Donald Byrd
's transitional sessions from 1969-1971 are actually some of the trumpeter's most intriguing work, balancing accessible, funky,
Davis
-style
fusion
with legitimate
jazz improvisation
.
Electric Byrd
, from 1970, is the best of the bunch, as
Byrd
absorbs the innovations of
Bitches Brew
and comes up with one of his most consistent
sets of any flavor.
leads his largest
group yet (ten to 11 pieces), featuring many of his cohorts of the time (including
Jerry Dodgion
,
Lew Tabackin
, and
Frank Foster
on various woodwinds). Most important are electric pianist
Duke Pearson
, who once again dominates the arrangements, and percussionist
Airto Moreira
, who in places lends a strong Brazilian feel that predates
Return to Forever
Moreira
also contributes one of the four compositions,
"Xibaba,"
which starts out as an airy Brazilian tune but morphs into a free-form effects extravaganza; the rest are
originals that prove equally imaginative and diverse. The Brazilian-tinged opener
"Estavanico"
has a gentle, drifting quality that's often disrupted by jarring dissonances. There's also the shifting -- and sometimes even disappearing -- slow groove of
"Essence,"
and the hard-edged,
bop
-based
funk
of
"The Dude."
Much of the album has a spacy, floating feel indebted to the
psychedelic fusion
; it's full of open-ended solo improvisations, loads of amplification effects, and striking sonic textures. The arrangements are continually surprising, and the band never works the same groove too long, switching or completely dropping the underlying rhythms. So even if it wears its influences on its sleeve,
is indisputably challenging, high-quality
. It's also the end of the line for
jazz
purists as far as
is concerned, which is perhaps part of the reason the album has yet to receive its proper due. ~ Steve Huey