The Prestige All Stars – Wheelin’ & Dealin’

Three tenor players, one session

Frank Wess, John Coltrane and Paul Quinichette give Wheelin’ & Dealin’ its distinctive line-up. Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder’s Hackensack studio on 20 September 1957, the session adds Mal Waldron on piano, Doug Watkins on bass and Art Taylor on drums, with Bob Weinstock producing. Six musicians work through four extended selections.

Prestige released the album in 1958. The alternative billing, “The Prestige All Stars”, emphasises the collective session. Craft places the three horn players in its artist heading. Both names identify the same programme, while directing attention either towards the full ensemble or towards the meeting of its saxophonists.

Related instruments, different histories

Quinichette’s nickname, “Vice Pres”, points to his association with Lester Young’s playing tradition. Wess came from Count Basie’s musical world and plays flute as well as tenor saxophone. Coltrane was in an especially active period of development during 1957. Their different working histories come together within the same small group.

Several musicians playing the same instrument create an invitation to listen closely. Follow one solo and then the next: where does a phrase begin, how is it extended, and how much space separates one thought from another? You do not need to identify every player instantly to notice the choices being made. The shared setting makes those choices a useful focus for listening.

Waldron contributes more than accompaniment

“Things Ain’t What They Used to Be” is Mercer Ellington’s composition, and “Robbins’ Nest” supplies the other standard. Waldron wrote both “Wheelin’” and “Dealin’”. The pianist therefore contributes repertoire as well as his part within the rhythm section, providing another reason to look beyond the three featured horns.

Four selections leave substantial room for the individual players. Listen to the transitions as well as the solos, following Waldron, Watkins and Taylor while responsibility passes between the horns. How does the performance maintain its shape through those handovers? The session’s design makes that question central to the album. Its appeal begins with the opportunity to hear several musicians work from the same underlying material, each bringing a different approach to the next passage.

The Craft Original Jazz Classics edition

Craft CR00862, listed by the shop as ACONC 862, is a 180-gram LP playing at 33⅓ RPM. It is pressed at RTI and packaged in a Stoughton tip-on jacket with obi. Craft’s release announcement identifies Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio for the all-analogue cut from the original tapes. That mastering statement is attributed specifically to the publisher.

Michael 45 holds the record in Germany and sends it from Hilden, removing the need for a personal import from the United States and the customs wait that would accompany it.

More by The Prestige All Stars: All Night Long · Tenor Conclave

Artist page: All titles with John Coltrane

Musicians

Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.