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

Lou Donaldson

Blues Walk

c. 1959-1962 · Blue Note BST 1593 · Stereo · US · LP · 33 1/3 RPM

Pressing details

Label	Blue Note
Catalogue number	BST 1593
Year	c. 1959-1962
Mono / Stereo	Stereo
Country	US
Format	LP
Speed	33 1/3 RPM
Genre	Jazz - Hard Bop
Producer	Alfred Lion
Musicians	Lou Donaldson (alto sax), Herman Foster (piano), 'Peck' Morrison (bass), Dave Bailey (drums), Ray Barretto (conga)

Availability

This record is currently listed for sale: view the listing on eBay.

Matrix / Runout

Side A:  BN.ST.1593.A EAR RVG STEREO
Side B:  BN.ST.1593.B-1 EAR RVG STEREO

Condition

Cover: EX
Vinyl: EX

Variant chronology

1958 - US Blue Note BLP 1593, deep-groove mono, 47 West 63rd label (pre-INC)
1959 (June) - US Blue Note BST 1593, deep-groove stereo, 47 West 63rd label without INC, original stereo issue
1959 (late)-1962 - US Blue Note BST 1593, deep-groove stereo, 47 West 63rd label with INC. and (R)  <- this copy
1962-1965 - US Blue Note BST 1593, New York, USA label, stereo repress
1966 - US Blue Note BST 81593, Liberty-era reissue
1985 - US Blue Note BST 81593, Manhattan/EMI reissue, remastered
2007 - Classic Records BST 81593-STEREO-200G audiophile reissue
2008 - US Analogue Productions TBNJ 81593, 2xLP 45rpm audiophile reissue
2019 onward - Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series 180g reissue

This Pressing

Stereo pressing (BST 1593) with the deep-groove, INC./(R) "47 West 63rd" NYC label, RVG stamp and Plastylite ear in the runout - later than the original June 1959 stereo issue, dating from late 1959 through about 1962.

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.

Tracklist

Side 1

1. Blues Walk (Donaldson)
2. Move (Denzil Best)
3. The Masquerade Is Over (Magidson-Wrubel)

Side 2

1. Play Ray (Donaldson)
2. Autumn Nocturne (Josef Myrow)
3. Callin' All Cats (Donaldson)

The Label

Both side labels print the blue-and-white Blue Note design with the full "BLUE NOTE RECORDS INC · 47 WEST 63rd · NYC" address arced above the spindle, the registered (R) mark at the base, and deep-groove rings on both sides. Blue Note added "INC." and the (R) mark to its labels at the end of 1959 - BLP 4017 from October 1959 already carries it - while the stereo edition of this title was first issued in June 1959, before that change took place. The INC./(R) label on this copy therefore places it after the original June 1959 stereo release, in the window running from late 1959 to about 1962: the New York, USA design replaced the 47 West 63rd address on new labels in late 1961, and the remaining 47 West 63rd label stock was used into 1962. This is a stereo pressing from that later 47 West 63rd production run rather than the stereo title's first pressing.

Fidelity

The runout carries the Van Gelder stamp and the Plastylite ear, so this pressing was cut from the original session tapes and pressed at the Plastylite plant, though the INC./(R) label dates this particular copy to after Blues Walk's original June 1959 stereo release. Collectors on the forums continue to rate any deep-groove Plastylite-era Blue Note pressing above the later Liberty and United Artists repressings for tonal warmth and dynamic punch, and this copy's stamps keep it within that favored early group rather than the lower tier. The 2019 Music Matters 33/45rpm reissues, remastered from the analog tapes, are well regarded for quiet surfaces and tight bass and are often preferred by purists alongside these vintage Plastylite pressings, while the modern 180g Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series reissue, also mastered from the analog tapes, ranks below both.

Notes

This is a Blue Note stereo pressing of Blues Walk carrying the deep-groove “47 West 63rd” label with the INC. text and registered (R) mark. Blue Note introduced INC./(R) labels at the end of 1959 (BLP 4017, October 1959, is the first number to carry it), while BST 1593 was first released in stereo in June 1959 on labels without that text - so an INC./(R) copy cannot be the original stereo pressing. The 47 West 63rd address remained on new labels until the New York, USA design appeared in late 1961, and the remaining 47 West 63rd label stock was used into 1962, placing this copy in the window of roughly late 1959 to 1962. The runout carries the hand-etched BN.ST.1593.A / B-1 matrix, the RVG stamp and the Plastylite ear, marks of Van Gelder mastering and Plastylite pressing on this later deep-groove run.

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