[JPL] Blue Note Records Vs. Prestige Records

[Doug%20Crane]

Here's how Rudy Van Gelder contrasted working for the two labels, this taken from an interview for AllAboutJazz.com about 4 years ago:

"There was a period when I was recording for both Alfred Lion of Blue Note and Bob Weinstock of Prestige, he later reflects. The differences in working with the two of them were, for me, quite large.

For example, if I had a new microphone I wanted to try out: Alfred was the sort of person who was very much organized; he knew what he wanted, he knew what the finished product would be while he was doing the session. It was pretty intense working for him because he knew what he wanted and I had to deliver what he wanted, and that's what I was doing. On the other hand, the Prestige sessions were a lot looser, from the musicians point they were a little freer, there weren't a lot of preparations, they sort of decided things as they went along. So I would always experiment with the technical stuff for Prestige, make sure I understood it, make sure I knew what it did, make sure I knew how it worked, and then I would use that for Blue Note."

Doug Crane
dcrane at comcast.net
KUVO Denver