Donald Byrd

Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture "Donald" Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a jazz artist.

AVID Jazz presents the latest release in our Four Classic Album series with a second re-mastered 2CD release from Donald Byrd, complete with original artwork, liner notes and personnel details.

Given the long period of time that Donald Byrd recorded for Blue Note (from the 1950s through the mid-'70s), it seems more than a little disingenuous to refer to the relatively brief period he spent with the Mizell Brothers as his producers, arrangers, and composers in the '70s as his best work. It is true that it was his most commercially viable period, and that many of the cuts he recorded with them ~ AllMusic

Trumpeter Donald Byrd and baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams worked together on several recordings between 1958 and 1961, and The Cat Walk (released on LP in 1962) is among the best. A quintet setting, with pianist Duke Pearson (another longtime Byrd collaborator), bassist Laymon Jackson, and a lively Philly Joe Jones on drums joining the front line of Byrd and Adams, the sessions for The Cat Walk benefited from the writing and arrangement skills of Pearson, who contributes three compositions here, the impressive opener "Say You're Mine," "Duke's Mixture," and "Hello Bright Sunflower," which borrows its melodic structure from the opening bars of "Lullaby of Broadway" and features Byrd using a muted trumpet.

By the time of this fourth Blue Note album by trumpeter Donald Byrd, it became clear that his playing was becoming stronger with the passing of time. Byrd in Flight features separate studio sessions from January and July of 1960 with constants Duke Pearson on piano and drummer Lex Humphries. Bassists Doug Watkins and Reggie Workman split duties six tracks to three, as do tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley and alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, making for some interesting sonic combinations, although Byrd is the dominant voice. Several of these selections are penned by Byrd, but it is pianist Pearson who contributes four of the most potent compositions on Byrd in Flight, supplying the wings for these quintet recordings to take off…

In July 1973, Blue Note Records headed to Montreux, Switzerland to showcase several of the label’s stars at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Produced by Blue Note President George Butler, live albums all titled Live: Cookin’ with Blue Note at Montreux followed from vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, organist Ronnie Foster, flutist Bobbi Humphrey, and vocalist Marlena Shaw, but one of the performances by trumpeter Donald Byrd remained unreleased in the Blue Note vaults, until now.

Donald Byrd & Gigi Gryce - Complete Jazz Lab Studio Sessions. Vol. 1 (1957) {2006 Lone Hill Jazz Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 332 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 165 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 44 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1957, 2006 Lone Hill Jazz | LHJ10253
Jazz / Hard Bop / Trumpet / Saxophone

Believe it or not, the 2006 three-volume Lone Hill Jazz reissue of the complete Donald Byrd/Gigi Gryce Jazz Lab studio recordings marks the first comprehensive appearance of this body of work on CD. Considering how many reissues, re-reissues and re-re-reissues some material has undergone, the fact that it took so long for this magnificent music to be made available to the public in its entirety is somewhat grueling. These recordings were made during the spring and early autumn of 1957.

Donald Byrd - Byrd In Flight (1960) {Blue Note Japan TOCJ-4048 rel 1993}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 267 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 96 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 43 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1960, 1993 Blue Note / Toshiba EMI Japan | TOCJ-4048
Jazz / Hard Bop / Trumpet

By the time of this fourth Blue Note album by trumpeter Donald Byrd, it became clear that his playing was becoming stronger with the passing of time. Byrd in Flight features separate studio sessions from January and July of 1960 with constants Duke Pearson on piano and drummer Lex Humphries. Bassists Doug Watkins and Reggie Workman split duties six tracks to three, as do tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley and alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, making for some interesting sonic combinations, although Byrd is the dominant voice.