Blue Note · in the Kissa Kissa racks
Black Byrd
| Recorded | Apr 3 & Nov 24, 1972 |
|---|---|
| Label | Blue Note |
| Released | 1972 |
| Personnel | 11 credited players |
| Discogs | master 38881 |
The record
Byrd's pivot toward funk and soul hit Blue Note like a jolt, with the Mizell brothers' production stacking synths, vocals, and Wilton Felder's groove under his horn. Divisive on release, it became one of the label's best-selling records and a crate-digger's touchstone for jazz-funk's crossover moment.
Session personnel
- Chuck Rainey — bass
- Wilton Felder — bass
- Roger Glenn — flute, saxophone
- David T. Walker — guitar
- Dean Parks — guitar
- Bobbye Hall — percussion
- Stephanie Spruill — percussion
- Joe Sample — piano, electric piano
- Freddie Perren — synthesizer, vocals, electric piano
- Fonce Mizell — trumpet, vocals
- Larry Mizell — vocals
Contemporary reception
No period review located yet. The vintage-press pipeline searches DownBeat, Cash Box, and Billboard for this session.
Pressings
Everything early here is 1973, and it is all one number -- US Blue Note BN-LA047-F, separated only by plant: All Disc, Research Craft, Terre Haute, plus a Capitol Record Club edition. That is the copy to buy and the earliest on file. The same year brought Germany's BST 84 432 K and Japan's LNP-88137. Later come the 1975 UK BNLA 047 and Europe's 7 84466 1 in 1992. No audiophile edition is listed.
Showing the first pressing, audiophile reissues and copies carrying a collector marker, out of 75 pressings on file.
| 1973 | Blue Note · BN-LA047-F — Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo, All Disc Pressing earliest on file |
|---|---|
| 1973 | Blue Note · BST 84 432 K — Vinyl, LP, Album |
| 1973 | Blue Note · BN-DA047-H — 8-Track Cartridge, Album, Quadraphonic |
| 1973 | Blue Note · BN-XW212-W — Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Promo, ARC |
| 1973 | Blue Note · BN-LA047-F — Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo, Research Craft Press |
| 1973 | Blue Note · LNP-88137 — Vinyl, LP, Album |
| 1973 | Blue Note · BN-XW212-W — Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Promo, Styrene, Stereo, Mono, Label Variation |
| 1973 | Blue Note · L34957 — Vinyl, LP, Album |
| 1973 | United Artists Records · UA - 1206 — Vinyl, 7", 33 ⅓ RPM, Single |
| 1973 | Blue Note · BN-LA047-F — Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo |
| 1973 | Blue Note · BN-LA047-F — Vinyl, LP, Album, Terre Haute Pressing |
| 1973 | Blue Note · BN-EA047-G — 8-Track Cartridge, Album |
| 1973 | Blue Note · BN-LA047-F — Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo, All Disc Pressing |
| 1973 | Blue Note · BN-LA047-F — Vinyl, LP, Album |
Follow the players
Chuck Rainey also plays on
Wilton Felder also plays on
Roger Glenn also plays on
David T. Walker also plays on