Like several other prominent jazz producers of the Fifties, Bob Weinstock started out as a traditional jazz fan but soon found himself standing at the cutting edge of modern jazz. He launched his own label - originally called New Jazz, soon renamed Prestige - in 1949 and, during the next decade, recorded such giants as Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy, Thelonious Monk, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and John Coltrane, often in informal "blowing" sessions.

Weinstock turned the reins over to other producers in 1958, and Prestige soon became the leading purveyor of what is now known as acid jazz with its recordings of Jack McDuff, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Charles Earland, and others.

Prestige became part of the Fantasy group of labels in 1972 which, in turn, merged with Concord Music Group in 2004.