The untold story of a visionary record producer.
Through newly commissioned essays from music historians Wolfram Knauer and Richie Unterberger, journalist Ignacio Juliá, and essayist
Pacôme Thiellement, this book, the first publication devoted to the visionary record producer Tom Wilson, explores his role in documenting avant-garde jazz, producing some of the key folk-rock recordings of the 1960s, and his daring collaborations with influential US rock bands. It also includes a rare full-length interview with Wilson and a selection of unpublished photographs.
Tom Wilson (1931–1978) started Transition Records in 1955, a pioneering label that painted a picture of vibrant jazz scenes from Boston to Memphis. Based out of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Transition
came to prominence with releases featuring
John Coltrane,
Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, and Donald Byrd, among others, before running out of money in 1958. Wilson then moved to New York and began an extensive career as an "A&R man" (artists and repertoire) for indie and major labels, crafting innovative productions at Columbia for Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel before signing the Velvet Underground, Nico, and the Mothers of Invention at MGM Records. His work as a record producer is as expansive as it is little known.
