Donald Byrd

[Rabshakeh]

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

[Peter Friedman]

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.   

 

[HutchFan]

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.

 

[DMP]

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.)

[danasgoodstuff]

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.

[Rabshakeh]

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.

[Gheorghe]

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.....

[Rabshakeh]

Just now, Gheorghe said:

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

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

[Gheorghe]

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.....

[Holy Ghost]

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. 

[Rooster_Ties]

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).

[felser]

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

[Holy Ghost]

6 hours ago, felser said:

+1

Thanks guys, I will give it a (youtubian) spin