Donald Byrd Off to the Races LP 1st Press BLP 4007 1959 Blue Note Mono

$

70

Donald Byrd - Off to the Races

Blue Note · BLP 4007 · 1959 · Mono

Vinyl: G DEEP GROOVE/G DEEP GROOVE · Cover: VG-

Matrix / runout:
Side A: BNLP-4007.A EAR RVG
Side B: BNLP-4007.B EAR RVG

1st pressing (mono, 1959) - deep-groove 47 West 63rd Blue Note label without ® trademark, RVG + Plastylite ear stamps in the dead wax.

Recorded on December 21, 1958 at Rudy Van Gelder's Hackensack studio and released the following year, Off to the Races arrived as trumpeter Donald Byrd was establishing himself as one of the era's most in-demand hard bop leaders and sidemen after his Detroit upbringing and stints with Art Blakey and Max Roach. The session pairs Byrd with a young, fiery Jackie McLean on alto and the underrated baritone specialist Pepper Adams, backed by a crack rhythm section of Wynton Kelly, Sam Jones, and Art Taylor, giving the record a harder, more aggressive edge than some of Byrd's later, more soul-jazz-leaning work. The program mixes a standard ("Lover") and a Sonny Rollins tune ("Paul's Pal") with four Byrd originals, including the boppish title track and the German-tinged blues "Sudwest Funk," named for a Southwest German radio station. Critically, the album is remembered as a solid, unpretentious showcase of late-1950s hard bop craftsmanship rather than a genre-defining statement, valued for its consistently strong blowing and the chemistry between Byrd, McLean, and Adams. It occupies a respected but modest place in Byrd's extensive Blue Note discography, appreciated by hard bop collectors for its personnel and unfussy, swinging character rather than for any singular historical breakthrough.

GRADING
Vinyl and sleeve are graded separately (vinyl/sleeve). Grading is done AFTER cleaning, so what I describe is what the record grades at CLEAN. Visual grading is under direct light. Photos are of the actual item, not stock images.

PACKING
The record travels outside the jacket in its new inner sleeve, jacket in
a new outer sleeve, in a 12" LP mailer with stiffeners.
Ships within 2 business days of cleared payment, Monday-Friday.
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RETURNS
30-day returns accepted. If the record is not as described, I pay
packed to the same standard.

IF THERE IS A PROBLEM
disagreement directly than have either of us go through a dispute.
I have been collecting for decades and I stand behind every grade.