Got shamed into confronting my lack of real exploration into Nelson's Prestige catalog (as leader and sideman), have the dates with Dolphy, of course, essential music, imo, but everything else has been kind of collected accidentally in effect, if not in intent. Going about rectifying that, and am finding much delight in the various small group dates where he plays at more length and opportunity than his later dates that were so often showcases for the sidepeoples (the quartet side of Sound Pieces being a memorable exception).
My first real OMG moment of Oliver's playing was perhaps the most obvious one, and from a long time ago, the tenor solo on "Stolen Moments" from Blues And The Abstract truth, holy shit, talk about tensions and contrasts. But I more or less moved ahead from that album rather than back (the one exception being that Prestige two-fer LP with Dolphy, talk about a perfect package) figuring, oh well, Prestige, earlier work, small groups, whenever. Well, now's the time. In the process of filling in most of the remaining blanks, with one thing coming in that I have no idea what to expect - an Etta Jones string album...has anybody ever heard that one?
Anyway, Oliver Nelson on Prestige, please comment if you've gone there at any point with any real purpose. His relationship with the label seemed to have been a productive one.