1975 · Album
Places and Spaces
Recorded 1975 · Blue Note · Produced by Larry Mizell, Fonce Mizell
Byrd Takes the Disco Bait and Wins
This is Byrd fully committed to funk and groove, and it mostly works.
By 1975, Donald Byrd had already made his big move away from hard bop toward something slicker and more radio-friendly. Places and Spaces (1975) is a continuation of that direction, and if you come to it expecting the Byrd of the Blue Note post-bop era, you will be confused and possibly annoyed. This is a funk and soul record with jazz trimmings — lush arrangements, electric everything, rhythm tracks that owe more to Sly Stone than to Miles Davis. That is not a criticism, just an accurate description of what you are getting.
The album sits comfortably alongside Byrd contemporaries who were also chasing the same audience in the mid-seventies. The arrangements lean heavily on strings and horns working together to create a warm, almost cushioned sound. Byrd's trumpet is present but not always the center of attention — he lets the groove carry a lot of the weight, which frustrated purists at the time but made the record genuinely enjoyable for a wider crowd. Tracks like "Wind Parade" and "Dominoes" show the approach working well, built on fat basslines and a relaxed forward momentum.
Honestly, this is not Byrd at his most inventive. If you want him pushing himself harmonically, go back to earlier records. But Places and Spaces has a consistent mood and it commits to that mood without apology. It is a good party album that also happens to have some tasteful trumpet playing on it. For listeners who got into jazz through the funk side of Blue Note's catalog, this is a comfortable and rewarding listen. For strict traditionalists, it will feel like a missed opportunity. Both reactions make sense.
Who's playing
Chuck Raineyelectric bass guitar
Larry Mizellpiano
Skip Scarboroughelectric piano
Craig McMullenguitar
John Rowinguitar
Tyree Glenn, Jr.tenor saxophone
Ray Browntrumpet
Donald Byrdflugelhorn, trumpet
Fonce Mizellclavinet, trumpet
George Bohanontrombone
Harvey Masondrums
Mayuto Correapercussion
King Errissoncongas
Where next?
More by Donald Byrd
All 13 albums →
The musicians on this record
This One's for Blanton! 1975
Ray Brown
plays trumpet here
plays trumpet here
born again 1962
Chuck Rainey
plays electric bass guitar here
plays electric bass guitar here
