CONCORD MUSIC GROUP PARTNERS WITH
RARE COOL STUFF TO RELEASE
PRESTIGE
RECORDS: THE ALBUM COVER COLLECTION
Deluxe, hardbound coffee table
book showcases
the Prestige label's jazz album covers from the early '50s
through the late '60s
Limited-edition collection plus bonus CD - to be
available at
ConcordMusicGroup.com
on September 14, 2009 -
is a companion piece to The Very Best of Prestige Records 60th Anniversary
2-CD Compilation
By special arrangement, mention JAZZ PROMO SERVICES when you order the book and
receive a beautiful, limited edition “Prestige 60th anniversary” t-shirt.
(limited availability- get ‘em while they’re hot!)
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – August 13, 2009 - In celebration of the 60th
anniversary of Prestige Records, Concord Music Group has partnered with Rare
Cool Stuff to create Prestige Records: The Album Cover Collection. The
deluxe, limited-edition hardbound volume is the companion piece to the new
double-CD anthology, The Very Best of Prestige Records.
Containing the
best - and some of the rarest - LP covers produced over the long history of the
label, this collection also features an introduction by famed jazz documentarian
Ira Gitler, who wrote liner notes for many of Prestige's earliest and most
well-known records and continues to this day to contribute notes for Concord's
ongoing Rudy Van Gelder Remasters series. In addition, the book also contains an
exclusive bonus CD featuring music from the Prestige vault.
Nick
Phillips, Vice President of Jazz and Catalog A&R at Concord, and producer of the
60th anniversary 2-CD compilation, says the visual aspect of Prestige Records -
the cover
photography, the
typography, the overall design aesthetic - played an important role in the
label's appeal among jazz listeners for so many years. "The Prestige label's
album covers are every bit a reflection of the timeless artistry of the iconic
imprint, as are the legendary jazz recordings they represent, as this book
beautifully illustrates," says Phillips.
Editor's notes are provided by
Grammy-nominated art director and designer Geoff Gans, who compiled, edited, and
designed the album cover collection. Gans recalls his earliest experiences with
Prestige Records being as visual as they were musical: "The way I originally
discovered a lot of these great recordings back in the day was through these
visually compelling covers," he says. "I also thought it would be really
important to include a companion CD within the book - something that people
could put on and hear what some of the music from these great-looking records
sounded like. There's no overlap between what's on the bonus disc that comes
with the book and what's on the Prestige 2-disc anniversary set, so anyone who
buys both the anniversary set and the book gets an even better picture of what
Prestige was about - the ‘Prestige vibe’ as I call it."
Gitler's
introduction tracks the genesis and evolution of the Prestige label - founded by
Bob Weinstock in the late 1940s - and the concurrent evolution of the design
aesthetic that defined its covers. The advent of the 12-inch LP in the mid-1950s
ushered in the heyday of the Prestige album cover aesthetic, says Gitler, a
Prestige staffer during the label's early years. "The size, helping to showcase
the art, photos and inventive lettering of the front covers and the liner notes
on the back, which allowed customers in a record store to read about what they
might be considering to purchase, made the 12-inch LP a perfect package," Gitler
recalls.
A generous slice of that perfection - musical as well as visual
- is reverently chronicled inPrestige Records: The Album Cover Collection.
"We've seen a lot of album cover books over the past several years," says Gans.
"I wanted this to be like a coffee table art book. The kind of book that, if you
looked at it and listened to the music on the CD, featuring music from some of
the records whose covers are in the book, it would inspire you to seek out more
of the works of all the great artists associated with the Prestige label. That
was also my goal in forming Rare Cool Stuff - as a tool to preserve collections
such as these and present them in the manner which they deserve for generations
to come. We are extremely proud to have this opportunity to work with Concord
Music Group on such a great project."
About Concord Music Group
The Concord Music Group is one of the largest independent record and music
publishing companies in the world and owner of a rich and, in many cases,
historically significant catalog of recordings. Concord Music Group's legendary
family of labels includes Concord Records, Concord Jazz, Fantasy, Stax,
Milestone, Riverside, Specialty, Telarc, Peak, Heads Up, Pablo, and Prestige, to
name a few. They include titles from some of the most admired
and enduring names in
music, including Ray Brown, Rosemary Clooney, John Coltrane, Creedence
Clearwater Revival, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Isaac Hayes, Little Richard,
Thelonious Monk, Oscar Peterson, Tito Puente, George Shearing, and Mel Torme.
The group's current roster of world-class artists includes: George Benson,
Boney James, Tift Merritt, Spencer Day, Chick Corea, Kurt Elling, Gerald
Albright, Will Downing, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Sergio Mendes, Jane Monheit,
Poncho Sanchez, Lalah Hathaway, Angie Stone, and Tierney Sutton among many
others. In 2007 Concord partnered with Starbucks to form Hear Music, an
innovative record label rooted in quality, authenticity, and passion. Hear Music
works directly with artists, both emerging and established, to bring quality
music to the widest possible audience, in both Starbucks locations and wherever
music is sold. Hear Music's roster includes James Taylor, John Mellencamp,
Anjulie, Elvis Costello, and Playing For Change.
www.ConcordMusicGroup.com
Green Statement
Prestige
Records: The
Album Cover Collection was produced using paper that was made in an
environmentally responsible manner. The paper used, Lumi Silk, is from the
FSC-COC certified Stora Enso mill in Oulu, Finland. In addition the book was
printed at a FSC-COC certified printer in China.
The Forest Stewardship
Council advocates that the world's wood and pulp needs be supplied from trees
that are harvested from FSC certified sustainable forests throughout the world.
FSC certified forests are managed in a socially, economically, and
environmentally responsible manner. For more on the FSC visit their web site at
www.fsc.org.
Rare Cool Stuff and
Concord Music Group support the initiatives of the Forest Stewardship Council as
we all seek to lessen our carbon footprint and help make positive environmental
changes in our world. The Rainforest Alliance endorses Rare Cool Stuff for their
work in producing packaged music and books that increases consumer awareness of
the Forest Stewardship Council and the work they do worldwide.
Return to Events
All contents © 2001 by Jazz Con Clave. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited. All trademarks are property of their legal owner.