Love Byrd Donald Byrd

This CD compilation collects three separate sessions recorded by Donald Byrd and Doug Watkins for Transition with various small groups. The 1955 recordings (first issued under the title Byrd's Eye View) were made shortly after Byrd replaced Kenny Dorham in the Jazz Messengers, all of whom (Horace Silver, Art Blakey, and Hank Mobley, along with Byrd and Watkins) are present, with the addition of local trumpeter Joe Gordon as a guest on two tracks. The half-dozen songs mix an improvised blues ("Doug's Blues"), a favorite from the swing era ("Crazy Rhythm"), a ballad feature for Byrd and Mobley ("Everything Happens to Me"), plus a pair of potent hard bop pieces contributed by the tenor saxophonist…

Trumpeter Donald Byrd's second jazz album during his comeback after years of playing R&B/funk and then totally neglecting his horn finds him starting to regain his former form. The strong supporting cast (altoist Kenny Garrett, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, pianist Donald Brown, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Al Foster) sometimes overshadows the leader on this CD but the music overall (modern hard bop) is rewarding. The sextet performs originals by Byrd, Henderson, Donald Brown, Bobby Hutcherson, James Williams and Duke Ellington ("I Got It Bad").

This release contains all existing live performances by the Donald Byrd- Pepper Adams Quintet taped at Jorgie’s on June 24, 1961, and appearing on CD here for the first time ever. The quintet on that engagement featured Herbie Hancock on piano (both leaders had recently recorded the Blue Note album Chant with the pianist, and would make the LP Royal Flush with him a few months later). The fifth title at Jorgie’s is an extended trio version of “Like Someone in Love” on which both horns sit out. No other version of this tune by Hancock is known to exist!

Kofi was extracted from some of last Blue Note sessions of the 1960s before Byrd's ventures into soul fusion territory. The playing here is no less than stellar, with seasoned veterans such as Ron Carter and Airto Moreira giving Byrd more than ample support to stretch out and soulfully foreshadow elements of future recordings. Lew Tabackin easily shares the spotlight with his beautiful flute passages on the title track, while Frank Foster and the rest of the supporting group complement Byrd's playing with a grace that emulates the early chemistry between the early Miles Davis groups of the early '60s. The subtle relaxed tones of this album make it truly one of the essential releases in Byrd's catalog, not only from a historical standpoint (his future collaborations with the Mizell brothers would take him to an entirely different plane of thought), but from a casual listening standpoint as well.

This 10 CD set offers an exciting overview of some of the most important recordings made by American jazz stars in Paris in the Fifties. They are milestones of Modern Jazz, Bebop and Hard Bop recorded by some of the most important players of the time, including Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Lionel Hampton, Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan, Mary Lou Williams, Lester Young and Donald Byrd. Treated like second class citizens at home, many American jazz stars not only got more recognition and respect in the French capital, but found much better playing conditions as well. From concert-halls like "L'Olympia" to the clubs of the "Latin Quarter" they were appreciated and celebrated, and their music met with a glowing enthusiasm.

Donald Byrd & The Blackbirds - The Jazz Funk Collection (2020) {3CD Set, Robinsongs–Cherry Red QROBIN43CDT rec 1972-1981}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.42 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 505 Mb
Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 22 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1972-81, 2020 Robinsongs / Cherry Red Records | QROBIN43CDT
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Trumpet

Issued in a four-panel Digipak. Donald Byrd & The Blackbyrds' The Jazz Funk Collection is the first time you have been able to acquire a collection of tracks by these artists on a CD package. All tracks on The Jazz Funk Collection are either written, produced or performed by Donald Byrd; the collection starts in 1973 around the start of the jazz funk era.