Jump to content

Donald Byrd


kenny weir

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 62
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

9 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

Once the early swing era had passed, trumpet appears to go in and out of fashion in quite an extreme way.

Not sure what that means?

I believe the clarinet is a much better example of an instrument that went out of fashion once the bebop era came along. Though there were a few individuals who focused on the clarinet, the saxophone became the reed instrument that dominated the jazz scene.

To a major degree with the trumpet (and the trombone), the key has been the player that was instrumental (pun intended) in bringing the horn to the forefront.   

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Peter - I think Rab was referring to instrumentalists who would quickly go in and out of fashion -- not the instrument itself.

I think this is at least partly due to the nature of playing the instrument.  Trumpeters usually don't stay at their peak performance as long as other instrumentalists.  The primes of their careers can be relatively short, compared to saxophonists or pianists or whatever.

Of course, there are always exceptions.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Regarding “Trying to Get Home...”   “New Perspective” was sort of a fluke hit, and, if I recall the notes correctly, Nat Hentoff says that this was a sincere effort by Byrd, not some attempt to jump on the current soul/gospel bandwagon. I would say the follow up -  “Trying...” - IS a concious attempt to jump on that bandwagon! The cover pretty much says it, along with the “funkier” lineup. (Good enough album, but doesn’t stand up to the original.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

51 minutes ago, DMP said:

Regarding “Trying to Get Home...”   “New Perspective” was sort of a fluke hit, and, if I recall the notes correctly, Nat Hentoff says that this was a sincere effort by Byrd, not some attempt to jump on the current soul/gospel bandwagon. I would say the follow up -  “Trying...” - IS a concious attempt to jump on that bandwagon! The cover pretty much says it, along with the “funkier” lineup. (Good enough album, but doesn’t stand up to the original.)

They both strike me as quirky enough, both in their use of voices and otherwise, to be taken as sincere personal statements from a PK.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Peter Friedman said:

Not sure what that means?

I believe the clarinet is a much better example of an instrument that went out of fashion once the bebop era came along. Though there were a few individuals who focused on the clarinet, the saxophone became the reed instrument that dominated the jazz scene.

To a major degree with the trumpet (and the trombone), the key has been the player that was instrumental (pun intended) in bringing the horn to the forefront.   

The clarinet just went out of fashion. Not sure if there's ever been a bumper crop of good clarinetists since the swing era.

Trumpet just seems to come and go. Every ten years or so there's a crop of players and in between periods with very few good trumpet players.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

The clarinet just went out of fashion. Not sure if there's ever been a bumper crop of good clarinetists since the swing era.

Trumpet just seems to come and go. Every ten years or so there's a crop of players and in between periods with very few good trumpet players.

Maybe because my ears are mostly used to then so called "modern jazz" from bop to free-to 70´s electric, the clarinet is a rare thing. And especially those screamin´ clarinets from old time dixieland or what it is really are painful to listen to me, I don´t like that sound . Even great clarinetists like let´s say John LaPorta on those "Bands for Bonds" with Bird, Fats, Tristano .....or on that all star bopsession from late 1948 great as they play it sounds a bit out of place and could happen easily without them. 

I love Dolphy´s bass clarinet, and Perry Robinson´s clarinet on that 1965 Henry Grimes album for ESP.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Rabshakeh said:

There's some great clarinet out there, but it always feels like an isolated novelty I think.

That´s true. Well isolated yes......you might expect a tenor saxophonist. Henry Grimes with Hamid Drake and David Murray was one of the greatest things I heard.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Like others, I find his BN period to be the most satisfying (probably up to Kofi for me.) The sessions with Sonny Red that culminated in the records, Mustang, Blackjack and Slow Drag are awesome (meaning very enjoyable); but reconsidering Byrd's BN sideman work, perhaps Dex's One Flight Up is my favorite of his, especially the first track. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Holy Ghost said:

Like others, I find his BN period to be the most satisfying (probably up to Kofi for me.)

Ethiopian Nights isn’t half bad either (the date after Kofi) — it’s the last album before the Mizells enter the picture (and my interest drops off substantially).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Rooster_Ties said:

Ethiopian Nights isn’t half bad either (the date after Kofi) — it’s the last album before the Mizells enter the picture (and my interest drops off substantially).

+1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...