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
The Miles Davis Quintet
Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet
2022 · Prestige / Analogue Productions (APRJ series, under license from Concord/Craft Recordings) PRLP 7094 (APRJ 7094) · Mono · US · LP · 33 1/3 RPM
Pressing details
| Label | Prestige / Analogue Productions (APRJ series, under license from Concord/Craft Recordings) |
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| Catalogue number | PRLP 7094 (APRJ 7094) |
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| Year | 2022 |
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| Mono / Stereo | Mono |
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| Country | US |
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| Format | LP |
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| Speed | 33 1/3 RPM |
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| Genre | Jazz - Hard Bop |
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| Producer | Bob Weinstock (supervision); recording by Rudy Van Gelder |
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| Musicians | Miles Davis (trumpet), John Coltrane (tenor sax), Red Garland (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), Philly Joe Jones (drums) |
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Matrix / Runout
Side A: PRLP 7094-A KEVIN GRAY QRP KRG@CA
Side B: PRLP 7094-B 2 KEVIN GRAY QRP KRG@CA
Variant chronology
1957 - US original, yellow/black Prestige label, deep groove, 446 W. 50th St. address, RVG stamps
1960s - US Prestige repress, yellow/black label variations, later pressings without RVG deep-groove configuration
1970s - US Prestige/Fantasy reissues (green label era)
1980s - OJC-128 reissue, Fantasy/Berkeley
2008 - Analogue Productions APRJ 7094 mono reissue (45 RPM 2xLP edition also issued)
2022 - Analogue Productions APRJ 7094, Prestige 'Mono set of 25' series, Kevin Gray mastering, QRP pressing <- this copy
This Pressing
2022 Analogue Productions APRJ 7094 mono reissue (Prestige 'Mono set of 25' series) - Kevin Gray cut at Cohearent Audio, QRP pressing; facsimile 446 W. 50th St. yellow label with 2022 Craft/Concord rim credit.
The Album
Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet is one of four albums the first great Miles Davis Quintet cut for Prestige across two marathon sessions in 1956 (May 11 and October 26), recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's Hackensack, New Jersey studio to fulfill Miles' Prestige contract after he had signed with Columbia. Rather than work up new material, the band essentially recorded its live book - tunes honed night after night at clubs like the Bohemia - with no second takes, 25 performances captured in total across the sessions that fed Cookin', Relaxin', Workin', and Steamin'. The quintet of Davis, John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones is regarded as one of the defining small groups in modern jazz, its precision-tooled rhythm section and the contrast between Miles' spare lyricism and Coltrane's questing tenor setting the template for hard bop. The album opens with a career-defining reading of 'My Funny Valentine' and includes Miles' own 'Blues By Five' and 'Tune Up,' the latter a staple of the jazz repertoire ever since. Ira Gitler's original notes recall Miles' hay-fever-ridden nights at the Cafe Bohemia and the band's ability to shift from the wistful 'Valentine' to the 'tensile undercurrent' of 'Airegin.' The title came at Miles' request - 'After all, that's what we did - come in and cooked.' Long ranked among the essential Prestige Miles documents, it captures the group at its club-hardened peak just before Miles' Columbia breakthrough.
Tracklist
Side 1
1. My Funny Valentine
2. Blues By Five
Side 2
1. Airegin
2. Tune Up
3. When Lights Are Low
The Label
This copy is a facsimile reissue label: the classic yellow Prestige 'fireworks' design with the 446 W. 50th St., N.Y.C. address is retained, but the fine print reads '© 2022 Craft Recordings. Under license courtesy of Concord to Analogue Productions. All rights reserved,' which definitively dates it to the modern Analogue Productions era. Analogue Productions (Acoustic Sounds, Salina, KS) licensed the Prestige mono catalog from Concord (owners of Craft Recordings and the Fantasy/Prestige tapes) for the APRJ series; the box shown in the photos is the 'Prestige MONO set of 25' promotional/series insert, mastered by Kevin Gray and pressed at Quality Record Pressings. The original 1957 issue carries the same 446 W. 50th St. yellow label but with deep groove, Rudy Van Gelder dead-wax stamps, and period copyright text - the 2022 Craft/Concord/Analogue rim credit is what separates this copy from any vintage pressing. In the hierarchy it sits as an officially licensed, all-analog modern reissue, not a period pressing.
Fidelity
All-analog (AAA) cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the original mono master tapes, pressed at Quality Record Pressings - widely regarded on the Steve Hoffman forums and in audiophile reviews as among the best-sounding modern pressings of this title, with quiet, flat vinyl and a warm, present mono image. In the fidelity hierarchy it ranks below only an exceptional clean 1957 RVG original (which has the vintage 'air' but often surface noise), and is generally preferred over worn originals, the 1980s OJC-128, and the earlier 2008 AP edition is comparable in quality. For most listeners this is the practical best-sounding copy short of a mint original.
Notes
2022 Analogue Productions APRJ 7094 mono - licensed Prestige facsimile reissue, NOT a 1957 original. Three decisive points: (1) the label rim text reads '© 2022 Craft Recordings... courtesy of Concord to Analogue Productions'; (2) the typed dead-wax reads 'KEVIN GRAY QRP KRG@CA' - Kevin Gray/Cohearent Audio cutting and Quality Record Pressings, whereas a true 1957 first press carries Rudy Van Gelder 'RVG' stamps and a deep-groove pressing ring; (3) the hype stickers ('100% Analog Mastering,' 'The Analogue Productions Guarantee,' Quality Record Pressings logo) and the 'Prestige MONO set of 25' insert are exclusive to the modern AP series. The yellow 446 W. 50th St. label artwork is a deliberate facsimile of the original design and is the source of the confusion.
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