{"title":"Donald Byrd","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"179\" data-end=\"756\"\u003eTrumpeter \u003cstrong data-start=\"189\" data-end=\"204\"\u003eDonald Byrd\u003c\/strong\u003e was a restless innovator who shaped every era of modern jazz. A Blue Note mainstay through the ’50s and ’60s, Byrd bridged hard bop with soul, funk and fusion, redefining the label’s sound with albums like \u003cem data-start=\"411\" data-end=\"430\"\u003eA New Perspective\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem data-start=\"432\" data-end=\"444\"\u003eBlack Byrd\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem data-start=\"449\" data-end=\"468\"\u003ePlaces and Spaces\u003c\/em\u003e. His collaborations with Herbie Hancock and The Blackbyrds pushed jazz into the modern age — rhythmically rich, socially aware and irresistibly grooving. Explore our \u003cem data-start=\"635\" data-end=\"648\"\u003eDonald Byrd\u003c\/em\u003e vinyl collection spanning his classic Blue Note sessions to his electrifying Mizell Brothers productions.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"donald-byrd-slow-drag-2023-blue-note-tone-poet-vinyl-lp","title":"Donald Byrd – Slow Drag (2023 Blue Note Tone Poet Vinyl LP)","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"370\" data-end=\"749\"\u003eRecorded on \u003cstrong data-start=\"382\" data-end=\"398\"\u003eMay 12, 1967\u003c\/strong\u003e, at \u003cstrong data-start=\"403\" data-end=\"424\"\u003eRudy Van Gelder’s\u003c\/strong\u003e legendary Englewood Cliffs studio, \u003cem data-start=\"460\" data-end=\"471\"\u003eSlow Drag\u003c\/em\u003e finds \u003cstrong data-start=\"478\" data-end=\"493\"\u003eDonald Byrd\u003c\/strong\u003e deep in the pocket of \u003cstrong data-start=\"516\" data-end=\"528\"\u003ehard bop\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong data-start=\"533\" data-end=\"546\"\u003esoul-jazz\u003c\/strong\u003e. Issued as part of the acclaimed \u003cstrong data-start=\"580\" data-end=\"610\"\u003eBlue Note Tone Poet Series\u003c\/strong\u003e, this reissue revives one of Byrd’s most effortlessly grooving sessions — a record that swings with confidence yet never loses its cool.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"751\" data-end=\"1036\"\u003eByrd leads a powerhouse lineup: \u003cstrong data-start=\"783\" data-end=\"796\"\u003eSonny Red\u003c\/strong\u003e on alto sax, \u003cstrong data-start=\"810\" data-end=\"826\"\u003eCedar Walton\u003c\/strong\u003e on piano, \u003cstrong data-start=\"837\" data-end=\"854\"\u003eWalter Booker\u003c\/strong\u003e on bass, and \u003cstrong data-start=\"868\" data-end=\"885\"\u003eBilly Higgins\u003c\/strong\u003e on drums and vocals. Together they balance sharp rhythm and lyrical flow, that unmistakable late-60s Blue Note chemistry between precision and feel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1038\" data-end=\"1427\"\u003eThe title track \u003cem data-start=\"1054\" data-end=\"1065\"\u003eSlow Drag\u003c\/em\u003e sets the tone, unfolding in relaxed swing, all brass and swagger. \u003cem data-start=\"1132\" data-end=\"1148\"\u003eBooker’s Bossa\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem data-start=\"1153\" data-end=\"1165\"\u003eJelly Roll\u003c\/em\u003e glide with effortless groove, while Byrd’s take on \u003cem data-start=\"1217\" data-end=\"1230\"\u003eSecret Love\u003c\/em\u003e is smooth but searching, built around Walton’s sparkling piano work. \u003cem data-start=\"1300\" data-end=\"1311\"\u003eThe Loner\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem data-start=\"1316\" data-end=\"1326\"\u003eMy Ideal\u003c\/em\u003e close the record with warmth and understatement, proof that Byrd could speak volumes in restraint.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1429\" data-end=\"1781\"\u003eRemastered from the original analog tapes and pressed on \u003cstrong data-start=\"1486\" data-end=\"1504\"\u003e180-gram vinyl\u003c\/strong\u003e, this \u003cstrong data-start=\"1511\" data-end=\"1541\"\u003eTone Poet gatefold edition\u003c\/strong\u003e offers Van Gelder’s full sonic depth — crisp horns, resonant bass, and that signature room sound. With \u003cstrong data-start=\"1645\" data-end=\"1664\"\u003eFrancis Wolff’s\u003c\/strong\u003e in-studio photography and \u003cstrong data-start=\"1691\" data-end=\"1718\"\u003eStoughton tip-on sleeve\u003c\/strong\u003e, it’s both an audiophile release and a collector’s artefact.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1783\" data-end=\"1964\"\u003eFor fans of \u003cstrong data-start=\"1795\" data-end=\"1810\"\u003eDonald Byrd\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong data-start=\"1812\" data-end=\"1828\"\u003eCedar Walton\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the golden age of \u003cstrong data-start=\"1852\" data-end=\"1873\"\u003eBlue Note Records\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cem data-start=\"1875\" data-end=\"1886\"\u003eSlow Drag\u003c\/em\u003e is essential — soulful, sophisticated, and unhurried in all the right ways.