''Electric Byrd'' is a
jazz fusion
Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...
album by
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop m ...
released by the
Blue Note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...
label in 1970.
[Huey, S. Allmusic Review: ''Electric Byrd''accessed 07 June 2010]
Reception
The
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
review by Steve Huey awarded the album 4 stars and stated, “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
''Bitches Brew'' is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was recorded from August 19 to 21, 1969, at Columbia's Studio B in New York City and released on March 30, 1970 by Columbia Records. It marke ...
'' and comes up with one of his most consistent fusion sets of any flavor.”
Track listing
All tracks by Donald Byrd, unless otherwise noted
#"Estavanico" - 11:35
#"Essence" - 10:42
#"Xibaba" (Airto Moreira) - 13:42
#"The Dude" - 7:48
Personnel
*
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop m ...
- trumpet
*
Jerry Dodgion
Jerry Dodgion (born August 29, 1932) is an American jazz saxophonist and flautist.
Dodgion was born in Richmond, California. He played alto sax in middle school and began working locally in the San Francisco area in the 1950s. He played in bands w ...
- alto sax, soprano sax, and flute
*
Frank Foster - tenor saxophone and alto clarinet
*
Lew Tabackin
Lewis Barry Tabackin (born March 26, 1940) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and flutist. He is married to pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi with whom he has co-led large ensembles since the 1970s.
Biography
Tabackin started learning flute at age 1 ...
- tenor saxophone and flute
*
Pepper Adams
Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a s ...
- baritone saxophone and clarinet
* Bill Campbell - trombone
*
Hermeto Pascoal
Hermeto Pascoal (born June 22, 1936) is a Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist. He was born in Lagoa da Canoa, Alagoas, Brazil. Pascoal is a significant figure in the history of Brazilian music, mainly known for his abilities in orches ...
- flute (on "Xibaba" only)
* Wally Richardson - guitar
*
Duke Pearson
Columbus Calvin "Duke" Pearson Jr. (August 17, 1932 – August 4, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer. ''Allmusic'' describes him as having a "big part in shaping the Blue Note label's hard bop direction in the 1960s as a record produ ...
- electric piano
*
Ron Carter
Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded nu ...
- bass
*
Mickey Roker
Granville William "Mickey" Roker (September 3, 1932 – May 22, 2017) was an American jazz drummer.
Biography
Roker was born into extreme poverty in Miami to Granville (Sr.) and Willie Mae Roker. After his mother died (his father never lived wi ...
- drums
*
Airto Moreira
Airto Guimorvan Moreira (born August 5, 1941) is a Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist. He is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. Coming to prominence in the late 1960s as a member of the ...
- percussion
References
{{Authority control
1970 albums
Blue Note Records albums
Donald Byrd albums
Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio
Hard bop albums
Albums produced by Duke Pearson