Jazz?
- Thread starter Yax
- Start date
Quoting this here so I don't derail the Now Playing topic.The track listing for Without A Net is as follows:
1. Orbits (4:49)
2. Starry Night (8:48)
3. S. S. Golden Mean (5:17)
4. Plaza Real (6:56)
5. Myrrh (3:03)
6. Pegasus (23:06)
7. Flying Down to Rio (12:44)
8. Zero Gravity (8:13)
9. UFO (4:12)
How is it ?
Pegasus was really good. It's more chamber style music with Jazz. It wanders at times but for the most part it's pretty coherent and really something different. Not your typical jazz, but I enjoyed it. Whole album gets a thumbs up from me.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Thank you Mosh. Not sure if I'd like chamber style music but I'll check it out (hopefully it gets on YouTube one of these days).
Other news: One of the legendary trumpeters, Donald Byrd, died. He played with John Coltrane, Wes Montgomery, Thelonious Monk, Lou Donaldson, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock and many others. Later in the seventies he adapted funk in his music. Again later his music was sampled by countless hip hop artists as well.
His nephew brought the news, against the (strange!) wish of his closer family:
I have some albums of him and by other leaders on which he plays. I especially like his albums on which he collaborated with bariton sax player Pepper Adams.
And check out his strong album Royal Flush, which features Herbie Hancock's first Blue Note appearance. Here a few songs (2nd written by Hancock):
Other news: One of the legendary trumpeters, Donald Byrd, died. He played with John Coltrane, Wes Montgomery, Thelonious Monk, Lou Donaldson, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock and many others. Later in the seventies he adapted funk in his music. Again later his music was sampled by countless hip hop artists as well.
His nephew brought the news, against the (strange!) wish of his closer family:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/feb/08/donald-byrd-jazz-dies
The influential jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd died on Monday at the age of 80, his nephew has said.
Alex Bugnon, a jazz pianist, reported his uncle's death on Thursday, though it has yet to be confirmed.
Bugnon wrote on his own Facebook page: "Donald passed away Monday in Delaware, where he lived. His funeral will be held in Detroit sometime next week. I have no more patience for this unnecessary shroud of secrecy placed over his death by certain members of his immediate family. "
Byrd was born Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II in Detroit in 1932 and began his career with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the 1950s, performing alongside the likes of John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk and Herbie Hancock.
While his roots were in bebop he later became equally renowned for soul and funk, and particularly jazz fusion. He went on to become one of jazz label Blue Note's most significant artists, for whom he recorded most of his releases, including the 1973 album Black Byrd, which became the label's biggest ever seller.
Long after his commercial peak, Byrd's influence continued to be felt in popular music, sampled by hip-hop artists including Public Enemy, Nas, the Pharcyde and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien and house producer Armand Van Helden.
Byrd's legacy is summed up by his nephew's Facebook tribute: "Let's remember Donald as a one of a kind pioneer of the trumpet, of the many styles of music he took on, of music education. In sum, Donald was an avid, eternal student of music, until his death. That's what I try to be, everyday!! Rest in peace, uncle!"
The influential jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd died on Monday at the age of 80, his nephew has said.
Alex Bugnon, a jazz pianist, reported his uncle's death on Thursday, though it has yet to be confirmed.
Bugnon wrote on his own Facebook page: "Donald passed away Monday in Delaware, where he lived. His funeral will be held in Detroit sometime next week. I have no more patience for this unnecessary shroud of secrecy placed over his death by certain members of his immediate family. "
Byrd was born Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II in Detroit in 1932 and began his career with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the 1950s, performing alongside the likes of John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk and Herbie Hancock.
While his roots were in bebop he later became equally renowned for soul and funk, and particularly jazz fusion. He went on to become one of jazz label Blue Note's most significant artists, for whom he recorded most of his releases, including the 1973 album Black Byrd, which became the label's biggest ever seller.
Long after his commercial peak, Byrd's influence continued to be felt in popular music, sampled by hip-hop artists including Public Enemy, Nas, the Pharcyde and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien and house producer Armand Van Helden.
Byrd's legacy is summed up by his nephew's Facebook tribute: "Let's remember Donald as a one of a kind pioneer of the trumpet, of the many styles of music he took on, of music education. In sum, Donald was an avid, eternal student of music, until his death. That's what I try to be, everyday!! Rest in peace, uncle!"
____no5
Free Man
And another one gone.. Thanks for the videos, Foro.
He was sideman in at least 2 beloved records of mine, Whims of Chambers & '56s Messengers.. Need to check his leader disco now..
