Donald Byrd

Donald Byrd & Pepper Adams - The Complete Blue Note Studio Sessions (2000) {4CD Box Set Mosaic MD4-194 rec 1959-1967}
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© 1959-67, 2000 Mosaic Records / Blue Note / EMI-Capitol | MD4-194
Jazz / Hard Bop / Trumpet / Saxophone

Centered around the Byrd/Adams Blue Note dates Byrd in Hand, Chant, Royal Flush, The Cat Walk, and Off to the Races, Mosaic's Complete Blue Note Donald Byrd/Pepper Adams Studio Sessions finds the Detroit natives at the top of their game during 1959-1962. Writing and performing some of the most original and tight hard bop around, Byrd and Adams led a variety of combos that featured the likes of Herbie Hancock (his first session), Wynton Kelly, Duke Pearson (who also contributed material), Charlie Rouse, Sam Jones, and Billy Higgins. From distinct covers ("Lover Come Back to Me") to seamlessly complex originals ("Bronze Dance"), Byrd's pure-toned trumpet and Adams' angular baritone unexpectedly make a perfect match. And beyond a wealth of sides that prove the point, the collection also features – in typically thorough and classy Mosaic fashion – some stunning session photos by Blue Note lensman Francis Wolff and an extensive essay by Bob Blumenthal. A hard bop experience of the highest order.

From the crackling opening notes of "Lover Come Back to Me," it's clear that Off to the Races is one of Donald Byrd's most invigorating sessions of the late '50s. Working with a stellar supporting band - Jackie McLean (alto sax), Wynton Kelly (piano), Pepper Adams (bari sax), Sam Jones (bass), Art Taylor (drums) - Byrd turns in one of his strongest recordings of the era. Throughout the album, Byrd switches between hard bop, ballads, laid-back blues, and soul-jazz. Two of the numbers are standards, one is a cover, and three are Byrd originals, but what matters is the playing. Over the course of the album, Byrd proves he has matured greatly as a soloist, capable of sweet, melodic solos on the slower numbers and blistering runs of notes on the faster songs…

Beginning with a crack of thunder, like it was made to trail Gary Bartz's "Mother Nature" (actually recorded at a slightly later date), Stepping into Tomorrow contains almost all of the Mizell trademarks within its title track's first 30 seconds: a soft and easy (yet still funky) electric-bass-and-drums foundation, silken rhythm guitar, organ and piano gently bouncing off one another, light synthesizer shading, and coed group vocals to ensure true liftoff. It's only one in a line of many magnetic '70s sessions led by Fonce and Larry Mizell, and it differs from their two previous Donald Byrd dates - the polarizing and groundbreaking Black Byrd and the deceptively excellent Street Lady - by not featuring any of Roger Glenn's flute, and by focusing on heavily melodic and laid-back arrangements…

Donald Byrd - A New Perspective (RvG Remastered Edition)
EAC secure mode (FLAC+log+cue) + MP3 (320 kbps CBR) | 294.87 Mb (FLAC) + 97.83 Mb (MP3) | 40:54 minutes | Full info & covers.
jazz, hard-bop, gospel | Blue Note Records, Recorded on January 12, 1963 at the Van Gelder studios, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, New York. Remastered in 1998. Cd published on May 18, 1999

"A New Prespective" stands out from most other Blue Note releases of the era. A groundbreaking record in its use of a gospel choir in a jazz setting, it's unlike anything Blue Note had released before. In addition to the eight-person choir and arrangements by Duke Pearson, Donald Byrd works with a septet that includes pianist Herbie Hancock, guitarist Kenny Burrell, and saxophonist Hank Mobley...

Donald Byrd - Stepping Into Tomorrow (1974) {Blue Note Japan TOCJ-6707 24-bit rel 2006}
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© 1974, 2006 Blue Note / Toshiba-EMI Japan | TOCJ-6707 | 24-bit remastering
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Crossover Jazz / Trumpet

Beginning with a crack of thunder, like it was made to trail Gary Bartz's "Mother Nature" (actually recorded at a slightly later date), Stepping into Tomorrow contains almost all of the Mizell trademarks within its title track's first 30 seconds: a soft and easy (yet still funky) electric-bass-and-drums foundation, silken rhythm guitar, organ and piano gently bouncing off one another, light synthesizer shading, and coed group vocals to ensure true liftoff.

Early Byrd: The Best of the Jazz Soul Years contains a selection of nine tracks from Donald Byrd's mid-'60s recordings, bypassing his funkier fusions of the late '60s and early '70s. These songs – including such numbers as "Slow Drag," "Jellyroll," "Mustang," "Blackjack" and "The Dude" – feature the trumpeter at his grittiest and funkiest. Fans of his early hard bop years will still find enough improvisation here to make it interesting, while latter-day fans will find enough grooves. It's a solid introduction to one of Byrd's most prolific periods.

This Prestige date recorded in January 1957, finds guitarist Kenny Burrell with Donald Byrd, Frank Foster, Tommy Flanagan, Doug Watkins, and Arthur Taylor in a excellent jam session setting.

Donald Byrd - Chant (1961) {Blue Note–EMI Music Japan rel 2014}
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© 1961, 2014 Blue Note / EMI Music Japan
Jazz / Hard Bop / Trumpet

Not released until 1979, this excellent quintet session features the always formidable team of trumpeter Donald Byrd and baritonist Pepper Adams. The accompanying rhythm section includes pianist Herbie Hancock shortly before he joined Miles Davis. The repertoire consists of six likable tunes including an uptempo "I'm an Old Cowhand," "That's All," "Sophisticated Lady," two Byrd originals and Duke Pearson's "Chant." This is superior hard bop from the early '60s.