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 with The Three Sounds
LD+3
1959 · Blue Note BLP 4012 · Mono · US · LP · 33 1/3 RPM
Pressing details
| Label | Blue Note |
|---|
| Catalogue number | BLP 4012 |
|---|
| Year | 1959 |
|---|
| Mono / Stereo | Mono |
|---|
| Country | US |
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| Format | LP |
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| Speed | 33 1/3 RPM |
|---|
| Genre | Jazz - Hard Bop |
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| Producer | Alfred Lion |
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| Performer / Orchestra | The Three Sounds (Gene Harris, Andrew Simpkins, Bill Dowdy) |
|---|
| Musicians | Lou Donaldson (alto sax), Gene Harris (piano), Andrew Simpkins (bass), Bill Dowdy (drums) |
|---|
Matrix / Runout
Side A: BN-LP-4012A-1 RVG EAR
Side B: BN-LP-4012-B-1 EAR RVG
Condition
- Cover
- VG
- Vinyl
- VG
Variant chronology
1959 - US 1st pressing, "47 West 63rd" deep-groove label, no "Inc."/no ® on rim text, RVG + Plastylite ear in deadwax <- this copy
1961 - 2nd state, same "47 West 63rd" deep-groove label but with "Inc." and ® added to the rim text
c. 1961-63 - transitional "47 West 63rd" label, groove flattened (no deep groove), ear stamp discontinued
1963-66 - "New York, USA" address label, deep-groove and flat-edge variants
1966-69 - "New York, USA" label with bold trademark "b" logo (Liberty ownership era)
1972 - Liberty/United Artists blue-and-white label reissue, BST 84012
1985-2000s - Japanese King/Toshiba-EMI pressings (e.g. GXK-8229), Classic Records 200g mono reissue, Music Matters 2x45rpm audiophile reissue
This Pressing
1st pressing (mono, 1959) - Blue Note deep-groove 47 West 63rd label with no "Inc"/no ® wording; RVG stamp + Plastylite ear in deadwax.
The Album
Recorded February 18, 1959 at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, LD+3 paired alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson with Gene Harris's newly formed piano trio The Three Sounds, who had only just debuted on Blue Note themselves. Donaldson, a Charlie Parker disciple with a tone leaner and more direct than Bird's, had already built a solid Blue Note career through the 1950s and was moving toward the peak commercial run that would culminate in Blues Walk later that same year. The blend of Donaldson's bop-rooted alto with the funky, blues-drenched piano trio proved a natural fit, since the Three Sounds' grounded, groove-based comping gave Donaldson's fluent, Parker-inflected lines a soulful undertow. The set mixes standards (Three Little Words, Just Friends, Blue Moon, Don't Take Your Love From Me) with a Bird contrafact (Confirmation) and two Donaldson originals (Smooth Groove, Jump Up), giving the record a program that swings between straight bebop and the loose, riff-based feel that would soon define soul-jazz. Critics have long ranked it among the strongest sessions in either artist's catalog, praised for Donaldson's full-bodied tone and unforced swing and for how assured the Three Sounds already sound as accompanists. The album stands as an important bridge session, helping cement Donaldson's reputation as a first-rate alto voice while showcasing the Three Sounds just as they began their own prolific run of Blue Note dates.
Tracklist
Side 1
1. Three Little Words (Kalmar-Ruby)
2. Smooth Groove (Donaldson)
3. Just Friends (Lewis-Klenner)
4. Blue Moon (Rodgers-Hart)
Side 2
1. Jump Up (Donaldson)
2. Don't Take Your Love From Me (Nemo)
3. Confirmation (Parker)
The Label
The label is the white body/blue rim Blue Note design with the arc reading "BLUE NOTE RECORDS - 47 WEST 63rd - NYC," a single deep groove ring, and arc text showing no "Inc" alongside "Blue Note Records" - the earliest of the 47 West 63rd label states, used c.1957-early 1960s before Blue Note incorporated and added "Inc." and a ® registration mark to the same address labels around 1961. This design also exists in a near-identical later state with "Inc" and ® added, both still carrying RVG stamp and Plastylite ear in the deadwax. The absence of "Inc"/® on this label places the copy in the earlier of the two states. This positions the copy at or very near the top of the BLP 4012 mono pressing hierarchy, ahead of the later flat-edge/no-deep-groove NY labels and far ahead of the 1972 United Artists reissue.
Fidelity
Cut by Rudy Van Gelder directly from his own Hackensack session tape, this deep-groove 47 West 63rd pressing represents the original mono mastering generation, prized by collectors on the forums for the warmth and immediacy typical of vintage RVG Blue Note cuts. It ranks above later 1960s NY-USA label pressings, the 1972 United Artists reissue, and Japanese reissues (King/Toshiba-EMI), all of which derive from subsequent mastering generations or tape copies. Modern audiophile treatments - Classic Records' 200-gram LP and the Music Matters 2x45rpm reissue - use remastered cuts that often win praise for surface quietness and extended top end but are generally regarded by Blue Note collectors as sonically different companions to, rather than replacements for, an honest original Van Gelder pressing like this one.
Notes
1959 Blue Note BLP 4012 mono - earliest 47 West 63rd deep-groove label state, lacking the "Inc" and ® wording that Blue Note added to the same address labels around 1961. Deadwax shows RVG stamp and the Plastylite ear on both sides, consistent with an original-era Blue Note NJ pressing rather than a later reissue. Deep groove appears on both sides, matching the early West 63rd label configuration rather than the flat-edge/no-groove transitional labels that followed.
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