…and he picks Paul Chambers, partly out of lack, partly cause he’s a Maidenfan and Chambers is a bassist. He goes to his local record shop and searches something of him. He finds Whims of Chambers (1956), one of the most easy-to-be-found Chambers records:
1. "Omicron" (Donald Byrd) – 7:15
2. "Whims Of Chambers" – 4:03
3. "Nita" (John Coltrane) – 6:03
4. "We Six" (Byrd) – 7:39
5. "Dear Ann" – 4:18
6. "Tale Of The Fingers" – 4:41
7. "Just For The Love" (Coltrane) – 3:41
Of the seven songs on this Blue Note CD reissue, four are more common than the other three because they contain solos by tenor saxophonist John Coltrane and have therefore been reissued more often. Actually there are quite a few solos in the all-star sextet (which includes the bassist-leader, Coltrane, trumpeter Donald Byrd, guitarist Kenny Burrell, pianist Horace Silver and drummer Philly Joe Jones) and all of the players get their chances to shine on this fairly spontaneous hard bop set. Coltrane's two obscure compositions ("Nita" and "Just for the Love") are among the more memorable tunes and are worth reviving. "Tale of the Fingers" features the quintet without Coltrane, the rhythm section stretches out on "Whims of Chambers" and "Tale of the Fingers" is a showcase for Chambers bowed bass. This is a fine effort and would be worth picking up by straightahead jazz fans even if John Coltrane had not participated.
He loves the terrific sound of the double bass, the excellent guitar work of Kenny Burrell, Donald Byrd’s trumpet and worships Coltrane’s sax.
However, he decides to try except Coltrane, something with the drummer Philly Joe Jones, impressed by his solo in the title track.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
I still have not heard that album. I have it though, in this Paul Chambers compilation box.
http://www.tower.com/8-classic-albums-paul-chambers-cd/wapi/121223632
http://www.tower.com/8-classic-albums-paul-chambers-cd/wapi/121223632
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
That series has many boxes by jazz artists. Not expensive! Recommended.
I'll pay extra attention to it!
Gonna check out the Paul Chambers and Donald Byrd albums later today for sure.
Chamber music is really good. I find it to be generally more interesting (and fun to play!) than full ensemble classical music. In a chamber setting, the #1 rule is that every player has a different part. It could be anything from melody to harmonic support to a bass line. There is always something going on. Pegasus isn't exactly traditional chamber style, but that's the closest thing I can think of.
Well the rest is pure jazz and it's great stuff. Wayne Shorter has always been one to constantly evolve his music.
Chamber music is really good. I find it to be generally more interesting (and fun to play!) than full ensemble classical music. In a chamber setting, the #1 rule is that every player has a different part. It could be anything from melody to harmonic support to a bass line. There is always something going on. Pegasus isn't exactly traditional chamber style, but that's the closest thing I can think of.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Today I heard on the radio that Donald Byrd's album Black Byrd (1973) was the best ever selling album on the Blue Note label!
Review by Steve Huey: Purists howled with indignation when Donald Byrd released Black Byrd, a full-fledged foray into R&B that erupted into a popular phenomenon. Byrd was branded a sellout and a traitor to his hard bop credentials, especially after Black Byrd became the biggest-selling album in Blue Note history. What the elitists missed, though, was that Black Byrd was the moment when Byrd's brand of fusion finally stepped out from under the shadow of his chief influence, Miles Davis, and found a distinctive voice of its own. Never before had a jazz musician embraced the celebratory sound and style of contemporary funk as fully as Byrd did here -- not even Davis, whose dark, chaotic jungle-funk stood in sharp contrast to the bright, breezy, danceable music on Black Byrd. Byrd gives free rein to producer/arranger/composer Larry Mizell, who crafts a series of tightly focused, melodic pieces often indebted to the lengthier orchestrations of Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield. They're built on the most straightforward funk rhythms Byrd had yet tackled, and if the structures aren't as loose or complex as his earlier fusion material, they make up for it with a funky sense of groove that's damn near irresistible. Byrd's solos are mostly melodic and in-the-pocket, but that allows the funk to take center stage. Sure, maybe the electric piano, sound effects, and Roger Glenn's ubiquitous flute date the music somewhat, but that's really part of its charm. Black Byrd was state-of-the-art for its time, and it set a new standard for all future jazz/R&B/funk fusions -- of which there were many. Byrd would continue to refine this sound on equally essential albums like Street Lady and the fantastic Places and Spaces, but Black Byrd stands as his groundbreaking signature statement.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Another side of Donald Byrd's importance (Herbie tells how Byrd prepared him for joining Miles Davis):
And here a nice article on Donald Byrd with again nice Herbie Hancock input:
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP5d38d37ebfa04e28a319a8c9440dedbc.html
DOVER, Del. — Jazz musician Donald Byrd, a leading hard-bop trumpeter of the 1950s who collaborated on dozens of albums with top artists of his time and later enjoyed commercial success with hit jazz-funk fusion records such as "Black Byrd," has died. He was 80.
