92.
Track Listing
1.) Flight-Tyme
2.) Black Byrd
3.) Love's So Far Away
4.) Mr. Thomas
5.) Sky High
6.) Slop Jar Blues
7.) Where Are We Going?
Jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd was a true pioneer and explorer of the genre. Influenced heavily by his hero, Miles Davis, I'll have to say that this album is the point where Mr. Byrd finally stepped out of Davis' shadow and took off on his own way.
While Davis was getting dark, Byrd was getting jazzy and funky. On
Black Byrd, he explored the conjunction of the two genres fully, making an interesting, head-bobbing and foot-tapping effort that wouldn't be out of place on an (really fu
cking cool) elevator.
His trumpet-playing is delightful, the piano fills are perfect, the percussion is absolutely on point, and when it gets funky, the music is at its best. The session band is fantastic, and in spite of the music's almost poppy nature, this is one of the most enjoyable albums in my collection.
Listen to it in the morning while getting ready for your day, in your car on your daily commute, while hanging with buddies, before going to bed, or when you can't sleep - it's going to bring a smile to your face no matter when you listen.
For something jazzy, the song lengths are quite short and manageable, only two songs clocking in at over seven minutes ("Flight Time"; "Black Byrd") and one a mere four and a half minutes ("Where Are We Going?") but the music itself is anything but lacking. By the second track, "Black Byrd", vocals come in, delightful and funky; you could put some of these tracks on a mix side by side with Sly and the Family Stone-type fare, and it would be perfect.
Personal favorites include the afore-mentioned "Black Byrd", a groovin', funky romp which can get asses shaking; the jazzy and funktastic instrumental track, "Mr. Thomas"; the lovely while still certainly grooving "Sky High", which is also my personal favorite; and the damn near perfect closer, "Where Are We Going". All songs on the album, however, have their own charm and I could make an argument for the greatness of all of them.
Technically sound without so much as a modicum of self-indulgence,
Black Byrd is both accessible and enjoyable, choosing to accommodate and bring the listener in rather than alienating them. This is one of those albums I've recommended upon numerous occasions with enthusiasm, and will continue to recommend.