Prestige Records which started life as New Jazz records was founded by Bob Weinstock when he was only 20 years old. New Jazz became Prestige Records in 1949 and today is a division of the Fantasy Jazz Record Group.
Weinstock in the early days of the record label was a strict traditional jazz fan. In the early years New Jazz recorded such greats as Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk. As the company matured so did its' taste for music. The 1960's saw the label transition to acid jazz signing among others, Jack McDuff and Charles Earland to recording contracts.
Quoting from the liner notes- [this CD] "...is representative but not definitive however for there are simply too many timeless artists and performances in the Prestige catalog to be represented in a single disk." Yet the musicians selected to be included on the Jazz Classsics Sampler in my opinion provides a feast for the ears of what or perhaps better put who made the Prestige Label a legacy in the recording business.
The Original Jazz Classics Sampler comes highly recommended.
