brownie Posted January 25, 2007 Report Posted January 25, 2007 The death of photographer Esmond Edwards has been reported last week on a couple of sites. I have not seen any obituary about it in the traditional media. Edwards was responsible for some of the best covers on Prestige albums and other labels. The Esmond Edwards page at CTSImages One of my favorite of his Prestige albums cover: Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted January 25, 2007 Report Posted January 25, 2007 (edited) Very sorry to hear the news. In addition to his wonderful photography, he produced many fine recordings. Edited January 25, 2007 by Chuck Nessa Quote
mikeweil Posted January 25, 2007 Report Posted January 25, 2007 Sorry to read this, too - he was to Prestige what Frank Wolff was to Blue Note. Quote
DMP Posted January 25, 2007 Report Posted January 25, 2007 And Edmonds wrote many tunes, including one of my favorites - "Bonita," on Illinois Jacquet's "The Message" - it was a minor jazz hit at the time of its release. Very soulful. Quote
clifford_thornton Posted January 25, 2007 Report Posted January 25, 2007 RIP. This is starting out to be a hell of a year. Quote
marcello Posted January 25, 2007 Report Posted January 25, 2007 Love those Gene Ammons records! Quote
Stereojack Posted January 25, 2007 Report Posted January 25, 2007 Esmond Edwards was one of the unsung heroes of the jazz record business. Many great sessions, and so many fine album covers. RIP. Quote
Shawn Posted January 26, 2007 Report Posted January 26, 2007 He sure produced some magnificent sessions! I never knew about the album covers...that's quite a shock. What are some of the others? Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted January 26, 2007 Report Posted January 26, 2007 He sure produced some magnificent sessions! I never knew about the album covers...that's quite a shock. What are some of the others? The original 12 inch version of this is wonderful: http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000...1115519869_.jpg Quote
king ubu Posted January 26, 2007 Report Posted January 26, 2007 Sad news! Many fine photos of his are in the booklet of the Dolphy Complete Prestige box, too... I think that's where I first noted he did some photos, too - before I only was aware of him as a producer/session supervisor. The cover of Coltrane's debut album is terrific! Quote
king ubu Posted January 26, 2007 Report Posted January 26, 2007 Just found this list over here: http://www.docdosco.com/edwards.html Pretty impressive! Quote
brownie Posted January 26, 2007 Author Report Posted January 26, 2007 Very impressive, in fact Many of his best Prestige covers were designed by Reid Miles! A shame that his death still seems to be ignored by the Media! Quote
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted January 26, 2007 Report Posted January 26, 2007 Just found this list over here: http://www.docdosco.com/edwards.html Pretty impressive! They missed off the list most of the early Willis Jackson Prestige material; Baby Face Willette's "Mo rock"; Jimmy Ponder's "While my guitar gently weeps" and loads of other stuff. Esmond really took Bob Weinstock's place as a producer in the late '50s and guided the company away from the jam sessions that Bob loved to a slightly more structured approach, a bit more akin to Blue Note, but focusing on tenor players whose work appealed more to a black audience: Arnett Cobb; Jaws and the Cookbooks; Jimmy Forrest; King Curtis; Gator Tail; Hal Singer; and of course Jug. As a result of this focus, he got into organ players - McDuff; Scott; Young. It shouldn't be forgotten that it was Esmond who first produced Larry Young. (And, after he left Prestige for Argo, he continued to record Young, under Thornel Schwartz' name.) All that really set the tone for Prestige. The main Prestige producers who followed Esmond - Ozzie Cadena; Cal Lampley; Bob Porter - were just sewing in the fields Esmond had ploughed. Esmond really created '60s/'70s Prestige. That made him a MAJOR hero for me. (And of course, he produced one of my all time favourite disco albums - "Warm and Sonny" by Sonny Criss.) This is a really sad day. RIP. MG Quote
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted January 26, 2007 Report Posted January 26, 2007 In fact, insofar as Joe Fields' labels Cobblestone, Muse and HighNote/Savant, have assumed the mantle of Prestige, Esmond's legacy continues to the present. MG Quote
king ubu Posted January 26, 2007 Report Posted January 26, 2007 derailing the thread for a second... I tend to think of Cadena as a Savoy producer, mainly (and a helluva fine composer, ha ha ha)... and your Prestige list misses Don Schlitten who did the books of Booger and other fine things (he too worked for other labels, and I think he took some photos as well). Quote
brownie Posted January 26, 2007 Author Report Posted January 26, 2007 Some more favorite Esmond Edwards covers for Prestige, that were not mentioned in the docdosco link... Quote
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted January 26, 2007 Report Posted January 26, 2007 derailing the thread for a second... I tend to think of Cadena as a Savoy producer, mainly (and a helluva fine composer, ha ha ha)... and your Prestige list misses Don Schlitten who did the books of Booger and other fine things (he too worked for other labels, and I think he took some photos as well). Absolutely - Ozzie was a very important producer at Savoy. It was his idea to use RVG for recording Gospel music at Savoy. And of course he also produced the few Gospel albums that Prestige issued on the TruSound label. Don Schlitten was a different kind of producer at Prestige, which is why I didn't include him in my list. Don was mainly producing Bop and Hard Bop albums, not following the Esmond Edwards model, which was by and large Soul Jazz, and what Prestige was better known for than any other label. MG Quote
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted January 26, 2007 Report Posted January 26, 2007 We all pay closer attention to some things than most. That's what makes life very, very, interesting. MG Quote
T.D. Posted January 26, 2007 Report Posted January 26, 2007 This is a nice Edwards shot (sorry I couldn't find a bigger image): Quote
sidewinder Posted January 27, 2007 Report Posted January 27, 2007 Sorry to hear about this. Much admiring of his work at Prestige and late-70s Impulse. for the cover art too. RIP. Quote
CJ Shearn Posted January 27, 2007 Report Posted January 27, 2007 RIP there are some terrific photos and designs there Quote
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