Reuniting with Larry Mizell, the man behind his last three LPs, Donald Byrd continues to explore contemporary soul, funk, and R&B with Places and Spaces. In fact, the record sounds more urban than its predecessor, which often played like a Hollywood version of the inner city. Keeping the Isaac…
Not so much a fusion album as an attempt at mainstream soul and R&B, Street Lady plays like the soundtrack to a forgotten blaxploitation film. Producer/arranger/composer Larry Mizell conceived Street Lady as a concept album to a spirited, independent prostitute, and while the hooker with a heart of gold…
1969’s Fancy Free marked the beginning of Donald Byrd’s move away from hard bop, staking out fusion-flavored territory that — at this juncture — owed more to Miles Davis than the R&B-dominated jazz-funk Byrd would embrace several years down the road. Recorded just a few months after Davis’ In…
Purists howled with indignation when Donald Byrd released Black Byrd, a full-fledged foray into R&B that erupted into a popular phenomenon. Byrd was branded a sellout and a traitor to his hard bop credentials, especially after Black Byrd became the biggest-selling album in Blue Note history. What the elitists…
Right from the stop-start bass groove that opens “The Emperor,” it’s immediately clear that Ethiopian Knights is more indebted to funk — not just funky jazz, but the straight-up James Brown/Sly Stone variety — than any previous Donald Byrd project. And, like a true funk band, Byrd and his…
Sunny Side Up is closer to hard bop than the straight-ahead bop that characterized Lou Donaldson’s ’50s Blue Note records. There’s a bit more soul to the songs here, which pianist Horace Parlan helps emphasize with his lightly swinging grooves. The pair help lead the group — which also…
Lou Donaldson and the Three Sounds both had a tendency to slip into low-key grooves, which is what makes the hard-driving bop of the opener “Three Little Words” a little startling. Donaldson is at a fiery peak, spinning out Bird-influenced licks that nevertheless illustrate that he’s developed a more…
Wailing With Lou is an appropriate title for this enjoyable set of straight-ahead bop. Whether he’s riding the propulsive rhythms of “Caravan” or settling down into a ballad, Donaldson takes the center stage with his surprisingly full alto tone. He still displays a clear Charlie Parker influence, but he…
Lou Donaldson has recorded many strong sessions throughout his career but this CD reissue brings back one of the less-significant ones. Organist Leon Spencer dominates the ensembles, the material is a bit trivial and the altoist/leader uses a baritone sax on some of the selections which makes him sound…
This previously unreleased live set, which has been issued on Blue Note’s Rare Groove Series, will bore anyone who listens closely. The repertoire is dominated by lengthy funk grooves that are quite danceable but never develop beyond the obvious. Altoist Lou Donaldson was using a baritone horn at the…