Voted New Star on Trumpet in Down Beat’s 1957 Critics Poll and Heard on no fewer than 36 recording sessions that same year, Donald Byrd was one of the fastest-rising talents of the hard-bop movement then reshaping the New York jazz scene. In July 1958, he assembled a quartet with a rhythm section featuring Walter Davis Jr., Doug Watkins, and Art Taylor for his first European tour, which took him to jazz festivals and concert appearances in Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden, and Norway. Tenor saxophonist Bobby Jaspar joined the group on several occasions during the tour and became a regular collaborator during Byrd’s subsequent stay in Paris.

This exceptional mid-1990s CD compilation packages two historically significant mid-1960s sessions originally recorded for the legendary Verve Records label, beautifully pairing the distinctive groove architectures of guitarist Grant Green and trumpeter Donald Byrd. The first segment resurrects Green's highly danceable 1965 organ-trio date, highlighting his lean, blues-inflected linear picking alongside the masterful, innovative modal bass pedals and swelling chords of organist Larry Young. The second half shifts seamlessly into Byrd's soulful, big-ensemble production from 1964, characterized by sophisticated brass arrangements from Claus Ogerman and Herbie Hancock, dynamic gospel-influenced choir accompaniments, and high-energy rhythm sections. Both landmark albums represent a critical transitional bridge where the hard-driving logic of hard bop naturally coalesces with urban rhythm and blues, resulting in a historically vital, multi-layered collection overflowing with infectious rhythmic pockets, memorable grooves, and world-class instrumental virtuosity.

For this early hard bop date, altoist Phil Woods and trumpeter Donald Byrd were co-leaders. In fact, the music had at one point earlier on been released with Byrd getting first billing. Since the spirited altoist contributed four of the six tunes (including "House of Chan" and "In Walked George") and consistently takes solo honors, it is only right that the date finally appeared under Woods' name. With pianist Al Haig (who did not record that extensively during this period), bassist Teddy Kotick, and drummer Charlie Persip offering stimulating accompaniment, this is an easily recommended release (despite its brief LP length) for straight-ahead jazz collectors.

Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool is undoubtedly the most successful incarnation of the Red Hot albums whose proceeds go toward research in fighting the AIDS virus. Unlike fellow albums in this series, which generally reinterpret the work of several classic songwriters (Gershwin, Porter, Jobim, etc.), Red Hot & Cool is a collection of new material which aims musically to directly confront the AIDS epidemic, particularly how it affects the African-American community. With direct issue-oriented lyrics, apt liner notes with commentary by Professor Cornell West, and an assembly of musicians whose work has always bent toward political awareness, this musical explosion is an abridged lexicon of the evolutions in black music during the post-bop era. If forced to categorize this sprawling album, of course, the virtual catch-all "acid jazz" would apply, but this album goes far deeper – it's a history piece. Jazz masters like Ron Carter, Pharoah Sanders, and Donald Byrd join forces with jazz's new regime, Joshua Redman, Ronny Jordan, etc. The evolution of rap is traversed as the Pharcyde, Guru, Michael Franti, MC Solaar and others trade tracks with the politics of hip-hop progenitors the Last Poets. Unfortunately, the bonus CD that accompanies the album proper takes away from its power. It includes tired reworkings of John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme," by Alice Coltrane and Branford Marsalis, and a botched sampling of tracks from Pharoah Sanders' breakthrough album, Karma. The best advice is to throw out this sidecar upon purchase of the two-disc set.Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool.

Slow Drag finds Donald Byrd at the top of his form, leading a nimble and expressive quintet through a set of swinging originals and vibrant interpretations. Recorded in 1967, the album pairs Byrd’s warm tone and melodic invention with the soulful alto saxophone of Sonny Red and the inventive rhythm section of Cedar Walton, Walter Booker, and Billy Higgins. This edition is part of the Blue Note Japan 85th Anniversary UHQ-CD reissue series. Remastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, this UHQ-CD is packaged in a jewel case with obi-strip and features faithfully reproduced sleeve artwork and notes.

One of three Donald Byrd albums from 1967 (the end of his hard bop period), this recording features the trumpeter/leader with altoist Sonny Red, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Walter Booker, and drummer Billy Higgins. The six tunes (five of which are originals by Byrd or Red) are all quite obscure and to one extent or another quite explorative. One can sense that Byrd wanted to break through the boundaries and rules of hard bop but had not yet decided on his future directions. The music does swing and highlights include "West of the Pecos" and "Beale Street"; Byrd and Red in particular are in excellent form throughout the date.

Recorded November 1957 at Van Gelder Studio, Soul Junction is an album by jazz pianist and composer Red Garland. Also featuring the legendary John Coltrane (tenor sax) and Donald Byrd (trumpet) amongst others, the album features five cuts including the Garland penned title track.

Jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley’s 1957 album Jazz Message #2 was originally released on Savoy in 1957. Featuring five cuts, including three Mobley compositions, the album features an ensemble of players, including Lee Morgan (trumpet), Hank Jones (piano), and Doug Watkins (bass).

In July 1973, Blue Note Records headed to Montreux, Switzerland to showcase several of the label’s stars at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Produced by Blue Note President George Butler, live albums all titled Live: Cookin’ with Blue Note at Montreux followed from vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, organist Ronnie Foster, flutist Bobbi Humphrey, and vocalist Marlena Shaw, but one of the performances by trumpeter Donald Byrd remained unreleased in the Blue Note vaults, until now.

Beginning with a crack of thunder, like it was made to trail Gary Bartz's "Mother Nature" (actually recorded at a slightly later date), Stepping into Tomorrow contains almost all of the Mizell trademarks within its title track's first 30 seconds: a soft and easy (yet still funky) electric-bass-and-drums foundation, silken rhythm guitar, organ and piano gently bouncing off one another, light synthesizer shading, and coed group vocals to ensure true liftoff. It's only one in a line of many magnetic '70s sessions led by Fonce and Larry Mizell, and it differs from their two previous Donald Byrd dates - the polarizing and groundbreaking Black Byrd and the deceptively excellent Street Lady - by not featuring any of Roger Glenn's flute, and by focusing on heavily melodic and laid-back arrangements…

The Best Blue Note Album in the World Ever may boast a silly title, but it's hard to argue with what's on this double-disc sampler. Not all of the label's greatest artists are here, but everything is representative, showing how hard bop like John Coltrane's "Blue Train" and Lee Morgan's "The Sidewinder" coexisted with soul-jazz from Grant Green ("Born to Be Blue"), Jimmy Smith ("Back at the Chickenshack"), and Horace Silver ("Song for My Father"). It is true that US3's "Cantaloop" sounds distinctly out of place here and that the latter-day stuff, no matter how good it is, isn't quite as magical as the classic era, but there's no denying that The Best Blue Note Album in the World Ever provides a lot of bang for the buck. – Stephen Thomas Erlewine ~

Trumpeter Donald Byrd and baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams worked together on several recordings between 1958 and 1961, and The Cat Walk (released on LP in 1962) is among the best. A quintet setting, with pianist Duke Pearson (another longtime Byrd collaborator), bassist Laymon Jackson, and a lively Philly Joe Jones on drums joining the front line of Byrd and Adams, the sessions for The Cat Walk benefited from the writing and arrangement skills of Pearson, who contributes three compositions here, the impressive opener "Say You're Mine," "Duke's Mixture," and "Hello Bright Sunflower," which borrows its melodic structure from the opening bars of "Lullaby of Broadway" and features Byrd using a muted trumpet…