Harlem Blues (Donald Byrd album)
Harlem Blues | ||||
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Studio album by Donald Byrd | ||||
Released | 1988 | |||
Recorded | September 22 & 24, 1987 | |||
Studio | Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Length | 52:24 CD release with bonus track | |||
Label | Landmark LLP/LCD 1516 | |||
Producer | Orrin Keepnews, Donald Byrd | |||
Donald Byrd chronology | ||||
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Harlem Blues is an album by trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring performances recorded in 1987 and released on the Landmark label the following year.[1][2][3]
Reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [4] |
The Penguin Guide to Jazz | [5] |
On AllMusic, Scott Yanow observed: "This Landmark release was trumpeter Donald Byrd's first jazz album in over 15 years after a long (and commercially if not artistically successful) detour into poppish R&B/funk. In the 1980s Byrd had neglected his trumpet playing in order to direct The Blackbyrds and teach. The period away from his instrument shows in spots on this well-intentioned set ... Ironically Byrd's own playing was not at this point up to the level of his sidemen although his chops would improve during the next couple of years".[4] The Penguin Guide to Jazz praised Byrd's younger sidemen, while suggesting that the trumpeter's own playing had declined.[5]
Track listing
All compositions by Donald Byrd except where noted.
- "Harlem Blues" (W. C. Handy) – 5:30
- "Fly Little Bird Fly" – 6:13
- "Voyage À Deux (Journey for Two)" (Kenny Garrett) – 7:44
- "Blue Monk" (Thelonious Monk) – 9:22
- "Alter Ego" (James Williams) – 7:36
- "Sir Master Kool Guy" – 5:03
- "Hi-Fly" (Randy Weston) – 10:56 Additional track on CD release
Personnel
- Donald Byrd – trumpet, flugelhorn
- Kenny Garrett – alto saxophone
- Mulgrew Miller - piano
- Rufus Reid – bass
- Marvin "Smitty" Smith – drums
- Michael Daugherty – synthesizer (tracks 1 & 5)
References
- ^ Fitzgerald, M., Landmark Records listing accessed December 7, 2017
- ^ Donald Byrd Catalog, accessed December 7, 2017
- ^ Jazzlists: Landmark 1500 series discography, accessed February 4, 2019
- ^ a b Yanow, Scott. Donald Byrd: Harlem Blues – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1992). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette (1st ed.). Penguin. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-14-015364-4.
- v
- t
- e
leader
- Byrd's Eye View (1955)
- Byrd Jazz (1955)
- Byrd's Word (1955)
- Byrd Blows on Beacon Hill (1956)
- 2 Trumpets (with Art Farmer, 1956)
- The Young Bloods (with Phil Woods, 1956)
- Jazz Eyes (and John Jenkins ao, 1957)
- Fuego (1959)
- Byrd in Flight (1960)
- Free Form (1961)
- A New Perspective (1963)
- I'm Tryin' to Get Home (1964)
- Up with Donald Byrd (1964)
- Mustang! (1966)
- Blackjack (1967)
- Slow Drag (1967)
- Fancy Free (1969)
- Kofi (1969–70)
- Ethiopian Knights (1971)
- Black Byrd (1972)
- Street Lady (1973)
- Stepping into Tomorrow (1974)
- Places and Spaces (1975)
- Caricatures (1976)
- Thank You...For F.U.M.L. (Funking Up My Life) (1978)
- Donald Byrd and 125th Street, N.Y.C. (1979)
- Love Byrd (1981)
- Words, Sounds, Colors and Shapes (1982)
- Harlem Blues (1987)
- Getting Down to Business (1989)
- A City Called Heaven (1991)
Pepper
Adams
