DONALD BYRD The Jazz Message Of (One-off One-Sided Test Pressing for Side One of the 1956 mono LP, featuring only the first four tracks of the album. These songs that make up the whole of Side One were recorded at the Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey in February that year, with the great Hank Mobley [tenor sax], Ronnie Ball [piano], Doug Watkins [bass] & Kenny Clarke [drums]. The second disc for side two, if there ever was one [which featured a different line-up anyway & was recorded a month earlier], is presumably lost to the midst of time, that's how rare this item is. The custom studio label has 'Factory Sample' printed at the top & is rubber stamped with the artist, title, matrix & catalogue detail. Also included is the original, albeit very crude & extremely worn & torn, mock-up sleeve design, pasted front & back over what appears to be a Ted Heath sleeve! Although its condition is below par, it has been rescued from being lost altogether & is clearly legible, with all the notes you need for the recording. This heavyweight disc has been professionally cleaned & play tested. Although there are a couple of hairlines & scratches [a scratch runs through the first track, with no jumps], on a mono playback setting, these small interferences are largely left in the background, with just a few clicks on occasion & the music to the fore. Even in this condition [VG] the sound quality places you centre stage, almost as if you were in the same room as the musicians, it's that good! One for a keen collector LTZ-C15028)