(Photo by Francis Wolff)
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In the mid-70s, numerous big-name artists featured in a string of Blue Note releases chronicling their performances at the now long-running Montreux Jazz Festival. Albums from the likes of Bobby Hutcherson, Ronnie Foster, Bobbi Humphrey and Marlena Shaw followed shortly after the festival’s 1973 iteration, though some recordings went unused; one of these was by the quietly titanic trumpet player, bebop savant and funk-fusion innovator Donald Byrd. His set at the Montreux Jazz Festival has remained in the minds of the festival-goers for almost 50 years now whilst sat in the Blue Note vaults, and on what would have been Byrd’s 90th birthday (9th December 2022), Cookin’ With Blue Note at Montreux finally gets a proper release, complete with a similar cover art to match the Cookin’ records of the time.
With this being the 1970s, Byrd and many of his contemporaries were deep into the contemporary sounds of jazz fusion and funk, with Byrd in particular only just having released Black Byrd, the album that saw the beginning of a from his bebop period into a more electrically-minded era of his career, employing funky electric guitars, bold synthesisers and groove-based song structures. Not only this, but numerous members of the trumpeter’s eponymous ‘Blackbyrds’ group, a band comprising his many apprentices, are also featured here and given a warm welcome after the track ‘The East’ (it’s presented here as a dedicated three-minute track on the album simply called ‘Introductions’).
Among this troupe of young players was saxophonist Allan Barnes, who became something of a figurehead in his local Detroit music scene, and drummer Keith Killgo, who still performs with The Blackbyrds even today. Then there’s Barney Perry, one of the more low-key members of the band who would quietly release a solo record in 1978 (although the lead single ‘Night Life’ would prove to be a successful club hit), and pianist Kevin Toney, who later led The Blackbyrds as the rhythm section for the likes of Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Grover Washington Jr. as well as producing many of his own successful solo recordings. Also featured on this recording are the Mizell brothers Alfonso (‘Fonce’) and Larry, two key players in the ‘Black Byrd’ album who were both heavily involved in the production and composition.
Unlike the exclusively Mizell-penned Black Byrd, much of the material played in this Montreux set is original Byrd works, save for the opener and title track of the aforementioned album, which starts the set off with a ballsy bass synth and raw drumbeat. Other tunes are less rough and ready, like the ‘The East’ feature a steadier soul groove punctuated by a rising horn melody, and the band’s version of Stevie Wonder’s ‘You’ve Got It Bad Girl’ which brings to mind Miles Davis’ In a Silent Way with its flurrying hi-hats and spaced-out keyboard sounds, albeit with a little more grit.
Another Byrd original, ‘Kwame’, opens with a sharp synth melody almost reminiscent of a retro sci-fi film soundtrack, carrying the melody onto the bass guitar and played throughout the tune’s almost twelve-minute runtime. Naturally these more skeletal compositions lend themselves nicely to some rich improvisation, and Byrd and co. have that in spades. His featured apprentices more than prove their worth in Byrd’s band, with Perry and Barnes in particular shining as soloists throughout. The fast-paced original ‘Poco-Mania’ makes for an explosive end to the set, with the band’s horn players just about managing to keep in-time with one another (it’s a challenging tune and a one-take live recording, so I think you can forgive the slight trip-up at the beginning). While Byrd’s edition of Cookin’ With Blue Note may sound quite of-its-time, it’s good to see that this slice of funk-fusion goodness is finally able to get the attention it deserves; Byrd may not have been the only artist to be delving into these sounds in the 1970s, but he was one of the best to do it no matter what style he played.
from www.prestomusic.com