into 1956 - dates that preceded the Prestige all-star sessions involving the Detroit musicians - Lion brought Thad Jones into the Van Gelder studio for sessions that produced three highly regarded albums: Detroit- New York Junction (BLP 1513), The Magnificent Thad Jones (BLP 1527) and The Magnificent Thad Jones Vol. 3 (BLP 1546). 

These three albums, though much more highly structured than the future Prestige sessions were to be (as one would expect from Alfred Lion), were anchored by Detroit musicians; Thad Jones, Barry Harris, Kenny Burrell, Tommy Flanagan, Billy Mitchell and Elvin Jones.

These sessions gave the new arrivals, all of whom-with the exception of Jones-were 26 years of age or younger, an opportunity to work together under the auspices of the #1 jazz producer and recording engineer Alfred Lion and Rudy Van Gelder.

 Perhaps we can assume that Bob Weinstock heard these recordings which may have influenced his choice of musicians for some of these All-Star sessions. After all, to flip-flop an old saying in New York retailing during this era - Macy certainly wishes to know what Gimbal is up to.

These musicians were in the early stages of their careers in the big-time of New York City. They were, at this point, reasonably well-known in the City and had previously recorded under the pressure of the New York studios. The Prestige sessions allowed them to again come together, grow, develop and in a friendly way, challenge each other.

As an example of that growth, here is what Nat Hentoff had to say about Donald Byrd in his liner notes to Soul Junction which co-featured Coltrane and Byrd:

 “Donald Byrd is one young modernist who didn't allow early attention from the critics to push him into megalomania. Since coming to New York he has continued studying both at the Manhattan school in a wide variety of playing experiences. His work as in the opening blues has grown in strength and decisiveness from the fluent hummingbird quality that characterized him during his early months in New York.”

One can detect the growth that Hentoff refers to in the 11 months between his appearance on the All Night Long session of 12/28/1956 and the Soul Junction session of 11/15/1957.

The Detroit musicians were essentially the first generation of “Young Lions," preceding the Wynton Marsalis led group who arrived in the “Big Apple” 30 years later. The Prestige sessions also provided budding jazz composition writers with an opportunity to bring new works to a session or spontaneously compose them during the session and try out the piece immediately. It was shades of Duke Ellington’s approach where he would write a piece and then at the next destination, he could hear the band perform it during a rehearsal.

Here's Art Taylor (re: All Night Long session):

 “Hank Mobley was supposed to bring in two tunes but didn't. Instead he went to a far corner of the studio after his arrival and wrote the tunes out in about 10 minutes. This is something that has always amazed me because I have seen him do this on many record dates.”

The format for these sessions followed a similar pattern. One long blues (between 10 and 20 minutes) with all musicians taking solos; shorter pieces by other participants and an occasional standard. Given how well most of these sessions turned out, it's really a tribute to the participating musicians who had to learn new compositions in a very short period of time with no rehearsal time allotted by Weinstock and rarely a second take allowed.

Because none of the all-star sessions involved a working group with a group leader, each session had a nominal leader. At the Soul Junction and the All Morning Long sessions, the nominal leader was Red Garland. The other five sessions were led by Detroit musicians: Burrell (3), Flanagan (1) and Thad Jones (1). Flanagan, Burrell and Jones were not only excellent musicians but respected by other participants and possessed the demeanor necessary to deal with the difficulty of bringing musicians together on generally new material.

Drummer Arthur Taylor on Burrell's leadership at the All Day and All Night sessions:

 “(Burrell's) relaxed way is infectious. This can be related to the way he handled himself during these recording sessions. No matter what happened he always remained relaxed. Recording can be a very tedious thing because it's not like a concert or club. What you play is on wax forever. A musician can try extra hard because he is aware of this and wants to sound his best, therefore on the playback the sound might not be as relaxed as you want it to be. I'm sure Kenny was aware of this and his way of handling these avoided any such actions.”

 Despite the various strengths that the best of the Prestige All-Star Sessions exhibited, the availability of these recordings worldwide in all formats as (lp, digital, cassette, open reel) as reissues, beyond the original issues in 1957-58, has been modest. To illustrate, the record selling site, Discogs, lists 607 versions of Kind of Blue issued worldwide in all formats since its release in 1959. In contrast, for All Night Long, one of the best-selling of the all-star sessions, Discogs lists 37 versions and for Earthy only 11.

The seven sessions presented here, as well as others in the All-Star series have, over the past seven decades, likely served as representative entry points for countless curious, but uninitiated would-be jazz fans and musicians.

Interestingly, The Cats, All Night Long, Soul Junction, All Morning Long and After Hours were recently reissued on vinyl by Craft Records who now owns the masters of many classic jazz labels such as Prestige, Riverside, Contemporary, Milestone, Pablo, Debut, Galaxy, and Jazzland. Essentially, from the perspective of growing the market for jazz, Craft has both created demand and helped satisfy that demand through their reissue efforts.

Recent data has shown that the younger generation of teens and 20 something year-olds are now purchasing vinyl records and much of this is in the jazz genre. It’s heartening to realize that music produced by artists who were in their 20s in 1957, is now being purchased by and listened to by those who are two or even three generations removed from when this music was produced. 

Let's hope that the reissue series continues, as well as the renewed interest in jazz.  

Let the circle be unbroken.