Blue Note
1961
Free Form
About This Album
Donald Byrd's 1961 recording Free Form is both a smorgasbord of modern jazz styles and a breakthrough album showing the Detroit born trumpeter's versatility and interest in diversity. At age 30, turning down offers to teach and a full decade before turning to commercial funk fusion with his Blackbyrds, Byrd, alongside a wonderful collection of jazz professionals, proves his mettle as an individualist while also stylistically straddling the blurred lines of jazz. Where his brass tone is very lean and toned, he does not resort to outlandish outbursts into the ionosphere, but shows a refined yet daring approach removed from his predecessors or peers -- Clifford Brown and Lee Morgan in particular. With tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, a very young pianist Herbie Hancock, drummer Billy Higgins, and bassist Butch Warren, Byrd tackles different flavors of jazz with a voracious appetite, and delivers a very fresh perspective from them all. From Column A -- soul junction -- "Pentecostal Feelin'" comes straight from the Horace Silver bag, an original funk with Shorter, Hancock, and Higgins head noddin' to the band. Column B's "Nai Nai" is all straight-ahead hard bop, lighter but not wimpy as Byrd and Shorter play well together.
Track List

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