Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux (Live)

Donald Byrd

Released on 12/9/22 by Blue Note Records
Main artists: Donald Byrd
Genre: Jazz Fusion & Jazz Rock

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The choice to re-invent your art can make for daunting leaps. In the early '70s trumpeter Donald Byrd teamed with producers Larry and Fonce Mizell and fully embraced R&B funk fusion, a decision met with the same derisive howls from jazz fans that Miles Davis endured a few years earlier when he, too, went electric and funky. Fifty years later, it's obvious that Byrd's jazz cred was not wasted on this search for a wider audience; this period is far more influential as a vital part of hip-hop than anything from his years as bopper. Byrd, whose 1973 album Black Byrd was Blue Note's best-seller for a time, joined other funky labelmates like vibes player Bobby Hutcherson, organist Ronnie Foster and flautist Bobbi Humphrey to showcase at the Montreaux Jazz Festival later that year. Of all the sets recorded for live albums, only Byrd's remained unreleased until now. Well-played and crackling with energy, it's a wonderful testament to Byrd's enthusiasm for the fresh direction captured just as he and his band, including brothers Larry and Fonce Mizell, found their chops as a groove outfit. (Four other members of his backing band—saxophonist Allan Barnes, drummer Keith Killgo, guitarist Barney Perry and electric pianist Kevin Toney—were actually students of Byrd's at Howard University who would go on to form their own soul jazz unit, The Blackbyrds.) Fortunately the 16-track, 2" tapes, recorded by engineer Chris Penycote and mixed recently by Qmillion were in good condition, so the sound here is sharp and full-bodied, particularly for a half-century-old live recording. Driven by a resonant, low-synth pattern, the hit "Black Byrd" (which features chanted vocals by Larry Mizel) provides a steady bed of funk rhythms over which Byrd and the other horns solo. The longest track, "Kwame," which along with "The East" and "Poco-Mania" were unrecorded Byrd originals, opens with single note synthesizer wails, sleigh bells and a gong before settling into the kind of light, irresistible keyboard and brass-driven rhythm that makes Byrd's groove-oriented albums so attractive. Starting with trumpet blasts and electric guitar scratching, "Poco-Mania" is almost comically fast; its pace nearly overwhelms everyone in the band numerous times but Byrd's rapid-fire solos show his technique undiminished. A showstopper for soul jazz fans, this long buried Byrd set is exhilarating from the first note! © Robert Baird/Qobuz

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Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux (Live)

Donald Byrd

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Black Byrd (Live)