Part of the ultimate audiophile Prestige stereo reissues from Analogue Productions — 25 of the most collectable, rarest, most audiophile-sounding Rudy Van Gelder recordings ever made. All cut at 33 1/3.

All mastered from the original analogue master tapes by mastering maestro Kevin Gray. 180-gram LPs pressed at Acoustic Sounds’ state-of-the-art pressing plant, Quality Record Pressings, plated by Gary Salstrom

Deep groove label pressings, tip-on jackets on thick cardboard stock

Originally released in November 1960, Ballads by Cobb, as its title suggests, is all slow ballads, putting the emphasis on the Texas tenor’s warm tone.

A Texas tenor player in the tradition of Illinois Jacquet, Arnett Cobb’s accessible playing was between swing and early rhythm & blues. His stomping, robust style earned him the title “Wild Man of the Tenor Sax.”

Cobb spent most of the 1960s playing back in his native Texas but he returned to the national scene in 1973 and during his final 15 years engaged in many exciting tenor battles, showing that there were few tougher Texas tenors than the legendary Arnett Cobb.

Here, the Wild Man takes a smoother, more emotional approach. The album was recorded Nov. 1, 1960 by Rudy Van Gelder at his studio in Englewood Cliffs, N.J.. It was produced by Esmond Edwards.