Donald Byrd – Electric Byrd LP

The experimentations taking shape in jazz at the end of the 60’s with Miles Davis leading the pack pushed jazz in many new directions. Released six months after Bitches Brew, Electric Byrd shows legendary hard bop Detroit trumpet player Donald Byrd was listening to, but not necessarily following concurrent paths. Backed by a diverse group of players including hard bop legends with Brazilians Moreira and Pascoal lending a fresh sound. Shimmering percussion, wind instruments and electric piano and guitar set the backdrop for Byrd’s dramatic flight into a psychedelic space with his echo-laden trumpet blasts. The album ends on a rollocking funk featuring his full band that foreshadows the gold he would soon mine with the Mizell Brothers on his string of hit records recorded shortly after. A true glimpse of an artist in transition, it would be difficult to find a more perfect sounding record.