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

Miles Davis Quintet

Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet

1960 · Prestige PRLP 7166 · Mono · US · LP · 33 1/3 RPM

Pressing details

Label	Prestige
Catalogue number	PRLP 7166
Year	1960
Mono / Stereo	Mono
Country	US
Format	LP
Speed	33 1/3 RPM
Genre	Jazz - Hard Bop
Producer	Bob Weinstock
Musicians	Miles Davis (trumpet), John Coltrane (tenor sax), Red Garland (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), "Philly" Joe Jones (drums)

Matrix / Runout

Side A:  PRLP-7166-A RVG
Side B:  PRLP-7166-B RVG VBW

Condition

Cover: NM-/NM-
Vinyl: EX DEEP GROOVE/EX DEEP GROOVE

Variant chronology

1960 - Yellow/black fireworks label, deep groove, 203 South Washington Ave Bergenfield NJ address, RVG stamped in deadwax  <- this copy
1964-1971 - Blue "trident" label, same Bergenfield address, RVG stamped
c. 1971+ - Blue label with new Prestige/Fantasy logo (no trident), no deep groove
1980s-90s - Fantasy/OJC reissue (black label)
2000s - Analogue Productions / audiophile reissues (mono & stereo)
2019/2022 - Craft/Concord colored vinyl reissues

This Pressing

1960 mono 1st press - Prestige yellow/black fireworks Bergenfield NJ deep-groove label with RVG stamped in deadwax.

The Album

Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet was recorded in two sessions, May 11 and October 26, 1956, as part of a marathon effort by Miles Davis to fulfill his remaining contractual obligation to Prestige Records before his move to Columbia; the quintet cut enough material in these sessions (alongside those for Cookin', Relaxin', and Steamin') to fill four full albums in short order. The band - Davis, John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and "Philly" Joe Jones - was arguably the most important small group Davis ever led, a unit whose interplay defined the hard bop era and whose personnel would go on to shape jazz for decades, Coltrane most spectacularly of all. The repertoire mixes standards (Rodgers and Hart's

Tracklist

Side 1

1. It Never Entered My Mind (Rodgers & Hart)
2. Four (Miles Davis-Prestige Music-BMI)
3. In Your Own Sweet Way (Dave Brubeck)
4. The Theme (take 1)

Side 2

1. Trane's Blues (John Coltrane-Prestige Music-BMI)
2. Ahmad's Blues (Ahmad Jamal)
3. Half Nelson (Miles Davis)
4. The Theme (take 2)

The Label

This copy carries the classic yellow-and-black "fireworks" Prestige label with the "203 South Washington Ave., Bergenfield, N.J." address and pronounced deep groove on both sides, the label design used by Prestige from roughly 1957 into the early-1960s before the switch to the dark blue "trident" label design used from 1964. The album itself was first issued in December 1959 despite the sessions dating to 1956, and this Bergenfield yellow-label pressing represents the true first-issue label configuration for the LP. RVG is stamped (machine-stamped, per the collector's transcription) into the deadwax on both sides, consistent with Van Gelder-cut lacquers pressed for this era of Prestige releases. Placement on the yellow deep-groove Bergenfield label with RVG stamp (rather than the later blue trident label) puts this squarely as an early/first-pressing example in the PRLP 7166 hierarchy, ahead of all subsequent Prestige, Fantasy, OJC, and modern audiophile reissues.

Fidelity

Mastered by Rudy Van Gelder direct from his own Hackensack recordings, this Bergenfield-era yellow label pressing is generally regarded by collectors (Steve Hoffman forums, jazzcollector.com) as sonically superior to later Fantasy/OJC reissues, offering the natural, well-balanced mono sound RVG achieved with this quintet. It ranks below only the true first-run stampers in the earliest Bergenfield pressings (variant differences are subtle and largely inaudible) and above the 1964-71 blue trident repress, the 1980s-90s OJC reissues, and most CD remasters; the 2000s-era Analogue Productions mono/stereo audiophile reissue is considered an excellent modern alternative but original Van Gelder-cut Bergenfield copies remain the benchmark for collectors seeking the most authentic sound.

Notes

This is the original mono first pressing of PRLP 7166 on the yellow-and-black "fireworks" Prestige label with the Bergenfield, NJ address and deep groove on both sides, the label design in use when the album was first released in December 1959/1960. RVG stamped in the deadwax on both sides confirms Van Gelder mastering, consistent with an early Bergenfield-era pressing rather than the later blue trident label (1964-71) or subsequent Fantasy/OJC reissues. The collector's transcription shows a hand-etched-style "PRLP-7166-A RVG" on side A and "PRLP-7166-B RVG VBW" on side B, both typical of this pressing era's deadwax conventions.

Documenting collections

I do this work for other people’s collections too — documenting a collection record by record, researching individual pressings, and preparing collections for sale or for insurance. If you have a collection you would like documented, or a record you want identified properly, get in touch: email

This record’s page: https://vinylcurator.net/albums/miles-davis-workin/