Donald Byrd

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…

Donald Byrd - Fuego (1959) {Blue Note ‎724356380226, RVG Edition rel 2005}
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© 1959, 2005 Blue Note / Capitol | 7243 5 63802 2 6
Jazz / Hard Bop / Trumpet

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.

Donald Byrd - Byrd's Eye View (1955) {Transition Japan TOCJ-5886 rel 1994}
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© 1955, 1994 Transition / Toshiba-EMI Japan | TOCJ-5886
Jazz / Hard Bop / Trumpet

For all intents and purposes, a Jazz Messengers session issued under Donald Byrd's name, Byrd's Eye View, captures the young trumpeter in full command of his estimable powers – the visceral intensity of this music is remarkable, galvanized by the typically stellar playing of drummer Art Blakey, pianist Horace Silver, tenorist Hank Mobley, and bassist Doug Watkins. Fellow trumpeter Joe Gordon pushes Byrd to new extremes – his solos are as physical as a heavyweight boxer yet as graceful as a ballerina. And despite the length and scope of the tracks, Byrd remains in complete control, performing with an authority and technical prowess that belie his age.

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…

Vol. 2 in the Lone Hill Jazz reissue label's Donald Byrd/Gigi Gryce Jazz Lab Project opens with three tracks that resulted from a planned college concert tour by the Jazz Lab and vocalist Jackie Paris, a native of Nutley, NJ, who also worked with Charlie Parker, Lionel Hampton, and Charles Mingus. While planning their tour, the team of Byrd, Gryce, and Paris conceived a didactic overview involving what Nat Hentoff described in the original liner notes as "some of the root channels of jazz with the blues as a primary linking element" but sketched "in broad chronological and stylistic skips."

Trumpeter Donald Byrd spent a few months in France in 1958, and a Paris concert resulted in two LPs' worth of material. Byrd's quintet at the time included Bobby Jaspar (on tenor and flute), pianist Walter Davis, Jr., bassist Doug Watkins, and drummer Art Taylor. Byrd was just beginning to find his own sound in the late '50s and he is in excellent form on "Dear Old Stockholm," Sonny Rollins' "Paul's Pal," Jaspar's "Flute Blues," "Ray's Idea," and "The Blues Walk." This is a fine all-around hard bop session.

Donald Byrd - Street Lady (1973) {Blue Note Rare Groove Series rel 1997}
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© 1973, 1997 Capitol / Blue Note | CDP 7243 8 53923 2 0
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Trumpet

A landmark album by Donald Byrd – the first one where he really started to click with jazz-funk producer Larry Mizell! Mizell and Byrd had worked together previously on the Black Byrd album – a soaring bit of futuristic jazz funk that took Byrd's career to a whole new level – but this album's the one where they really began to make the formula cook, blending together tight funky rhythms, spacey keyboards, soulful vocals, and some of Donald's best solo work of the 70s! The whole thing's a masterpiece, and all tracks sparkle – including "Lansana's Priestess", "Witch Hunt", and "Street Lady", one of the funkiest tracks ever on Blue Note. A haunting record with a beautiful spacey groove, and one of the best-ever albums on Blue Note!

Trumpeter Donald Byrd spent a few months in France in 1958, and a Paris concert resulted in two LPs' worth of material. Byrd's quintet at the time included Bobby Jaspar (on tenor and flute), pianist Walter Davis, Jr., bassist Doug Watkins, and drummer Art Taylor. Byrd was just beginning to find his own sound in the late '50s and he is in excellent form on "Dear Old Stockholm," Sonny Rollins' "Paul's Pal," Jaspar's "Flute Blues," "Ray's Idea," and "The Blues Walk." This is a fine all-around hard bop session.