He died Feb. 4 in Delaware, according to Haley Funeral Directors in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Mich., which is handling arrangements. It didn't have details on his death.
Byrd, who was also a pioneer in jazz education, attended Cass Technical High School in Detroit, played in military bands in the Air Force and moved to New York in 1955. The trumpeter, whose given name was Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, rose to national prominence when he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers later that year, filling the seat in the bebop group held by his idol Clifford Brown.
He soon became one of the most in-demand trumpeters on the New York scene, playing with Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk. He also began his recording career by leading sessions for Savoy and other labels.
In 1958, he signed an exclusive recording contract with the Blue Note label and formed a band with a fellow Detroit native, baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams, making their label debut with the 1959 album "Off to the Races." The band became one of the leading exponents of the hard-bop style, which evolved from bebop and blended in elements of R&B, soul and gospel music. A 1961 recording, "Free Form," brought attention to then 20-year-old pianist Herbie Hancock.
"Donald had this beautiful tone and had a very lyrical sense of playing and a real sense of melody," said Hancock, who two years later joined Miles Davis' famed quintet and later formed his own Grammy-winning jazz-funk band.
In a telephone interview Monday night, Hancock said Byrd was a key influence earlier in his career. He said Byrd took him "under his wings" when he was a struggling musician newly arrived in New York, even letting him sleep on a hide-a-bed in his Bronx apartment for several years.
"He was the first person to let me be a permanent member of an internationally known band," Hancock added. "He has always nurtured and encouraged young musicians. He's a born educator, it seems to be in his blood, and he really tried to encourage the development of creativity."
Hancock also said Byrd encouraged him to make his debut album for Blue Note and hooked him up with Mongo Santamaria, who turned Hancock's tune "Watermelon Man" into a chart-topping hit. He also urged him to accept Davis' offer to join his quintet.
In the 1960s, Byrd, who had received his master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music, turned his attention to jazz education. He studied in Paris with composer Nadia Boulanger, became the first person to teach jazz at Rutgers University in New Jersey, and started the jazz studies department at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Byrd began moving toward a more commercial sound with the funk-jazz fusion album "Fancy Free" in 1969, taking a path followed by fellow trumpeters Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard. He teamed up with the Mizell brothers to release "Black Byrd" in 1973, a blend of jazz, R&B and funk that became Blue Note's highest selling album at the time.
Jazz critics panned Byrd for deviating from the jazz mainstream, but he was unperturbed.
"I'm creative; I'm not re-creative," Byrd told the Detroit Free Press in a 1999 interview. "I don't follow what everybody else does."
Byrd invited several of his best students at Howard to join a jazz-fusion group called the Blackbyrds that reached a mainstream audience with a sound heavy on R&B and rock influences. The band landed in the Top 10 on the R&B charts with the mid-'70s albums "Street Lady," ''Stepping Into Tomorrow" and "Place and Spaces."
Hancock said the Blackbyrds "laid the groundwork for the direction" that led him to form his own jazz-funk band, The Headhunters, and eventually record the Grammy-winning instrumental single "Rockit."
In 1982, Byrd, who also had a law degree, received his doctorate from New York's Teachers College, Columbia University, and turned his attention from performing to education. Byrd, a longtime resident of Teaneck, N.J., was a distinguished scholar at William Paterson University and twice served as an artist-in-residence at Delaware State University.
Byrd didn't have much training in mathematics but created a groundbreaking curriculum called Music + Math (equals) Art, in which he transformed notes into numbers to simultaneously teach music and math.
"I can take any series of numbers and turn it into music, from Bach to bebop, Herbie Hancock to hip-hop," he told The Star-Ledger newspaper of Newark, N.J.
In the late '80s and early '90s, he returned to playing hard-bop on several albums for the Landmark label, which also featured saxophonists Kenny Garrett and Joe Henderson.
He performed on Guru's 1993 jazz-rap album, "Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1," and his recordings were sampled on more than 100 hip-hop songs by such performers as Black Moon, Nas, Ludacris and A Tribe Called Quest.
In 2000, the National Endowment for the Arts recognized Byrd as a Jazz Master, the nation's highest jazz honor.
And here a nice article on Donald Byrd with again nice Herbie Hancock input:
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP5d38d37ebfa04e28a319a8c9440dedbc.html
DOVER, Del. — Jazz musician Donald Byrd, a leading hard-bop trumpeter of the 1950s who collaborated on dozens of albums with top artists of his time and later enjoyed commercial success with hit jazz-funk fusion records such as "Black Byrd," has died. He was 80.
