The best albums from legendary Blue Note Records jazz catalogue get impeccable audiophile treatment by Analogue Productions, cut at 45rpm for ultimate sound quality by equaly legendary mastering engineers Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman at AcousTech, preserving all the analog glory of the Original Master Tapes to bring these sessions to life in spectacular fashion, like they deserve.

• Limited Edition
• Numbered Edition
• Cut from the Original Analog Master Tapes
• Mastered by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman
• Mastered at AcousTech
• 2LP 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl 45rpm
• Pressed by RTI USA

"…As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their hands…Back home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent me…I hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud." – Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile

Lou Donaldson's undisputed masterpiece, Blues Walk, marks the point where the altoist began to decisively modify his heavy Charlie Parker influence and add a smoky, bluesy flavor of his own. The material is still firmly in the bebop style, and the mellower moments aren't as sleepy as some of Donaldson's subsequent work, so the album sounds vital and distinctive even as it slows down and loosens things up. What elevates Blues Walk to classic status is its inviting warmth. Donaldson's sweetly singing horn is melodic throughout the six selections, making even his most advanced ideas sound utterly good-natured and accessible. The easy-swinging title cut is arguably Donaldson's signature tune even above his late-'60s soul-jazz hits, and his other two originals, "Play Ray" and "Callin' All Cats," are in largely the same vein.

Musicians:

Lou Donaldson, alto sax
Herman Foster, piano
'Peck' Morrison, bass
Dave Bailey, drums
Ray Barretto, conga 

Track Listing:

1. Blues Walk
2. Move
3. The Masquerade Is Over
4. Play Ray
5. Autumn Nocturne
6. Callin' All Cats

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