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BYRD, DONALD - STEPPING INTO TOMORROW
ARTIST:
TITLE:
Stepping Into Tomorrow
LABEL:
CATNO:
6581682
FORMAT:
Vinyl record
DESCRIPTION:
Jazz / Funk & Soul LP - Originally released in 1974 and now reissued on vinyl, this album transformed the legendary Byrd's career direction. After years as a hard bop heavyweight and collaborator with the likes of Art Blakey, Coltrane and Herbie Hancock, Byrd found commercial and creative renewal through his partnership with producers Larry and Fonce Mizell. The third album in their five-record run on Blue Note, this pushed their progressive sound to deeper, darker territory, riding a funkier, more introspective current than his previous albums. The title track remains a defining work, its hypnotic groove and haunting optimism making it a favorite of future hip-hop artists like J Dilla and A Tribe Called Quest. Byrd's trumpet glides with elegant restraint, weaving through Chuck Rainey's basslines and Gary Bartz's saxophone work. Mizell's signature synthesiser textures add a lush and cosmic layer. Tracks like 'Think Twice' and 'Design A Nation' are grounded in sophisticated funk minimalism, blending subtle vocal refrains with intricate instrumentation. The gentler moments like 'Rock and Roll Again' and 'I Love The Girl', explore a softer, more soulful style without losing their sense of forward motion. Though often dismissed at the time by jazz traditionalists, 'Stepping Into Tomorrow' is now rightly seen as a cornerstone of 70s fusion and rare groove.
PRICE:
£25.99
RELEASED YEAR:
SLEEVE:
New
MEDIA:
New
BUY:
LISTEN:
Last FM Information on Donald Byrd
Please note the information is done on a artist keyword match and data is provided by LastFM.
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (born December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz, rhythm and blues trumpeter. Born in Detroit, Michigan. He performed with Lionel Hampton before finishing high school. After playing in a military band during a term in the United States Air Force, he obtained a bachelor's degree in music from Wayne State University and a master's degree from Manhattan School of Music. While still at the Manhattan School he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, replacing Clifford Brown. After leaving the Jazz Messengers in 1956 he performed with a wide variety of highly regarded jazz musicians.
In the 1970s, he moved away from his previous hard-bop jazz base and began to record jazz fusion and rhythm and blues. Teaming up with the Mizell Brothers, he produced Black Byrd, which was enormously successful and became Blue Note Records' highest-ever selling album. The follow-up albums, Places and Spaces, Stepping Into Tomorrow, and Street Lady, were also big sellers, and have subsequently provided a rich source of samples for hip-hop artists such as Us3.
He has taught music at Rutgers University, the Hampton Institute, New York University, Howard University, and Oberlin College. In 1974 he created The Blackbyrds, a fusion group consisting of his best students. They scored several major hits, including "Walking In Rhythm" and "Blackbyrds Theme". Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
