Roland Kirk recorded three albums before his deal with Mercury Records in 1961 began a period on major labels that lasted the rest of his all too brief life. Recorded live in Rudy Van Gelder’s Englewood Cliffs, NJ studio on July 11, 1961, Prestige Records released Kirk’s Work later that year after Kirk had signed and recorded an album with Mercury. Prestige couldn’t compete with Mercury’s distribution, and Kirk’s Work would get overlooked upon its original release as We Free
