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Ray Armando
Donald Byrd: Live: Cookin' With Blue Note at Montreux
by Stefano Merighi
Nelle note di copertina, Don Was, presidente della Blue Note, celebra questa pubblicazione inedita del concerto di Montreux di Donald Byrd del 1973 con toni di grande rispetto ed entusiasmo. E il trombettista (scomparso nel 2013) se lo merita, sia per un certo distacco critico che ne ha sempre contraddistinto l'opera, sia per il ruolo di scouter ed educatore che Byrd ha giocato in quegli anni, quando molti jazzmen hanno preferito trasformare un linguaggio ancora legato ai fasti dell'hard bop ...
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by Ian Patterson
Almost fifty years after the event, Donald Byrd's 1973 performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival finally sees the light of day. Several other artists on Blue Note's roster had performances released--in more timely manner--from the same edition of Claude Nobs festival, including Ronnie Foster, Bobbi Humphrey, Bobby Hutcherson and Marlena Shaw. In no small part, thanks for this posthumous Byrd release is due to the French-born, London-based DJ and label owner Gilles Peterson, who contacted Blue Note regarding the whereabouts ...
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by Peter Jones
What a treat it must have been in 1973 to attend the Montreux Jazz Festival: the featured artists that year included Dexter Gordon, McCoy Tyner, Chico Hamilton, Sam Rivers, Bobbi Humphrey, Dr John, Marlena Shaw, Bobby Hutcherson... and Donald Byrd with his Tentet, whose July 5 performance is captured on this album. It was also the year of Herbie Hancock's Headhunters (Columbia Records) album, not to mention several Blaxploitation movie soundtracks, including J.J. Johnson's for Cleopatra Jones and ...
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by Mike Jurkovic
With the release of his chart-topping, funk-fueled Black Byrd in 1973, Donald Byrd found himself in a volatile place in jazz circles. He was being hailed as having finally stepped out of Miles Davis' considerable shadow, while simultaneously many found the album to be Byrd's selling out his bop legacy for chart success. As most defining artistic moments reveal, a little of both were true. Produced and arranged by the brothers Fonce Mizelland Larry Mizell, Black Byrd incorporated ...
read moreRay Armando: Mallet Hands
by Jim Santella
Ray Armando wanted to be a baseball player. Growing up in Brooklyn can do that to you. But his family lived right across the street from conguero Mongo Santamaria, and that led to lessons at age eight. Armando went on the road at age 15 with Elmo Garcia and later with Tito Puente. Then began a long career in music, recording with many all-stars and contributing to television and movie soundtracks. His pianists for this session have similar veteran credentials. ...
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