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blue Note","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42554740342843,"sku":null,"price":85.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/3203\/3339\/files\/91utdc4Pf3L._AC_SL1500.jpg?v=1761382588"},{"product_id":"donald-byrd-quintet-parisian-thoroughfare-1991-japanese-polydor-mono-vinyl-lp","title":"Donald Byrd Quintet - Parisian Thoroughfare (1991 Japanese Polydor Mono Vinyl LP)","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"1061\" data-end=\"1214\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eVinyl\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e: NM\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSleeve\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e: EX\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eObi:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNone\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOur grading system explained \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/dpbg4u-d1.myshopify.com\/pages\/secondhand-grading-guide\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003ehere\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePhoto is of the actual item.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDonald Byrd Quintet - \u003cem\u003eParisian Thoroughfare\u003c\/em\u003e | Vinyl LP - 1991 Japanese Polydor SGD-52 (Gold of G.D. 100 Series, No. 52, Mono)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDonald Byrd's quintet recorded live at L'Olympia in Paris\u003c\/strong\u003e on 22 October 1958, with Belgian saxophonist and flautist Bobby Jaspar, pianist Walter Davis Jr., bassist Doug Watkins and drummer Art Taylor; the program moves across Gillespie, Powell, Monk and Davis originals alongside one standard\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAmong the strongest documents of Jaspar's playing on record\u003c\/strong\u003e — the Belgian-born saxophonist spent much of his career in Paris and New York but died from a heart attack in 1963, aged 37, leaving a small and sought-after discography\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe second of two albums drawn from the same Olympia concert\u003c\/strong\u003e; the set list opens with Dizzy Gillespie's \"Salt Peanuts,\" works through Bud Powell's \"Parisian Thoroughfare\" and Monk's \"52nd Street Theme,\" and closes with a second reading of \"Salt Peanuts\"\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDonald Byrd brought a strong quintet to L'Olympia in Paris on 22 October 1958. Bobby Jaspar, the Belgian saxophonist and flautist who had spent the early part of the decade in Paris before moving to New York to work with J.J. Johnson and Miles Davis, took the tenor chair alongside Byrd's trumpet. Walter Davis Jr. — a hard bop pianist who spent several years with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers — was at the piano; Doug Watkins on bass and Art Taylor on drums completed the rhythm section. The material they chose runs from bebop staples to hard bop originals: Dizzy Gillespie's \"Salt Peanuts,\" Bud Powell's \"Parisian Thoroughfare,\" Hoagy Carmichael's \"Stardust,\" Monk's \"52nd Street Theme,\" Byrd's own \"At This Time\" (recorded elsewhere as \"Off to the Races\"), Davis's \"Formidable,\" Gillespie and John Lewis's \"Two-Bass Hit,\" and a second performance of \"Salt Peanuts\" to close. The program was spread across two albums; this is the second. The first appeared as \u003cem\u003eByrd in Paris\u003c\/em\u003e Volume 1.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe recording is a document of a particular moment in jazz's transatlantic exchange. By 1958, the circuit of American musicians performing in Paris at clubs and concert halls like the Olympia was well established, and European audiences were among the most attentive the music had anywhere. Jaspar was not a visiting American but a European who had earned his place in New York jazz circles on his own terms — a distinction worth noting on a record made in his adopted city. He died in 1963, aged 37. Doug Watkins died in February 1962, in a car crash, aged 27. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Polydor","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43278467465275,"sku":null,"price":80.