Donald Byrd’s ‘Free Form’ Next Up for Blue Note Tone Poet Reissue Series
Trumpeter Donald Byrd’s 1966 album came at the peak of his hard bop period.
Trumpeter Donald Byrd’s 1966 album Free Form will be the next to enter Blue Note’s audiophile Tone Poet reissue series. It joins a number of other Byrd records that have received new life on vinyl courtesy of Joe Harley, masterer Kevin Gray, and RTI. Those include At The Half Note Cafe, Kofi, Byrd’s Eye View, Slow Drag, and Byrd In Flight.
One of four sessions Byrd recorded that year (including Chant, The Cat Walk, and Royal Flush), Free Form arrived at the apex of Byrd’s hard bop period. It also highlighted the rhythm section Byrd had been gathering, including new pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Butch Warren, and drummer Billy Higgins. He filled out the lineup with legendary saxophonist Wayne Shorter, who was playing with Art Blakely’s Jazz Messengers. It included four original Byrd compositions—”Pentecostal Feelin’,” “Nai Nai,” “French Spice,” and the title track—and opened with a Hancock track, “Night Flower.”
Although Free Form was recorded in 1961 at New Jersey’s Van Gelder Studios, it didn’t appear on Blue Note until 1966. It marked one of dozens of sessions Byrd laid down for Blue Note between 1958 and 1976, before he moved to the Warner imprint Elektra and, later, Landmark Records. Byrd also appeared on more than a few Blue Note records as a sideman, supporting Sonny Clark, Art Blakely, Paul Chambers, Hank Mobley, Jackie McLean and more.
Following the release of Fancy Free, Byrd began moving into what is widely known as his electric period, experimenting with funk, soul, and electronic music. He also became a professor, teaching at Howard University, New York University, Queens College and more; he eventually earned a PhD in music education. He died in 2013 at the age of 80.
