Byrd's Fusion Turn in the Mid-Seventies
Stepping Into Tomorrow caught Byrd experimenting with funk and soul grooves while keeping his trumpet voice sharp and recognizable.
By 1974, Donald Byrd had already spent two decades establishing himself as a reliable, swinging hard bop player. Stepping Into Tomorrow (1974) shows him pivoting toward something different — funk and soul-inflected grooves that were becoming harder to ignore in the early seventies. This wasn't Byrd abandoning jazz so much as Byrd listening to what was happening in R&B and pop and figuring out how to meet it halfway. His trumpet still sounds like his trumpet, clear and direct, but now it's sitting in arrangements built on wah-wah guitars and electric keyboards.
The album connected with listeners in a way his earlier work sometimes hadn't. Radio stations picked it up. Young listeners who might have skipped straight past jazz heard Byrd's sound. Whether that bothers you probably depends on how you feel about commercial crossover — some players chased hits and lost themselves; Byrd seemed more interested in staying relevant without pretending to be someone else. The grooves here have backbone and the songs have hooks, but they're not cynical or lazy.
If you're coming to Byrd for the first time, this isn't where most people recommend you start — the acoustic Blue Note albums from his earlier years are considered stronger by jazz purists. But Stepping Into Tomorrow (1974) matters because it shows a working musician adapting without apology. It's a solid record on its own terms, and it's also a window into where jazz was headed in the mid-seventies, whether the traditionalists liked it or not.
Who's playing
Chuck Raineybass
Jerry Peterspiano
John Rowinguitar
David T. Walkerguitar
Rhonghea Southernguitar
Gary Bartzalto saxophone, clarinet
Donald Byrdflugelhorn, trumpet
Fonce Mizellclavinet, trumpet
Larry Mizellsynthesizer
Freddie Perrensynthesizer
Roger Saintepercussion
Stephanie Spruillpercussion
Mayuto Correacongas
Harvey Masonmembranophone
Where next?
More by Donald Byrd
All 13 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
