Donald Byrd - A New Perspective 1963

This unusual set was one of the most successful uses of a gospel choir in a jazz context. Trumpeter Donald Byrd and a septet that includes tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, guitarist Kenny Burrell, and pianist Herbie Hancock are joined by an eight-voice choir directed by Coleridge Perkinson. The arrangements by Duke Pearson are masterful and one song, "Cristo Redentor," became a bit of a hit. This is a memorable effort that is innovative in its own way, a milestone in Donald Byrd's career. AMG.

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Donald Byrd - Fancy Free 1970

1969's Fancy Free marked the beginning of Donald Byrd's move away from hard bop, staking out fusion-flavored territory that -- at this juncture -- owed more to Miles Davis than the R&B-dominated jazz-funk Byrd would embrace several years down the road. Recorded just a few months after Davis' In a Silent Way, Fancy Free finds Byrd leading a large ensemble prominently featuring Frank Foster on tenor, Lew Tabackin or Jerry Dodgion on flute, and several percussionists. But the most important piece of the puzzle is Duke Pearson's electric piano, the first time Byrd utilized the instrument. Pearson dominates the texture of the group sound, which makes the entirety of the session seem farther outside the realm of funky hard bop than it actually is. However, that's not to say that Fancy Free isn't a clear break with Byrd's past -- especially the two Byrd originals that open the album. The title track -- which later became one of Byrd's more covered compositions -- contrasts Pearson's spacy musings with a busy, funky percussion groove, and there's a loose, open feel to the improvisations that breaks with hard bop conventions. The warm ballad "I Love the Girl" has a similarly airy feel, and at eight and a half minutes, is the shortest cut; clearly, Byrd wanted an open framework for exploration. The other two numbers are more traditional hard bop compositions by former Byrd students, which -- although funky and full of improvisations -- can't help but feel more tethered than their predecessors. Still, even if it isn't his most adventurous fusion outing, Fancy Free is the rare Donald Byrd album that holds appeal for rare-groove fanatics and traditionalists alike. AMG.

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Donald Byrd - Street Lady 1973

Not so much a fusion album as an attempt at mainstream soul and R&B, Street Lady plays like the soundtrack to a forgotten blaxploitation film. Producer/arranger/composer Larry Mizell conceived Street Lady as a concept album to a spirited, independent prostitute, and while the hooker with a heart of gold concept is a little trite, the music uncannily evokes an urban landscape circa the early '70s. Borrowing heavily from Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes, and Sly Stone, Donald Byrd and Mizell have created an album that is overflowing with wah-wah guitars, stuttering electric pianos, percolating percussion, soaring flutes, and charmingly anemic, tuneless vocals. It's certainly not jazz, or even fusion, but it isn't really funk or R&B, either -- the rhythms aren't elastic enough, and all of the six songs are simply jazzy vamps without clear hooks. But the appeal of Street Lady is how its polished neo-funk and pseudo-fusion sound uncannily like a jive movie or television soundtrack from the early '70s -- you can picture the Street Lady, decked out in polyester, cruising the streets surrounded by pimps with wide-brimmed hats and platform shoes. And while that may not be ideal for jazz purists, it's perfect for kitsch and funk fanatics. AMG.

