Harlem Blues (Donald Byrd album)

Harlem Blues is an album by trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring performances recorded in 1987 and released on the Landmark label the following year.[1][2][3]

Harlem Blues
Studio album by
Donald Byrd
Released1988
RecordedSeptember 22 & 24, 1987
StudioVan Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
GenreJazz
Length52:24 CD release with bonus track
LabelLandmark
LLP/LCD 1516
ProducerOrrin Keepnews, Donald Byrd
Donald Byrd chronology
Words, Sounds, Colors and Shapes
(1982)		 Harlem Blues
(1988)		 Getting Down to Business
(1990)

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[5]

On AllMusic, Scott Yanow observed: "This Landmark release was trumpeter Donald Byrd's first jazz album in over 15 years after a long (and commercially if not artistically successful) detour into poppish R&B/funk. In the 1980s Byrd had neglected his trumpet playing in order to direct The Blackbyrds and teach. The period away from his instrument shows in spots on this well-intentioned set ... Ironically Byrd's own playing was not at this point up to the level of his sidemen although his chops would improve during the next couple of years".[4] The Penguin Guide to Jazz praised Byrd's younger sidemen, while suggesting that the trumpeter's own playing had declined.[5]

Track listing

All compositions by Donald Byrd except where noted.

  1. "Harlem Blues" (W. C. Handy) – 5:30
  2. "Fly Little Bird Fly" – 6:13
  3. "Voyage À Deux (Journey for Two)" (Kenny Garrett) – 7:44
  4. "Blue Monk" (Thelonious Monk) – 9:22
  5. "Alter Ego" (James Williams) – 7:36
  6. "Sir Master Kool Guy" – 5:03
  7. "Hi-Fly" (Randy Weston) – 10:56 Additional track on CD release

Personnel

References
  1. Fitzgerald, M., Landmark Records listing accessed December 7, 2017
  2. Donald Byrd Catalog, accessed December 7, 2017
  3. Jazzlists: Landmark 1500 series discography, accessed February 4, 2019
  4. Yanow, Scott. Donald Byrd: Harlem Blues – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  5. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1992). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette (1st ed.). Penguin. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-14-015364-4.
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