DONALD BYRD — Places and Spaces (review)

DONALD BYRD — Places and Spaces album cover Album · 1975 · Funk Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
FunkFreak75
Recorded at The Sound Factory in August and September of 1975 and then released by Blue Note in November.

A1. "Change (Makes You Want To Hustle)" (5:07) a not-unusual for the times party opener turns BOB JAMES-like driving pre-disco funk-lite. Think "Fly Robin Fly" or Burt Bacharach's funky music from the film soundtrack for Arthur. (8.875/10)

A2. "Wind Parade" (4:32) earworm music with a pretty lame lyric. But damn! It just won't leave the brain! I hate that this is the most memorable and my favorite song from this album! (9.25/10)

A3. "Dominoes" (4:32) bass chords and more J-R Fusion than smooth jazz or funk. Interesting! A top three song for me. (9/10)

B1. "Places And Spaces" (6:16) a little too repetitive but some awesome creative nuance-creation from several of the instrumentalists (percussion, Chuck Rainey's bass, Donald's flugelhorn, Skip Scarborough's electric piano) (9/10)

B2. "You And Music" (5:18) Smooth Jazz melody making, groovin' bass 'n' drum, over-the-top strings (that are actually pretty cool) thanks to arranger/conductor Wade Marcus, and a nice secondary motif of male-female joint and back-and-forth vocals. (9/10)

B3. "Night Whistler" (3:40) slay me with that rhythm guitar work! Some of those whistles sound like a distant woman screaming in distress! Otherwise, a pretty cool, chill song, with lots of layers of active musicians despite such a chill base. Hard to believe that all those "whistle" sounds are coming from one person (James Carter). (8.875/10)

B4. "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" (4:36) a cover of the famous Temptations song of a decade earlier using choir vocals, the same weird whistles, piano, and Donald's flugelhorn over the classic Motown rhythm section. Even a little Disco drumming and "Shaft"/"Love Theme" rhythm guitar injected into the third minute. Nicely done! Interesting enough to qualify as one of my top three. (9/10)

Total Time: 35:51

B+/A-/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion that should probably be counted as a minor masterpiece of the burgeoning Smooth Jazz domain.
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