So let's look in a different direction. Although we've had sessions with Coleman Hawkins before, and other sessions with musicians from that era that would come out on Prestige or New Jazz rereleased on Prestige's Swingville subsidiary, this is the first session specifically recorded for the new label, and it would be the first Swingville release.
Weinstock started Prestige because he had fallen under the spell of bebop, but before that he had been a traditional jazz lover and record collector, and now here he was, able to make records with pretty nearly anyone he wanted to. So there were the occasional swing musicians--even Dixieland, with Jimmy McPartland--and some rhythm and blues, and even some folk blues.
Those had been hit-or-miss, and probably not as well promoted or distributed as the modern jazz recordings on which he was building his label's image. But they showed that he still had eclectic tastes.
Now, Prestige was celebrating its tenth anniversary, and Weinstock wasn't a kid any more. He had the experience, and apparently the talent, for making smart business decisions, and he still had the passion for music.
The new labels may have been born out of a little of both. Some have commented that it was probably a smart bookkeeping and tax strategy to have diversified record labels. And probably the older musicians didn't have record companies clamoring around their doors, so they came relatively cheap. But also, there must have been a sincere desire to present these older guys who were not only still around but still healthy and creative and productive, to an audience that remembered them, and to a new audience.
I've described this music as "post-swing." Weinstock wasn't trying to recreate what had been done in the 1920s and 1930s, and with a musician like Coleman Hawkins, who never stood still, it would have been impossible anyway. Here, he puts Hawkins together with Red Garland, a musician probably best known for his work with Miles Davis and John Coltrane, certainly a modern.
The Red Garland trio assembled for this session is not quite the group one thinks of as "Red Garland Trio"--Paul Chambers and Art Taylor. That classic trio would not record together again. Here it's Doug Watkins, the bass mainstay of many a Prestige session, and Charles "Specs" Wright, who often played with Ray Bryant, and had made one Prestige recording with him. For material, they gathered together originals by Hawkins, Garland and Watkins, a song that was a hit for rhythm and blues star Savannah Churchill, and a number called "It's a Blue World," that could hardly have less to do with the blues. It was written by George Forrest and Robert Wright, best known for Kismet, the Broadway musical borrowed from Russian composer Alexander Borodin, originally performed by Glenn Miller, and sung by Tony Martin in a movie musical. When Hawkins and Garland get through with it, it's bluesy enough.
Hawkins' alternate nickname was "Bean," supposedly in reference to either the shape of his head or the considerable quality of what was inside it, and it's a nickname that features prominently in tunes of his own composition or tunes dedicated to him. So it is here, and there's an interesting contrast between his "Bean's Blues" and Garland's "Red Beans."
"Bean's Blues" begins with 30 seconds of unaccompanied traditionalist tenor sax, at which point Red Garland enters with some block chords, and finds his place. "Red Beans" begins with about two and a half minutes of modernist piano solo before Hawkins steps up. Basically, what this shows is that there are more ways to the woods than one, and if Coleman Hawkins and Red Garland are setting out the paths, they're all good.
Garland, Watkins and Wright stuck around for a few more after Hawkins packed up his horn, playing some originals and some standards, although “Mr. Wonderful” had a short shelf life for a standard. It was recorded often while Sammy Davis Jr. was still wowing them on the Broadway stage, but rarely after that. The trio played enough of a session to fill out an album, but it didn’t end up that way. “Satin Doll,” “The Man I Love” and “A Little Bit of Basie,” along with a few cuts from a live recording a couple of months later, were on the album titled Satin Doll, which was not released until 1971, when Bob Weinstock was winding up his association with Prestige. The others would have to wait to become bonus cuts on later CDs.
Coleman Hawkins with the Red Garland Trio became the first Swingville album, and Swingville almost could have been the album’s title. Weinstock announced the name of his new label in huge type, which took up more than half the cover.
Orrin Keepnews made a guest appearance producing these two sessions for Prestige. Keepnews was the man at the helm of another of New York’s great independent jazz labels, Riverside.
Listening to Prestige Vol. 2, 1954-1956 is here! You can order your signed copy or copies through the link above.
Tad Richards will strike a nerve with all of us who were privileged to have
lived thru the beginnings of bebop, and with those who have since
fallen under the spell of this American phenomenon…a one-of-a-kind
reference book, that will surely take its place in the history of this
music.
lived thru the beginnings of bebop, and with those who have since
fallen under the spell of this American phenomenon…a one-of-a-kind
reference book, that will surely take its place in the history of this
music.
--Dave Grusin
An important reference book of all the Prestige recordings during the time
period. Furthermore, Each song chosen is a brilliant representation of
the artist which leaves the listener free to explore further. The
stories behind the making of each track are incredibly informative and
give a glimpse deeper into the artists at work.
period. Furthermore, Each song chosen is a brilliant representation of
the artist which leaves the listener free to explore further. The
stories behind the making of each track are incredibly informative and
give a glimpse deeper into the artists at work.
--Murali Coryell
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