Electric Byrd
| Electric Byrd | |
|---|---|
| Music album of Donald Byrd | |
|
Publication |
1970 |
|
admission |
1970 |
| Label (s) | Blue Note Records |
|
Title (number) |
4th |
|
running time |
43:47 |
|
Studio (s) |
Van Gelder Studio |
Electric Byrd is a 1970 Blue Note Records studio album by jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd in the style of Fusion . Duke Pearson appeared as a producer . The album was recorded in the Rudy Van Gelder Studios on May 15, 1970.
background
Electric Byrd falls into a creative phase of Donald Byrd, which is characterized by a shift in focus from "classical" jazz to fusion influences and jazz funk. As the title suggests, Byrd's musical exploration of electronic sounds begins here. The electric piano game Duke Pearson, who also had a great influence on the arrangements, is of particular importance for the sound.
The album creates a partially spherical mood, but is at the same time determined by complex rhythms with a Brazilian touch and percussive accents. The drive is broken, however, by playing with dissonances in Estavanico , in addition, unusual tonal connections and influences from world music give the album an experimental character.
Track list
- A1. Estavanico (11:00, D. Byrd)
- A2. Essence (10:30 am, D. Byrd)
- B1. Xibaba (13:35, A. Morreira)
- B2. The Dude (8:00 am, D. Byrd)
Three of the four pieces were written by Donald Byrd, the Brazilian percussionist Airto Morreira contributed Xibaba . The first three pieces are characterized by rather calm mood painting, while the final track The Dude is a comparatively classic jazz radio number.
occupation
Byrd has an 11-strong line-up, the largest of his fusion albums. The following instrumentalists can be heard on the record according to the LP sleeve:
- Donald Byrd (tp),
- Jerry Dodgion (as / ss / fl)
- Frank Foster (ts / acl)
- Lew Tabackin (ts / fl)
- Pepper Adams (bars / cl)
- Bill Campbell (tb)
- Hermeto Pascoal (fl, only Xibaba )
- Duke Pearson (ep)
- Ron Carter (b)
- Mickey Roker (dr)
- Airto Morreira (perc)
- Wally Richardson (git).
reception
In a review printed on the LP cover, Nat Hentoff highlights the individual achievements of the participating instrumentalists, the central role of Duke Pearson and especially the trumpet skills of Donals Byrd. He goes on to say that the album has a certain timelessness:
"[...] As in his work throughout the years, Donald shapes the time rather than being imprisoned in it. Accordingly, this set will be worth revisiting no matter what trends crest a year or a decade from now. Electric Byrd is an arresting stage in the continuing musical odyssey of a singularly inquisitive and "together" composer-performer. "
In addition, says about the nature of the pieces of music on Electric Byrd :
"[...] What takes place, especially in the first three pieces, are absorbing aural landscapes - or rather feelingscapes - of the imagination. Moods are set, with electric immediacy, and they change as the focus moves from solo statements to collective movement-through-texture to intricate rhythm section designs and then on in various mixtures of the previous ingredients. There is, in sum, a pervasive cohesiveness in these works even though so much is going on - in terms of dynamics, color changes, rhythmic contours, melodic shapes - in each piece. [...] "
Allmusic critic Steve Huey has a similarly positive opinion , who sees innovations introduced by Miles Davis ' Bitches Brew in the same year as the main musical influence of the album. He rates the album with 4.5 stars out of 5.
"Donald Byrd's transitional sessions from 1969-1971 are actually some of the trumpeter's most intriguing work, balancing accessible, funky, Davis-style fusion with legitimate jazz improvisation. Electric Byrd, from 1970, is the best of the bunch, as Byrd absorbs the innovations of Bitches Brew and comes up with one of his most consistent fusion sets of any flavor. [..] So even if it wears its influences on its sleeve, Electric Byrd is indisputably challenging, high-quality fusion. It's also the end of the line for jazz purists as far as Donald Byrd is concerned, which is perhaps part of the reason the album has yet to receive its proper due. "
Web links
- Electric Byrd at Allmusic (English)
- Electric Byrd at Discogs (English)