Thank you for buying this record. What follows is its documentation: the
pressing identified, the matrix / runout transcribed by hand from the dead
wax, and the condition as assessed before it was listed. It is yours to keep
with the record.
— Paul, Vinyl Curator
Kenny Burrell
Blue Lights, Volume 1
2005 · RTI (Record Technology Incorporated) test-pressing label for the Classic Records/Blue Note reissue series BLP 1596 / BST 81596 (matrix BN-ST-81596) · Stereo · US · LP, test pressing · 33 1/3 RPM
Pressing details
| Label | RTI (Record Technology Incorporated) test-pressing label for the Classic Records/Blue Note reissue series |
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| Catalogue number | BLP 1596 / BST 81596 (matrix BN-ST-81596) |
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| Year | 2005 |
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| Mono / Stereo | Stereo |
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| Country | US |
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| Format | LP, test pressing |
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| Speed | 33 1/3 RPM |
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| Genre | Jazz - Hard Bop |
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| Producer | Alfred Lion |
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| Musicians | Louis Smith (trumpet), Junior Cook (tenor sax), Tina Brooks (tenor sax), Kenny Burrell (guitar), Duke Jordan (piano), Bobby Timmons (piano), Sam Jones (bass), Art Blakey (drums) |
|---|
Matrix / Runout
Side A: BN-ST-81596-A BG
Side B: BN-ST-81596-B BG
Condition
- Cover
- NM
- Vinyl
- NM
Variant chronology
1958 - US Blue Note mono deep-groove RVG original (Lexington Ave/63rd St labels)
1973-1975 - United Artists-era Blue Note stereo reissue, BST 81596 flat label
1979 - Japanese Blue Note stereo reissue, GXF-3172
2005 - Classic Records/RTI blue-on-white factory test pressing, hand-dated, Bernie Grundman stereo cut <- this copy
2007 - Classic Records/Blue Note commercial 200g Quiex SV-P stereo LP, BST 81596-STEREO-200G
This Pressing
2005 RTI factory test pressing for the Classic Records/Blue Note all-analog 200g stereo reissue, Bernie Grundman cut (matrix suffix BG), pre-dating commercial release.
The Album
Recorded for Blue Note at Manhattan Towers on May 14, 1958, Blue Lights was one of two LPs drawn from a single marathon blowing session led by guitarist Kenny Burrell, then just twenty-seven but already established as one of the era's most fluent and lyrical hard-bop guitarists. Producer Alfred Lion assembled an all-star sextet-plus-rhythm lineup - trumpeter Louis Smith, tenor men Junior Cook and Tina Brooks, pianists Duke Jordan and Bobby Timmons, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Art Blakey - and let the group stretch out on standards and blues heads in the loose, informal spirit that defined many of Blue Note's late-1950s sessions. Burrell's warm, economical playing anchors the date, most memorably on the relaxed, blues-drenched opener "Yes Baby" and the atmospheric reading of "Autumn in New York." The session captures Tina Brooks and Junior Cook, both still emerging tenor voices, alongside a characteristically driving Art Blakey and the contrasting piano styles of Jordan and Timmons. Blue Lights helped cement Burrell's standing as a leader beyond his prolific work as a Blue Note session guitarist, and it remains a favorite among hard-bop collectors for its music and for its striking cover, illustrated in its earliest form by a young, pre-fame Andy Warhol working for Blue Note's art department under Reid Miles.
Tracklist
Side 1
1. Yes Baby
2. Scotch Blues
Side 2
1. Autumn In New York
2. Caravan
The Label
Side 1 carries the manufacturer's own blue-on-white Record Technology Incorporated label reading TEST PRESSING, hand-dated in ink and stamped with the matrix; side 2 is a blank, unprinted white RTI label. Neither label reproduces the vintage Blue Note design at all - this is the plant's standard pre-production test-press stock used across its Quiex SV-P audiophile reissue runs of the mid-2000s, not a facsimile of any historic Blue Note pressing. Its place in the pressing hierarchy is defined entirely by that RTI test-press stock and the hand-written date, not by any label-design tell, since none of the historic Blue Note label variants are represented here.
Fidelity
Mastered by Bernie Grundman for Classic Records' all-analog Blue Note reissue program and pressed on RTI's Quiex SV-P 200g stock, this pre-production test pressing represents the earliest possible playback of that stereo cut, ahead of any commercial run. Collectors on the forums generally rate the Classic Records Blue Note reissues highly for quiet, heavy vinyl and faithful analog mastering, though many still prefer the original 1958 Van Gelder stereo cut for its immediacy and tonal balance. Within this title's fidelity hierarchy, the original Van Gelder pressings sit at the top, this Grundman/RTI Classic Records stereo cut ranks as the leading modern audiophile alternative, and later Japanese CD and vinyl reissues sit below both.
Notes
This is a 2005 RTI factory test pressing struck for Classic Records' audiophile 200g stereo reissue, not a retail copy and not an original 1958 pressing. Side 1 carries a printed RTI TEST PRESSING label hand-dated August 22, 2005 with matrix BN-ST-81596 A/BRE; side 2 is a blank, unprinted RTI label, both hallmarks of a pre-production test rather than a commercial pressing. The matrix suffix BG identifies Bernie Grundman as mastering engineer, consistent with Classic Records' Blue Note reissue program. The jacket used is the standard illustrated Classic Records-era Blue Note reissue cover rather than a true 1958 original jacket.
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