Donald Byrd made the transition from Bop trumpeter to jazz funk artist seemlessly and in the mid seventies he teamed up with the hottest producers in the genre, the Mizell brothers. This is the peak of their work together and is a jazz funk classic. Some traditional jazz critics never forgave Byrd for the switch accusing him of selling out. Nonsense and a narrow minded approach. Sure this is not jazz music but it doesn’t pretend to be either. It is simply fantastic jazz funk with the signature Mizell sound. As with all Mizell productions it is essentially their show and the sound is as familiar as ever. Characteristic vocal harmonies and well placed horn and string arrangements all feature heavily. What makes this Mizell LP stand out though is Byrd’s work on the trumpet. He had fully embraced this new genre by now and was the perfect player for this session. There are too many classics here to discuss but special mention must go to the opening two cuts “Dominoes” and “Change (makes You Want To Hustle).” –Jon
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