Harlem Blues (Donald Byrd album)

Harlem Blues is an album by trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring performances recorded in 1987 and released on the Landmark label the following year.^[1][2][3]

Harlem Blues
Studio album by Donald Byrd
Released	1988
Recorded	September 22 & 24, 1987
Studio	Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Genre	Jazz
Length	52:24 CD release with bonus track
Label	Landmark LLP/LCD 1516
Producer	Orrin Keepnews, Donald Byrd
Donald Byrd chronology
Words, Sounds, Colors and Shapes (1982) Harlem Blues (1988) Getting Down to Business (1990)

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	[5]

On AllMusic, Scott Yanow observed: "This Landmark release was trumpeter Donald Byrd's first jazz album in over 15 years after a long (and commercially if not artistically successful) detour into poppish R&B/funk. In the 1980s Byrd had neglected his trumpet playing in order to direct The Blackbyrds and teach. The period away from his instrument shows in spots on this well-intentioned set ... Ironically Byrd's own playing was not at this point up to the level of his sidemen although his chops would improve during the next couple of years".^[4] The Penguin Guide to Jazz praised Byrd's younger sidemen, while suggesting that the trumpeter's own playing had declined.^[5]

Track listing

All compositions by Donald Byrd except where noted.

1. "Harlem Blues" (W. C. Handy) – 5:30
2. "Fly Little Bird Fly" – 6:13
3. "Voyage À Deux (Journey for Two)" (Kenny Garrett) – 7:44
4. "Blue Monk" (Thelonious Monk) – 9:22
5. "Alter Ego" (James Williams) – 7:36
6. "Sir Master Kool Guy" – 5:03
7. "Hi-Fly" (Randy Weston) – 10:56 Additional track on CD release

Personnel

• Donald Byrd – trumpet, flugelhorn
• Kenny Garrett – alto saxophone
• Mulgrew Miller - piano
• Rufus Reid – bass
• Marvin "Smitty" Smith – drums
• Michael Daugherty – synthesizer (tracks 1 & 5)

References

1. Fitzgerald, M., Landmark Records listing accessed December 7, 2017
2. Donald Byrd Catalog, accessed December 7, 2017
3. Jazzlists: Landmark 1500 series discography, accessed February 4, 2019
4. Yanow, Scott. Donald Byrd: Harlem Blues – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
5. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1992). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette (1st ed.). Penguin. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-14-015364-4.