In March, Craft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds proudly announced seven new titles in their acclaimed Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series.

These latest reissues, which continue Craft’s celebration of the iconic jazz label, include choice albums from Leroy Vinnegar, which is available June 16th, 2023, Ornette Coleman, Phineas Newborn, Jr., Art Farmer, Leroy Vinnegar and Curtis Counce.

Each title, originally engineered by Roy DuNann and/or Howard Holzer, boasts lacquers cut from the original master tapes (AAA) by the GRAMMY®-winning engineer (and former Contemporary Records employee) Bernie Grundman, while all LPs are pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings (QRP) and presented in Stoughton old style tip-on jackets.

All albums are available for pre-order/order today, with release dates beginning May 19th, 2023 through the end of 2023.

A busy sideman, who worked alongside the likes of Les McCann, Stan Getz and labelmate Shelly Manne, Vinnegar was known for his “walking” basslines (a signature move that gave him the nickname “The Walker”). While Vinnegar’s catalog as a leader is limited, his solo material stands as a testament to his talents.

His 1958 debut Leroy Walks! (inclusive of his sextet) offers plenty of plays on the bassist’s nickname, with the original “Walk On,” plus a handful of standards, including Julie Styne’s “I’ll Walk Alone” and Fred Ahlert’s “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home.”

Vinnegar is backed by Carl Perkins (piano), Victor Feldman (vibraphone), Teddy Edwards (tenor saxophone), Gerald Wilson (trumpet) and Tony Bazley (drums).

Side A:
1. Walk On
2. Would You Like To Take A Walk
3. On The Sunny Side Of the Street

Side B:
4. Walkin’
5. Walkin’ My Baby Back Home
6. I’ll Walk Alone
7. Walking By The River

This long out-of-print rarity contains a contemporary set, and as noted, it was also bassist Leroy Vinnegar’s first as a leader. Six of the seven songs have the word walk in their title, including the album, Side A opener’s, Vinnegar’s low slung, back alley creeping original Walk On and the veritably shimmering Would You Like to Take a Walk, the side rounding out on the perky, self-assured On The Sunny Side Of the Street.

Flipping the vinyl LP over, which has always been on of my most favorite things to do, and next up is their smooth version of the Richard Carpenter classic Walkin’ which is backed seamlessly by the quietly swinging grace found within Walkin’ My Baby Back Home, the side closing on the upright bass-led I’ll Walk Alone, and then comes the bright, sprightly-paced Walking By The River.

From start to finish, Vinnegar actually does not take much solo space and generously features his talented sidemen: the aforementioned vibraphonist Victor Feldman, trumpeter Gerald Wilson, tenor saxophonist Teddy Edwards, pianist Carl Perkins (who sadly passed away eight months after this session), and drummer Tony Bazley.

A mighty fine, straight-ahead session, Vinnegar’s big bottom end anchors this sweet swinging set of seven songs, where the accompanying sextet is always found to be tight, playful at times, the material laid back and groovy.

Personally, I really dig groups that play well together and the Leroy Vinnegar Sextet had that almost telepathic connection going on with one another on this release.

Simply put, this empathetic sextet play some relaxed and enjoyable music, which means that Leroy Walks! should be heard by ALL enthusiasts of straight-ahead modern jazz. The music itself and the musical performances combined are top notch throughout. Also, the new remastering, actual quality of the 180 gram vinyl itself, along with the glorious cover art, let alone the inner sleeve all go to show that there is just NOTHING to improve on here, even today!

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