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Donald Byrd: Black Byrd

By Ian Patterson
March 30, 2023
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It's time to celebrate. Nearly fifty years after the event, Donald Byrd's 1973 performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival finally sees the light of day. Like many of his contemporaries, Byrd had turned to electric jazz-fusion towards the end of the '60s, and this live set bears all the hallmarks of a hard bopper who had happily assimilated the r&b, soul and funk that was de rigueur at the time. Of the six tracks, only "Black Bird," with its Sun Ra Arkestra-esque chanting, had been recorded previously. Click to listen...

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