Thank you for buying this record. What follows is its documentation: the pressing identified, the matrix / runout transcribed by hand from the dead wax, and the condition as assessed before it was listed. It is yours to keep with the record.

— Paul, Vinyl Curator

Lester Young

Pres

1956 · Norgran Records MGN-1072 · Mono (all Norgran 1956 pressings of this title were mono only; stereo did not exist yet) · US · LP · 33 1/3 RPM

Pressing details

Label	Norgran Records
Catalogue number	MGN-1072
Year	1956
Mono / Stereo	Mono (all Norgran 1956 pressings of this title were mono only; stereo did not exist yet)
Country	US
Format	LP
Speed	33 1/3 RPM
Genre	Jazz - Swing/Bop
Producer	Norman Granz
Performer / Orchestra	Lester Young and His Orchestra
Musicians	Lester Young (tenor sax); Hank Jones (piano, A1-A5), John Lewis (piano, A6-B6); Ray Brown (bass, A1-A5), Joe Shulman (bass, A6-B2), Gene Ramey (bass, B3-B6); Buddy Rich (drums, A1-A5), Bill Clark (drums, A6-B2), Jo Jones (drums, B3-B6)

Matrix / Runout

Side A:  MGN-1072A H1
Side B:  MGN-1072B H1

Condition

Cover: EX
Vinyl: EX

Variant chronology

1956 - US Norgran, yellow "blowing man" label, deep groove, MGN-1072-A/B <- this copy
1957 - Reissued as Verve MGV-8162, trumpet-and-note Verve labels

This Pressing

1956 Norgran first pressing - yellow "blowing man" label, deep groove both sides, matrix MGN-1072A/B H1.

The Album

Pres compiles small-group sides Lester Young cut for Norman Granz's labels in the early-to-mid 1950s, drawing on separate rhythm-section dates rather than one continuous recording, with Hank Jones, Ray Brown and Buddy Rich backing him on one session and John Lewis, Gene Ramey, Jo Jones, Joe Shulman and Bill Clark rotating through others. By this point Young, the tenor player whose light, floating tone and rhythmic daring had reshaped the instrument's vocabulary in the Basie band of the late 1930s, was well into his postwar Verve/Norgran period, revisiting standards and originals in intimate combo settings after years of big-band and jam-session work. The album leans on the popular songbook of the day alongside several Young originals, letting his lyrical, behind-the-beat phrasing carry tunes the liner notes single out for their literate lyrics. Coming after the war years and a difficult Army stint, the record captures a still-inventive but more world-weary Pres, an artist whose influence on later tenor players was already assured by the time of these sessions. Jazz historians have long treated the Norgran/Verve small-group dates as a mixed but valuable body of work, not as tightly conceived as Young's 1930s Basie or Kansas City Six recordings but essential for the singular sound of his later horn.

Tracklist

Side 1

1. Up 'N Adam
2. Too Marvelous For Words
3. 'Deed I Do
4. Encore
5. Polka Dots And Moonbeams
6. Three Little Words

Side 2

1. Neenah
2. Jeepers Creepers
3. Thou Swell
4. Undercover Girl Blues
5. Frenesi
6. Little Pee Blues

The Label

The side labels are the yellow Norgran design with the trumpet-playing "blowing man" logo at upper left, "NORGRAN RECORDS" arced across the top rim and "LONG PLAYING MICROGROOVE" arced across the bottom rim, with "NORGRAN SALES CORP. - MADE IN U.S.A." printed beneath; the vinyl is noted as deep-groove on both sides. This is the standard Norgran house design used from the label's founding (1953-54) through its 1957 absorption into Verve, so it places this pressing squarely in the original 1956 Norgran release window rather than any later Verve reissue (Verve MGV-8162, 1957) or the 1980s Polydor/Japan reissues of the LP under the

Fidelity

As an early-to-mid-1950s Norgran production, mastering and pressing quality varied release to release under Norman Granz's operation, and no dedicated audiophile reissue of Pres (Music Matters/Analogue Productions/Mobile Fidelity style) is documented. Collector commentary for related Norgran/Verve small-group Lester Young LPs of this period describes the mono sound as warm and solid when well pressed, though surface and mastering quality can be inconsistent across copies of 1950s Norgran vinyl. This deep-groove original pressing, being the first cut of the LP master, sits at the top of the fidelity hierarchy for this title ahead of the 1957 Verve reissue and any later Japanese (Polydor/UMV) pressings, which are generally regarded as later-generation dubs.

Notes

This is the original 1956 Norgran issue of Pres: yellow Norgran labels with the trumpet-playing "blowing man" logo and deep-groove pressing on both sides match the label's 1953-57 house design, predating the 1957 Verve reissue (MGV-8162) that followed Granz's consolidation of his labels. The H1 suffix in the runout matrix indicates an early Norgran stamper for this catalogue number. No later reissue text, Verve branding, or club-edition markers appear on the labels or jacket, marking this as a first pressing.

Documenting collections

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