Variant chronology
1958 - US Blue Note BLP 1593 mono, deep-groove '47 West 63rd' label, RVG/ear
1959 - US Blue Note BST 1593 stereo, deep-groove '47 West 63rd' label, RVG/ear <- this copy
1962 - US Blue Note BST 1593 repress, stereo, W. 63rd label - no documented sale found for this repress
1966 - US Blue Note BST 81593 reissue (Liberty era) - no documented sale found for this reissue
2007 - Classic Records BST 81593-STEREO-200G audiophile reissue
2019 onward - Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series 180g reissue
The Album
Blues Walk was recorded on July 28, 1958 at Rudy Van Gelder's Hackensack studio, coming right on the heels of Lou Donaldson's Lou Takes Off and cementing the blues-drenched, soul-jazz direction he'd been refining since the mid-1950s. Donaldson, a Charlie Parker-schooled alto saxophonist from Badin, North Carolina, had by this point built a reputation as one of the most accessible and groove-oriented voices to emerge from Blue Note's hard-bop stable, and this session - built around a stripped-down quintet with Herman Foster's bluesy piano and, crucially, Ray Barretto's conga - pushed that sensibility further toward the Latin-tinged, dance-floor-friendly sound that would define his later career. The title track became one of Donaldson's signature compositions, a deceptively simple blues line that swings hard and has since been covered widely and sampled repeatedly in hip-hop. Ballads like The Masquerade Is Over and Autumn Nocturne showcase Donaldson's warm, vocal-like tone, while Denzil Best's Move and the original Callin' All Cats keep the tempo brisk. The album is widely regarded as one of the high points of Donaldson's Blue Note run and a touchstone of the blues-based, groove-first strain of hard bop that would evolve into soul jazz through the 1960s. It remains a favorite among collectors and DJs alike for both its musical directness and its enduring influence on funk and hip-hop sampling culture.
The Label
The side labels show the blue/white Blue Note design with the full "BLUE NOTE RECORDS INC. 47 WEST 63rd . NYC" address arced above the spindle and a small (R) trademark symbol at the bottom rim, matched by deep-groove rings on both sides - this is the fourth Blue Note label state used roughly 1959-1962, distinguished from the earlier "no INC/no (R)" third-state label that ran 1958-1959. Blue Note occupied the 47 West 63rd Street address from 1957 to 1966, and BST 1593 (the stereo counterpart to mono BLP 1593) entered Blue Note's stereo catalog around mid-1959, squarely inside this fourth-label production window. The presence of the (R) mark and "INC." therefore does not push this copy to a later pressing - it is the label design current at the time of Blues Walk's original stereo release, placing this copy at the head of the stereo pressing line rather than behind a still-earlier stereo variant.
Notes
This is a genuine original Blue Note stereo pressing of Blues Walk: the deep-groove "Blue Note Records Inc, 47 West 63rd, NYC" labels place it in the fourth Blue Note label state (c. 1959-1962), matching the album's original stereo release window. The runout carries BN.ST.1593.A / B-1 with EAR and RVG stamps, confirming Van Gelder mastering and Plastylite pressing, the standard markers of a first-generation Blue Note pressing rather than a later Liberty-era repress. No "Division of Liberty" text appears on this copy, consistent with an early-1959/60 pressing date for this stereo issue.
Documenting collections
I do this work for other people’s collections too — documenting a
collection record by record, researching individual pressings, and preparing
collections for sale or for insurance. If you have a collection you would like
documented, or a record you want identified properly, get in touch:
email
This record’s page: https://vinylcurator.net/albums/lou-donaldson-blues-walk/
