Donald Byrd - Fuego (1978 Japanese Blue Note GXK 8037 Vinyl LP)

Donald Byrd - Fuego | Vinyl LP - 1978 Japanese King Record Reissue (GXK 8037 / BNST 84026, Blue Note Masterpiece Selection 150)

• Byrd's third Blue Note date and one of his finest, six originals with Jackie McLean's alto saxophone cutting through Duke Pearson's soulful comping, Doug Watkins on bass and Lex Humphries on drums
• Byrd plays pocket trumpet throughout, the smaller horn giving his tone a darker, more compressed quality than his standard Blue Note albums
• Japanese Blue Note Masterpiece Selection pressing on King Record, with Reid Miles cover design and Francis Wolff photography

Donald Byrd's earlier Blue Note sessions had positioned him squarely in the hard bop mainstream. Fuego pushes further. The All About Jazz review noted the influence of both Art Blakey and John Coltrane on Byrd's writing here, and that combination, the Messengers' rhythmic drive alongside more open, modal improvisations, runs through all six tracks. Byrd plays pocket trumpet on this date rather than his usual horn, and the difference in timbre is noticeable from the title track onward: the tone is more compact and slightly darker, sitting beside McLean's sharp alto in a way that creates a tighter front line than on Byrd in Hand or the earlier quintet sessions. "Fuego" opens at a tempo that could have come from a Blakey date, Humphries' drums providing an unusually reverberant foundation with Van Gelder's stereo placement pushing the kit wide in the mix. "Bup a Loup" follows as a lighter, bouncier piece with more space for Pearson's block chords. "Funky Mama", the longest track, lives up to its title and builds through extended solos from both horns.

Side B opens with "Low Life", a midtempo blues where McLean takes the first solo and plays with the tart, cutting tone that makes his work instantly recognisable. The contrast with Byrd's warmer pocket trumpet is the album's strongest feature, and it works because both players leave room for the other. "Lament" is the album's ballad, the one piece where the pace drops and Pearson steps forward with a solo that shows why he would go on to become one of Blue Note's most trusted house producers through the 1960s. "Amen" closes the record with a gospel-flavoured groove that brings the energy back up. 

This is the 1978 Japanese stereo reissue on King Record (GXK 8037), part of the Blue Note Masterpiece Selection 150 series. Reid Miles cover design and Francis Wolff cover photography. Liner notes by Leonard Feather.