DONALD BYRD — Street Lady (review)

Album · 1973 · Funk Jazz

4.5/5 · 2024-12-17
FunkFreak75

And the ever-evolving trumpeter/bandleader keeps on going, here letting the Mizell brothers and elaborate rhythm section have the green light to embellish and improvise throughout the course of the songs wherever and whenever they feel so inspired. The result is an overwhelming success. Recorded in LA at the Sound Factory over three June days in 1973 (the 13th through 15th), the album was then released by Blue Note in July.

A1. "Lansana's Priestess" (7:42) the jewel of the album starts out with a bit of a Motown feel and instrumental palette before trumpets and flute begin expressing the main melodies over the top (parts of which are very close to that which becomes "Walking in Rhythm"). Very nice broad spectrum of instruments each doing their own thing in a very loosely-coordinated groove gives this a more free and easy--and happy--energy. The spirit conveyed in Jerry Peters' dynamic piano play is particularly infectious as is that of drummer Harvey Mason. (14/15)

A2. "Miss Kane" (7:35) another rich tapestry of instruments with a very catchy riff straight of the bat to suck us in and keep us engaged as the keep it going for the first three minutes. Once Donald takes the lead, the rest of the band starts to take inspiration from his adventurous spirit and they all seem to launch onto their own paths of adventurous "reconmaissance" with unbound enthusiasm--but then they all come back together in the fifth minute with some cool choir vocal "ooo"s slowly arpeggiating a single chord, thereby re-anchoring the main foundation to the ground so that the "recon" team can rush off to their own adventurous paths with the same reckless abandon as before. Brilliant! Definitely my favorite song on the album. (14.75/15)

A3. "Sister Love" (6:46) a slightly-free and loose samba-like Smooth Jazz tune that could very well have fit on one of Bob James' records from the same period. Donald's and Fonce Mizell's trumpets and Roger Glenn's flute seem to each go off in their own worlds but are magically held to task by the wonderfully grounding play of the expanded rhythm section. The choir appears here and there to gently, almost surreptitiously, breath the title into the mix. Again: great play and very engaging music from the rhythmatists while the two trumpets and flute entertain us from the top. (13.5/15)

B1. "Street Lady" (5:39) interesting three-chord piano vamp with percussion and funky bass support over which the male choir sings a funky-R&B chant. Roger takes the first solo with his flute, then Donald. The drums, rhythm guitars, and bass (and clavinet) are definitely at their most dynamic: very engaged and enthusiastic! Jerry Peters piano solo is so charged that you'd almost think you were listening to Jerry Lee Lewis or Don Pullen going off on one of their iconically acrobatic solos. (9/10) B2. "Witch Hunt" (9:43) an open-ended four-note riff creates an unfinished tension that keeps the listener hooked in because we're waiting for resolution to the tension. The "choruses" represent satisfactory, albeit temporary, solutions but then the music always returns to that unresolved riff for the longer verses. It has a very "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" feel to it. The instrumental palette, however, is rather fuller yet still quite cinematic with its constant vibraphone play, hypnotic congas, dangerous wah-wah guitars, and reckless piano play. Effective, powerful, and always interesting (and, therefore, entertaining) if a little long/drawn out. I'm not sure that the choir-delivered lyrics first appearing in the ninth minute are/were really necessary but, there it is. (17.5/20)

B3. "Woman Of The World" (6:55) a very pleasant and enjoyable song with Donald's standard male choir vocals here expanded further than I've yet heard: with long-running and fairly full and evolving lyrics, start to finish. (13.375/15)

Total Time: 42:25

An album of richly develop instrumental weaves that are built over and around some genuinely engaging hooks. Where I see the greatest growth in Donald (and the Mizell brothers)'s music from their earlier forays into the exciting "new" world of electrified jazz and jazz-rock fusion is in the freedom given and confidence exhibited from each and every one of the musicians: they are creating wonderfully adventurous sound and melodies, each, throughout the course of most of these songs. The music here sounds and feels like that of the cinematic musics found on the popular soundtracks of concurrent "Black Exploitation" films, as if intended to accompany montage scenes capturing the activities and stylings of African-American urban sceneries. Whereas Street Lady's predecessor contained the renderings of a collection of 100% Larry Mizell compositions, this one only has two.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of engaging, entertaining, and highly-adventurous Jazz-Rock Fusion.