Up with Donald Byrd

Up with Donald Byrd
Studio album by Donald Byrd
Released	1965
Recorded	October 6, November 2 & December 16, 1964
Studio	Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey; A&R Studios, New York City
Genre	Jazz
Label	Verve
Producer	Creed Taylor
Donald Byrd chronology
A New Perspective (1962) Up with Donald Byrd (1965) I'm Tryin' to Get Home (1964)

Up with Donald Byrd is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring performances by Byrd with Jimmy Heath, Stanley Turrentine, Herbie Hancock and Kenny Burrell recorded in 1964. It was released on the Verve label in 1965 as V/V6 8609.^[1]

Reception

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 21⁄2 stars and stated "The music is mostly pretty forgettable despite such top sidemen... A lesser effort".^[2]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]

It is important to consider Byrd's aim of attracting a larger African American audience by covering popular Blues (See See Rider, My Babe) and Gospel songs, at a time when Jazz was losing popularity.

Track listing

All compositions by Donald Byrd except as indicated

1. "You're Talkin' About Me Baby" (Gale Garnett, Walter Hirsch, Ray Rivera) – 2:39
2. "Blind Man, Blind Man" (Herbie Hancock) – 2:51
3. "Boom Boom" (John Lee Hooker) – 4:21
4. "My Babe" (Willie Dixon) – 2:48
5. "See See Rider" (Ma Rainey) – 3:58
6. "House of the Rising Sun" (Traditional) – 5:05
7. "Bossa" – 7:56
8. "Cantaloupe Island" (Hancock) – 6:46
9. "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" (Traditional; arranged by Donald Byrd) – 5:13

• Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ on October 6 (tracks 1 & 2), November 2 (tracks 3–6), & December 16 (tracks 7–9), 1964 .

Personnel

• Donald Byrd – trumpet; arranger and conductor (tracks 7 & 9)
• Jimmy Heath (tracks 2–5), Stanley Turrentine (tracks 7 & 8) – tenor saxophone
• Herbie Hancock – piano; arranger and conductor (track 8)
• Kenny Burrell – guitar (tracks 1–8)
• Bob Cranshaw (tracks 1–6), Ron Carter (tracks 7–9) – bass
• Grady Tate – drums
• Candido Camero – percussion (tracks 7 & 8)
• The Donald Byrd Singers – vocals
• Claus Ogerman – arranger and conductor (tracks 1–6)

Technical

• Val Valentin – director of engineering
• Phil Ramone, Rudy Van Gelder – engineer
• Michael Malatak – cover design

References