“I was the engineer on the recording sessions and I also made the masters for the original LP issues of these albums. Since the advent of the CD, other people have been making the masters. Mastering is the final step in the process of creating the sound of the finished product. Now, thanks to the folks at the Concord Music Group who have given me the opportunity to remaster these albums, I can present my versions of the music on CD using modern technology. I remember the sessions well, I remember how the musicians wanted to sound, and I remember their reactions to the playbacks. Today, I feel strongly that I am their messenger.”

—Rudy Van Gelder

From the mid-1950s to the early ’60s, Red Garland’s piano was one of jazz’s most prevalent, and recognizable, sounds. When Garland (1923-1984) recorded this, his second album for Prestige, he was riding high as a member of Miles Davis’s first “great quintet.” But Red’s own LPs also generated a strong following. Loyal and casual fans alike were attracted to his bell-like block chords, left-hand punctuations suggesting a boxer peppering a speed bag, and urbane-bluesy feeling on ballads. Garland also had a “head for tunes,” and this set, comprised entirely of standards, plus an extended reading of Percy Mayfield’s r&b classic “Please Send Me Someone to Love,” repeatedly displays just how much he loved playing them. As he often was on his Prestige sessions, Garland is accompanied by top-flight bassist (and Miles Davis bandmate) Paul Chambers and drummer Arthur Taylor, whose brushstrokes are sheer artistry.