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Donald Byrd - Fuego 1960

Fuego -- a title that might be somewhat misleading -- is the final Blue Note recording exclusively pairing Donald Byrd with Jackie McLean, a fruitful partnership that set the yin of the (in this case) restrained trumpeter, against the yang of the tart and extroverted alto saxophonist. While not quite a unified whole, the two were involved in turf battles that were based on mutual respect, here exuding a quieter fire that toned down McLean and muted Byrd to attain an intriguing harmonic balance. Duke Pearson's clever piano in the middle, with Doug Watkins playing bass and favored drummer Lex Humphries, made for one of the more diverse sounds in modern jazz circa 1959-1960. Of course hard bop is at the core of this band, but Byrd is moving further into post-bop, as served up heartily by the two horns during the modal, rambling, and staggered theme of the title selection. It's more a cool flame than burning inferno, as the drum inserts of Humphries fill the cracks of the horns' bluesy ideas. "Bup-A-Loup" is a harder bop theme, with distinct staccato accents identifying the melody priming McLean's quintessential solo. "Low Life" also takes into account the burgeoning original soul-jazz aesthetic in a jaunty mood that parallels the Bobby Timmons evergreens "Dis Here" and "Dat Dere." As Byrd's father was a preacher, "Amen" pays tribute to the spirit-soul in a gospel shuffle straight from the pulpit with some static drum accents. "Lament" is not the J.J. Johnson standard, but a light, soul-jazz original with ultimate feeling, depth, and sophistication -- a real beauty. The title "Funky Mama" fools you a bit into thinking it is a typical soul-jazz number, while it is, in fact, a long, striding, loping, cushy, and dusky blues, very patient and elegant, embellished by McLean's singing alto. This is where Pearson in particular shines, wringing out all of the combined pain and joy so prevalent in the styles of previous masters like Teddy Wilson, Duke Ellington, Erroll Garner, and Tommy Flanagan. On the front cover, a contemplativeDonald Byrd is depicted, perhaps pondering his next move and his band five years after successfully joining the New York City jazz scene from his native Detroit. It also represents his thoughtful role inFuego, as he takes a break from forceful interaction to play a more democratic role on this refined and mature album that is less brash, a prelude for his more powerful statements yet to come. AMG.

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Donald Byrd - Mustang! 1966

Donald Byrd, a talented hard bop trumpeter during his prime (although rarely reaching the technical heights of Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard), performs a varied repertoire on Mustang!. "Dixie Lee" has dated rhythms, and "Mustang" was an attempt to achieve a hit on the level of Morgan's "The Sidewinder." However, Byrd sounds fine on those numbers; he digs into the complex chord changes of "Fly Little Bird Fly," is sensitive on "I Got It Bad," swings on his "I'm So Excited by You," and performs his memorable countermelody to "On the Trail," which had been recorded earlier by several other musicians. Teamed with a typically impressive Blue Note crew (altoist Sonny Red, tenor saxophonistHank Mobley, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Walter Booker, and drummer Freddie Waits), Byrdperforms high-quality straight-ahead jazz that fits the modern mainstream of the era. Also on the CD reissue are a pair of selections ("Gingerbread Boy" and "I'm So Excited by You") from an earlier quintet date (with tenorman Jimmy Heath, Tyner, bassist Walter Booker, and drummer Joe Chambers) that, despite being excellent, went unissued until 1997. AMG.

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Donald Byrd - Ethiopian Knights 1971

Right from the stop-start bass groove that opens "The Emperor," it's immediately clear that Ethiopian Knights is more indebted to funk -- not just funky jazz, but the straight-up James Brown/Sly Stone variety -- than any previous Donald Byrd project. And, like a true funk band, Byrd and his group work the same driving, polyrhythmic grooves over and over, making rhythm the focal point of the music. Although the musicians do improvise, their main objective is to keep the grooves pumping, using their solos more to create texture than harmonic complexity. That's why jazz purists began to detest Byrd with this album (though the follow-ups certainly cinched it); in truth, even though Ethiopian Knights did move Byrd closer to R&B, it's still more jazz than funk, and didn't completely foreshadow his crossover. The dense arrangements and lo-o-o-ng workouts (two of the three tracks are over 15 minutes) are indicative of Byrd's continued debt to Miles Davis, in particular the bevy of live double LPs Davis issued in the early '70s. Byrd again leads a large ensemble, but with mostly different players than on his recent sessions; some come from the group assembled forBobby Hutcherson's Head On album, others from the Jazz Crusaders. That's part of the reason there are fewer traces of hard bop here, but it's also clear from the title that Byrd's emerging Afrocentric consciousness was leading him -- like Davis -- to seek ways of renewing jazz's connection to the people who created it. Even if it isn't quite as consistent as Kofi and Electric Byrd, Ethiopian Knights is another intriguing transitional effort that deepens the portrait of Byrd the acid jazz legend. AMG.

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