Leroy Walks! - Leroy Vinnegar Sextet (1LP Vinyl) [CRAFT Recordings]

Leroy Walks! by Leroy Vinnegar Sextet.

Bassist Leroy Vinnegar built his reputation on a walking bass line so steady and swinging that it practically defined an era of West Coast rhythm sections, and "Leroy Walks!" turns that signature into the entire concept of a record. Fronting a sextet under his own name, Vinnegar assembles a program united by a single theme: every title is about walking, a nod to the very technique that made him one of the most in demand players of his day.

The album opens with "Walk On," followed by the breezy standard "Would You Like To Take A Walk" and the timeless "On The Sunny Side Of The Street," a trio of A-side selections that move easily between original swagger and songbook charm. Turn the record over and the walking motif continues with "Walkin'," the after hours favorite "Walkin' My Baby Back Home," the wartime standard "I'll Walk Alone," and finally "Walking By The River," a set that plays like a themed suite in disguise.

The music was captured at Contemporary's own studio in Los Angeles by the legendary engineering team of Roy DuNann and Howard Holzer, whose work for the label set a benchmark for natural, uncluttered jazz sound. Their recordings are celebrated for placing you in the room with the players, letting the bass breathe and the horns bloom without artifice, and that clarity is exactly what makes a bass led date like this one so rewarding.

This pressing does justice to that heritage. The mastering is all analog, cut directly from the original tapes by Bernie Grundman, one of the most respected names in the craft. That means the signal path stays faithful to the source, preserving the depth and warmth of the original sessions rather than filtering them through digital intervention.

Every disc is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, the audiophile plant renowned for quiet surfaces and precise, consistent results. The matrix and runout information is hand etched, a small touch that connects the finished product to the careful, hands on process behind it, and the record arrives housed in a QRP rice paper inner sleeve to keep the surface protected. A hype sticker on the shrink notes the all analog mastering, the QRP pressing, and includes a barcode for easy identification.

For collectors who prize both the music and the medium, this is a definitive presentation of a genuinely fun, thematically cohesive session. It is a showcase for Vinnegar's walking bass, a document of Contemporary's storied recording philosophy, and a reference quality pressing that honors both.

Pressing Details:
Publishers:
A1: Contemporary Music, BMI
A2: Remick Music Corp. ASCAP
A3: Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., Inc. ASCAP
B1: Prestige Music Co. BMI
B2: DeSylva, Brown & Henderson, Inc. ASCAP
B3: Mayfair Music Corp. ASCAP
B4: Broadcast Music, Inc. BMI

Comes with a 'Quality Record Pressings' rice paper inner sleeve.

[From back cover]
Recorded at Contemporary's studio in Los Angeles by Roy DuNann & Howard Holzer

Matrix/Runout are hand etched.

On hype sticker
• Barcode
• ALL-ANALOG mastering from the original tapes by Bernie Grundman
• Pressed on 180-gram Vinyl at QRP.

Track Listing:
A1. Walk On
A2. Would You Like To Take A Walk
A3. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
B1. Walkin'
B2. Walkin' My Baby Back Home
B3. I'll Walk Alone
B4. Walking By The River

Artist: Leroy Vinnegar Sextet

Format: 1LP

Genre: Jazz

Label: Stereo Records (4)

Catalog Number: CR00594

Series: CRAFT Recordings

Release Year: 2023

Country: Germany

Condition: Sealed (New)