Donald Byrd - A New Perspective (1964)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 1999 Rudy Van Gelder Edition.

Truth in advertising! The title alone indicates this thing is different. After checking out the liner notes and track list (Elijah, Beast Of Burden, Cristo Redentor, The Black Disciple, Chant), the vibe here is obvious:

Donald's most unique venture so far is this evocative fusion of voices with jazz instrumentalists in a setting which is itself a fresh intertwining of traditional religious feelings with modern, jazz-infused idioms.

So we're getting a "spiritual-like" album from a fellow PK (Byrd's dad was a Methodist minister, my own was a Presbyterian minister. Close enough.) The first thing a fresh listener notices is the wordless timbre of a gospel choir. Not at all expected; as I mentioned, this thing is different. Then a stellar cast of instrumentalists enter the fray and we start swinging, but the vocals remain a part of the instrumentation throughout.

I can only imagine what a trip listening to this album must have been upon release because it's still pretty trippy. I always appreciate artists that push boundaries, even if I don't like the results of that push. But that's not the case here. This disc isn't something I play often, but I enjoy it for a nice change of pace every now and then.

Byrd - trumpet
Hank Mobley - tenor saxophone
Donald Best - vibes
Kenny Burrell - guitar
Herbie Hancock - piano
Butch Warren - bass
Lex Humphries - drums

As one would expect, there are great performances from Mobley, Burrell, and Hancock, but I'm pleasantly surprised by the solo contributions from Best, an artist I admittedly don't know much about.

Reviews/ratings:

• CashBox: "off-beat, interesting set"
• Billboard: "a sort of jazz gospel montage of images"
• DownBeat (★★★★½): "one of the most impressive and important efforts of 1964"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★

In 2017, it was ranked at #194 on Pitchfork's list of the 200 Best Albums of the 1960s.

Update: In 2024, uDiscover Music ranked this album at #31 on its list of The 50 Greatest Blue Note Albums.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #110

Tracks: The Pitchfork list mentioned above describes the album as "a sort of symphony in five movements that incorporated blues, doo-wop, and even opera into its more conspicuous hard bop and liturgical influences." So the thing is meant to be heard top-to-bottom and (after I got over my initial puzzlement with the vocals) I dig the whole thing. Nevertheless, my top tracks include the joyous opener, Elijah, and the hymn-like Cristo Redentor. The latter inspired by Duke Pearson's 1961 arrival in Rio de Janeiro and seeing the Christ the Redeemer statue atop Corcovado.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Love Byrd (1981)