Donald Byrd (tr); Jerry Dodgion (as, ss,
fl); Frank Foster (ts, cl); Lew Tabackin (ts, fl); Pepper Adams (bs, fl); Bill
Campbell (tb); Hermeto Pascoal (fl on "Xibaba" only); Wally
Richardson (g); Duke Pearson (el p); Ron Carter (b); Mickey Roker (d); Airto
Moreira (perc)
Recorded on May 15, 1970
Electric Byrd is a fantastic album, and often overlooked. Some have described the record as Donald Byrd’s
response to Miles’ Bitches Brew.
I can understand why someone might say that, but I think the passing of
time has revealed the important differences between the two. For example, the music on Bitches Brew
is churning, roiling, and dark. Aside
from Miles’ searing trumpet, the signal aspect of the music is Bennie Maupin’s seemingly
ever-present bass clarinet, an inchoate, slithering, bottomless sound. Electric Byrd, on the other hand, floats
along on a spacey bed of percussion laid down by Airto Moreira and Mickey Roker. Another difference: Bitches Brew often
seems like a limbless torso, with normal markers removed, an irrational, flowing
shape. Producer Teo Macero’s work on Bitches
Brew was indispensable. After the
music had been recorded, he assembled the album like an editor assembling an art-house
film. On the other hand, even with the shimmering
“new” electrical sounds (on Byrd’s horn, Pearson’s piano, or Richardson’s
guitar), Electric Byrd sounds like a relatively straight-forward studio
date. The music is played in real time. Furthermore, Byrd’s compositions may sometimes
be stretched out, elongated like silly putty—but they’re still recognizable as
songs.
If Teo Macero exerted a huge influence
on the creation of Bitches Brew, you could point to Duke Pearson as a
sort of counterpart on Electric Byrd. By the end of the 1960s, Pearson was moving
past the soulful hard bop sound heard on Blue Note albums like Wahoo! (1965)
and Sweet Honey Bee (1967) into newer realms. Listening to Pearson’s The Phantom
(Blue Note, 1968), you can hear musical elements that anticipate the sound of Electric
Byrd. Both albums feature increasingly
complex harmonies, loads of colorful percussion, and liberal amounts of
Brazilian seasoning (as heard on Airto’s “Xibaba” with fellow Brazilian Hermeto Pascoal sitting
in on flute). Pearson would continue moving
in this direction with albums like I Don’t Care Who Knows It (Blue Note,
1968-70; released 1996) and It Could Only Happen with You (Blue Note, 1971,
released 1974). Donald Byrd’s involvement
with the whole Brazilian bag proved to be a dalliance. He took his future musical direction from “The
Dude,” the final song on Electric Byrd, away from floating, ethereal sounds and
into harder, earthier funk.
More Donald Byrd
If you want to hear more early-70s
Donald Byrd, consider giving Ethiopian Knights (Blue Note, 1972) a spin.
Featuring a much grittier sound than Electric Byrd, the album boasts a
potent line-up of sidemen including Bobby Hutcherson, Harold Land, and Joe
Sample, among others.
One vote for Kofi. Recorded Dec69, Dec70. Great album.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the blog. I'm a fallower.
Yesternow, I've never heard Kofi. I'll give it a listen. ... Thanks for the kind words regarding the blog. I'm having fun with it!
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