He died Feb. 4 in Delaware, according to Haley Funeral Directors in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Mich., which is handling arrangements. It didn't have details on his death.
Byrd, who was also a pioneer in jazz education, attended Cass Technical High School in Detroit, played in military bands in the Air Force and moved to New York in 1955. The trumpeter, whose given name was Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, rose to national prominence when he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers later that year, filling the seat in the bebop group held by his idol Clifford Brown.
He soon became one of the most in-demand trumpeters on the New York scene, playing with Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk. He also began his recording career by leading sessions for Savoy and other labels.
In 1958, he signed an exclusive recording contract with the Blue Note label and formed a band with a fellow Detroit native, baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams, making their label debut with the 1959 album "Off to the Races." The band became one of the leading exponents of the hard-bop style, which evolved from bebop and blended in elements of R&B, soul and gospel music. A 1961 recording, "Free Form," brought attention to then 20-year-old pianist Herbie Hancock.
"Donald had this beautiful tone and had a very lyrical sense of playing and a real sense of melody," said Hancock, who two years later joined Miles Davis' famed quintet and later formed his own Grammy-winning jazz-funk band.
In a telephone interview Monday night, Hancock said Byrd was a key influence earlier in his career. He said Byrd took him "under his wings" when he was a struggling musician newly arrived in New York, even letting him sleep on a hide-a-bed in his Bronx apartment for several years.
"He was the first person to let me be a permanent member of an internationally known band," Hancock added. "He has always nurtured and encouraged young musicians. He's a born educator, it seems to be in his blood, and he really tried to encourage the development of creativity."
Hancock also said Byrd encouraged him to make his debut album for Blue Note and hooked him up with Mongo Santamaria, who turned Hancock's tune "Watermelon Man" into a chart-topping hit. He also urged him to accept Davis' offer to join his quintet.
In the 1960s, Byrd, who had received his master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music, turned his attention to jazz education. He studied in Paris with composer Nadia Boulanger, became the first person to teach jazz at Rutgers University in New Jersey, and started the jazz studies department at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Byrd began moving toward a more commercial sound with the funk-jazz fusion album "Fancy Free" in 1969, taking a path followed by fellow trumpeters Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard. He teamed up with the Mizell brothers to release "Black Byrd" in 1973, a blend of jazz, R&B and funk that became Blue Note's highest selling album at the time.
Jazz critics panned Byrd for deviating from the jazz mainstream, but he was unperturbed.
"I'm creative; I'm not re-creative," Byrd told the Detroit Free Press in a 1999 interview. "I don't follow what everybody else does."
Byrd invited several of his best students at Howard to join a jazz-fusion group called the Blackbyrds that reached a mainstream audience with a sound heavy on R&B and rock influences. The band landed in the Top 10 on the R&B charts with the mid-'70s albums "Street Lady," ''Stepping Into Tomorrow" and "Place and Spaces."
Hancock said the Blackbyrds "laid the groundwork for the direction" that led him to form his own jazz-funk band, The Headhunters, and eventually record the Grammy-winning instrumental single "Rockit."
In 1982, Byrd, who also had a law degree, received his doctorate from New York's Teachers College, Columbia University, and turned his attention from performing to education. Byrd, a longtime resident of Teaneck, N.J., was a distinguished scholar at William Paterson University and twice served as an artist-in-residence at Delaware State University.
Byrd didn't have much training in mathematics but created a groundbreaking curriculum called Music + Math (equals) Art, in which he transformed notes into numbers to simultaneously teach music and math.
"I can take any series of numbers and turn it into music, from Bach to bebop, Herbie Hancock to hip-hop," he told The Star-Ledger newspaper of Newark, N.J.
In the late '80s and early '90s, he returned to playing hard-bop on several albums for the Landmark label, which also featured saxophonists Kenny Garrett and Joe Henderson.
He performed on Guru's 1993 jazz-rap album, "Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1," and his recordings were sampled on more than 100 hip-hop songs by such performers as Black Moon, Nas, Ludacris and A Tribe Called Quest.
In 2000, the National Endowment for the Arts recognized Byrd as a Jazz Master, the nation's highest jazz honor.
Good read. I'll have to check out some of the albums mentioned here after school.
Also, that Herbie clip looks like it came from A Different Kind Of Blue. Even if it didn't, I totally recommend seeing it. Great doc about Miles' electric period.
Also, that Herbie clip looks like it came from A Different Kind Of Blue. Even if it didn't, I totally recommend seeing it. Great doc about Miles' electric period.