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/3203\/3339\/files\/IMG_6374.jpg?v=1773378192"},{"product_id":"donald-byrd-places-and-spaces-2021-blue-note-classic-vinyl-series","title":"Donald Byrd - Places and Spaces (2021 Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDonald Byrd - \u003cem\u003ePlaces and Spaces\u003c\/em\u003e | Vinyl LP - 2021 Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series 180g (3596800, Kevin Gray\/Optimal)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDonald Byrd started his Blue Note career in 1958 as a hard bop trumpeter recording alongside Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane and Hank Mobley. By 1972, when he began working with Larry Mizell, the music had changed completely. Mizell produced \u003cem\u003eBlack Byrd\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eStreet Lady\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eStepping Into Tomorrow\u003c\/em\u003e before this, each album moving further from jazz convention and deeper into funk, soul and studio production. \u003cem\u003ePlaces and Spaces\u003c\/em\u003e was their fourth collaboration and their most refined.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLarry Mizell wrote or co-wrote five of the seven tracks. Fonce Mizell, his brother, co-produced, played clavinet and acoustic piano, and sang background vocals. The rhythm section was Los Angeles studio players at their peak: Chuck Rainey's Fender bass, Harvey Mason's drums, Skip Scarborough's Rhodes. Wade Marcus arranged the strings and conducted them. The result is music that sounds both meticulous and loose, every element placed precisely while the groove sustains the illusion that nobody is trying too hard.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Wind Parade\" opens Side A with one of the most immediately recognisable introductions in jazz-funk: Byrd's flugelhorn over strings and Rainey's bass line. \"Dominoes\" has been the album's most sampled track. \"Change (Makes You Want to Hustle)\" bridges disco and jazz-funk in a way that only this specific moment in 1975 could produce. Side B opens with the title track, Byrd and Mizell's most spacious collaboration. \"Night Whistler\" features James Carter whistling over the ensemble. \"Just My Imagination\" closes the album with the Strong\/Whitfield Temptations piece rearranged through the Mizell production filter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the 2021 Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series 180g pressing, mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, pressed at Optimal Media GmbH.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blue Note","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43617117306939,"sku":null,"price":75.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/3203\/3339\/files\/71eiuLe6g8L._UF894_1000_QL80.jpg?v=1781217041"},{"product_id":"donald-byrd-royal-flush-2024-blue-note-classic-vinyl-series-vinyl-lp","title":"Donald Byrd - Royal Flush (2024 Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series Vinyl LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDonald Byrd - \u003cem\u003eRoyal Flush\u003c\/em\u003e | 180g Vinyl LP - Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series (BST 84101)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eByrd had been on the Blue Note roster since 1958 and was playing some of the best hard bop being recorded anywhere when he brought this quintet into Van Gelder's studio. The front line pairing of his trumpet and Adams's baritone saxophone was five years deep by this point. They sit at opposite ends of the brass spectrum, and the harmonies between them have a texture you don't get from trumpet and tenor. \"Hush\" opens the album on a bluesy groove where both horns state the melody together before splitting into solos. \"I'm A Fool To Want You\" is the ballad reading, Byrd's tone warm and intimate with Adams sitting out entirely. \"Jorgie's\" closes side A with the longest track, Byrd and Adams trading ideas over Hancock's comping while Higgins's drumming keeps the rhythm conversational without losing its drive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSide B is where the album gets more interesting. \"Shangri-La\" has stop-start rhythms and harmonic shifts that sit outside conventional hard bop structures. \"6 M's\" keeps the complexity going. Then \"Requiem,\" the closing track, is Hancock's composition and his first to appear on record. It's modal, slower, with a gospel undertone in the piano chords and plaintive brass lines from Byrd and Adams that give way to a bowed bass solo from Warren. You can hear where Hancock's writing is heading. Within two years Byrd would recommend Hancock to Miles Davis, and within six years Hancock would record \u003cem\u003eSpeak Like A Child\u003c\/em\u003e for Blue Note with a compositional ambition that traces directly back to this session.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series reissue, mastered and lacquer cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal Media in Germany.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blue Note","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43739918991419,"sku":null,"price":75.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/3203\/3339\/files\/71WQSfgmV6L._UF894_1000_QL80.jpg?v=1783038540"}],"url":"https:\/\/lushliferecords.com.au\/collections\/donald-byrd.oembed","provider":"Lush Life Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}