Lou Donaldson - Blues Walk (MONO)

An alto player originally deep-rooted in bop, who by the late fifties was beginning to shed his Charlie Parker influences and take a more bluesy/soul approach. Blues Walk, from a one-day session in July of �58 has attained unanimous five-star status with the title track itself becoming one the leader�s signature tunes. Surrounding himself not with the usual all-stars found on many Blue Note dates from this period, Donaldson carefully chose his cohorts personally for their cohesiveness as a unit. Never one to engage frequently in wide-open �blowing sessions�, the results are powerful yet melodic and in one case, �Autumn Nocturne�, fairly romantic without causing full-blown diabetes. Pianist Herman Foster�s intense pianistics almost steal the show while Peck Morrison�s bass and the often-overlooked Dave Bai! ley�s d rumming augment to perfection. The addition of Ray Barretto�s congas (a regular on many of Donaldson�s sessions from this period) is tasteful and a nice touch without turning every song into a Latin re-write. �Play, Ray� is an arrangement dedicated to the congist while �The Masquerade Is Over�, �Calling All Cats� and �Move� complete the set. Mastered and cut from the original FULL TRACK mono master tapes using a full track mono tape head and ALL TUBE tape electronics and cutting system allowed Bernie "BeBop" Grundman to extract every nuance on the tapes which adds to the magic of this Rudy Van Gelder recording. This is the real deal and it is done perfectly from mastering through to the authentic laminated cover art (front only) to the "deep groove" in the center label. If you didn't know better you would think that a copy of this reissue is a perfect original that has been locked in a time capsule instead of another installment in the acclaimed Classic Records Signature Blue Note Mono LP series.