- 10 to 4 at the 5 Spot (1958)
- Off to the Races (1959)
- Byrd in Hand (1959)
- At the Half Note Cafe (1960)
- Motor City Scene (1960)
- Out of This World (1961)
- Chant (1961)
- The Cat Walk (1961)
- Royal Flush (1961)
- The Creeper (1967)
- Electric Byrd (1970)
The Jazz
Messengers
- The Jazz Messengers (1956)
- Originally (1956)
- Art Blakey Big Band (1957)
- Holiday for Skins (2 volumes, 1958)
Gigi
Gryce
- At Newport (and Cecil Taylor, 1957)
- Gigi Gryce and the Jazz Lab Quintet (Riverside, 1957)
- Jazz Lab (Columbia album) (1957)
- Jazz Lab (Jubilee album) (1957 [1958])
- Modern Jazz Perspective (with Jackie Paris, 1957)
- New Formulas from the Jazz Lab (1957)
Jackie
McLean
- Lights Out! (1956)
- 4, 5 and 6 (1956)
- New Soil (1959)
- Jackie's Bag (1959)
- Vertigo (1963)
Hank
Mobley
- The Jazz Message of Hank Mobley (Savoy, 1956)
- Mobley's Message (Prestige, 1956)
- Jazz Message No. 2 (Savoy, 1957)
- Hank Mobley Sextet (1956)
- Hank (1957)
- No Room for Squares (1963)
- Straight No Filter (1963)
- The Turnaround! (1963)
- Far Away Lands (1967)
others
- Discoveries/Presenting Cannonball Adderley (Cannonball Adderley, 1955)
- Jammin' with Gene (Gene Ammons, 1956)
- All Night Long (Kenny Burrell, 1956)
- All Day Long (Kenny Burrell, 1957)
- 2 Guitars (Kenny Burrell & Jimmy Raney, 1957)
- Whims of Chambers (Paul Chambers, 1956)
- Paul Chambers Quintet (1957)
- Sonny's Crib (Sonny Clark, 1957)
- My Conception (Sonny Clark, 1959)
- Bohemia After Dark (Kenny Clarke, 1955)
- Lush Life (John Coltrane, 1957–58)
- The Believer (John Coltrane, 1957–58)
- The Last Trane (John Coltrane, 1957–58)
- Black Pearls (John Coltrane, 1957–58)
- Davis Cup (Walter Davis Jr., 1959)
- Wailing With Lou (Lou Donaldson, 1957)
- Lou Takes Off (Lou Donaldson, 1957)
- This Is New (Kenny Drew, 1957)
- All Mornin' Long (Red Garland, 1957)
- Soul Junction (Red Garland, 1957)
- High Pressure (Red Garland, 1957)
- One Flight Up (Dexter Gordon, 1964)
- Ladybird (Dexter Gordon, 1965)
- Snap Your Fingers (Al Grey, 1962)
- Johnny Griffin Sextet (1958)
- Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 (Guru, 1993)
- Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality (Guru, 1994–95)
- My Point of View (Herbie Hancock, 1993)
- Tone Tantrum (Gene Harris, 1977)
- Swamp Seed (Jimmy Heath, 1963)
- Informal Jazz (Elmo Hope, 1956)
- African High Life (Solomon Ilori, 1963)
- Big Byrd: The Essence Part 2 (Ahmad Jamal, 1994 or 1995)
- Quartet-Quintet (Hank Jones, 1955)
- Bluebird (Hank Jones, 1955)
- TV Action Jazz! (Mundell Lowe, 1959)
- The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall (1959)
- Goin' Out of My Head (Wes Montgomery, 1965)
- Hush! (Duke Pearson, 1962)
- Wahoo! (Duke Pearson, 1964)
- Another One/Oscar Pettiford Volume 2 (1955)
- Winner's Circle (Oscar Pettiford, et al, 1957)
- Blues in Trinity (Dizzy Reece, 1958)
- The Cool Voice of Rita Reys (1956)
- Dimensions & Extensions (Sam Rivers, 1967)
- Sonny Rollins, Volume 1 (1956)
- Don't Stop the Carnival (Sonny Rollins, 1978)
- Silver's Blue (Horace Silver, 1956)
- 6 Pieces of Silver (Horace Silver, 1956–58)
- A Date with Jimmy Smith Volume One (1957)
- A Date with Jimmy Smith Volume Two (1957)
- Taylor's Wailers (Art Taylor, 1957)
- Soul Sauce (Cal Tjader, 1964)
- A Bluish Bag (Stanley Turrentine, 1967)
- Top Brass (Ernie Wilkins, 1955)
- Pairing Off (Phil Woods, 1956)