Leonard Bernstein's Prelude, Fugue and Riffs were written for Woody Herman's Band. By 1945 Herman had adopted a small number of "progressive" set pieces into his band's book, among them Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto. However when Bernstein put the finishing touches on Prelude, Fugue and Riffs in late 1949, the Herman organization had disbanded. Bernstein later adapted some of its music for use in the 1952 show Wonderful Town. The original was finally heard for the first time in an episode of the CBS television show Omnibus, hosted by Bernstein and entitled What Is Jazz, that aired October 16, 1955. Benny Goodman played the clarinet lead intended for Herman. Bernstein's first recording of the work, also made with Goodman, would appear on the Columbia album Meeting at the Summit in 1966.

Prelude, Fugue and Riffs is scored for a standard dance-band instrumentation of solo clarinet, saxes and trumpets in fives, four trombones, piano, string bass, and drums, to which Bernstein adds a second percussion part. It is one of the most frequently performed of Bernstein's shorter concert works, and has been widely embraced by wind ensembles in particular. While it was intended as a sort of crossover piece that combines jazz and classical elements, the material in Prelude, Fugue and Riffs leans more heavily in favor of the jazz aspect. Stravinsky's jazz-inspired music is an obvious point of reference for this work, and the similarity is felt most strongly in the opening Prelude, scored for the brass. This is followed by the Fugue for the saxes. In the Riffs section the solo clarinet is heard over the whole ensemble, which concludes with a riff reminiscent of Count Basie and of Kansas City-style ensemble jamming.

Bernstein's overall organization is mostly cellular, and the piece lacks a strong central theme. However, at individual points within Prelude, Fugue and Riffs, some of Bernstein's best and most characteristic ideas appear in miniature—for example, the tough, dissonant blues section in the Prelude that perks up your attention like a strong cup of coffee. Rhythmically, the piece has a lot of verve, and there is a fair amount of intricate pointillism scored in the sax parts. The section that precedes the final Count Basie-like riff looks forward to the approach Bernstein employed in the "Rumble" music from West Side Story.

Prelude, Fugue and Riffs works as a jazzy showstopper in symphonic band concerts. By 1949 Bernstein had already gained a tremendous amount of experience scoring for dance bands in a popular vein. His attempt to carry this experience over into a "serious" context differs from the approach of Stravinsky, Milhaud and others, who were coming from the classical end of the spectrum and largely developing their own, more obviously "composed" requirements for jazz ensembles. In this respect, Bernstein's Prelude, Fugue and Riffs "swings" more effectively than other pieces of its kind, and is absolutely faultless in practical terms in its orientation as a dance band "chart."

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