Donald Byrd - The Cat Walk (2LP, 45RPM, Number 0683)
Rarity - Sealed
Trumpet - Donald Byrd [click here to see more vinyl featuring Donald Byrd]
Drums - Philly Joe Jones [click here to see more vinyl featuring Philly Joe Jones]
Piano - Duke Pearson [click here to see more vinyl featuring Duke Pearson]
Baritone sax - Pepper Adams
Bass - Laymon Jackson
Written by Duke Pearson (A1 to B2, D1), Donald Bryd (B2, C1), Neal Hefti (C2)
2LPs, gatefold jacket
Limited to 2,500 numbered copies (Number 0683)
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 45 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Record Technology Incorporated
Label : Music Matters
Original Label : Blue Note
Recorded at Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ on May 2, 1961
Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder
Produced by Alfred Lion
Remastered by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman at AcousTech Mastering
Liner Notes by Nat Hentoff
Photography by Francis Wolff
Originally released in 1962
Reissued in February 2009
Tracks:
Side A:
- Say You're Mine
Side B:
- Duke's Mixture
- Each Time I Think Of You
Side C:
- The Cat Walk
- Cute
Side D:
- Hellow Bright Sunflower
Reviews:
"Trumpeter Donald Byrd and baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams worked together on several recordings between 1958 and 1961, and The Cat Walk (released on LP in 1962) is among the best. A quintet setting, with pianist Duke Pearson (another longtime Byrd collaborator), bassist Laymon Jackson, and a lively Philly Joe Jones on drums joining the front line of Byrd and Adams, the sessions for The Cat Walk benefited from the writing and arrangement skills of Pearson, who contributes three compositions here, the impressive opener "Say You're Mine," "Duke's Mixture," and "Hello Bright Sunflower," which borrows its melodic structure from the opening bars of "Lullaby of Broadway" and features Byrd using a muted trumpet. Byrd contributed the title track, which attempts to capture the coiled, taut, but somehow still relaxed and assured gait of a tomcat, thanks in no small part to Jones' inspired drumming which hits the mark with stops and turns and smooth run-outs that are indeed very feline in nature. Byrd's playing throughout is typically sleek and lyrical, and Adams' sturdy, husky baritone sound is the perfect counterbalance, making The Cat Walk an essential Byrd purchase." AllMusic Review by Steve Leggett
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4 / 5 , Discogs : 4.71 / 5, The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide : 3 / 5