Donald Byrd Byrd In Paris Mono

"They had been living in Europe for months. They had performed in Cannes and in Knokke (...) and the only thing missing were the consecrations that a big concert in Paris would bring. They won this last battle with surprising liveliness in front of an audience of connoisseurs. Many of those present felt that modern jazz had never been so well presented in Paris." (Jazz Magazine). The Hard Bop had arrived! Hallelujah! At its first appearance in France in July '58 at the Cannes Festival – the first and only jazz festival in Cannes – the Donald Byrd Quintet had received stormy applause. Four of its five members were still relatively unknown in France ... The French knew that the bandleader had replaced Kenny Dorham at the Jazz Messengers, that Doug Watkins was the bassist of the Messengers, and that pianist Walter Davis Jr. had already played with Charlie Parker at the age of eighteen.
As for Art Taylor, it was still difficult for people to get a more accurate idea of his musical qualities, even if his name meant something to the fans. Only Bobby Jaspar was well known to Parisian audiences, and the tour marked the return of the prodigal son, the musician who, after setting Club St. Germain ablaze, decided in the spring of 1956 to try his luck in the USA – J.J. Johnson had signed him, then Miles Davis (for a short period of time), before Donald Byrd accepted him into the band with which he left for Europe. This new tour culminated in the Olympia during a "Jazz Wednesday" held there since the "Jazz At Carnegie Hall" tour – Zoot Sims, JJ. Johnson, Lee Konitz, Phineas Newborn had recently opened the series. Byrd and his band were careful not to disappoint the Parisian audience, who they knew were particularly volatile, which is why they cleverly varied the highlights for the audience throughout the evening. The complicity that connected the rhythm section – Walter Davis Jr., Doug Watkins and Art Taylor – was particularly evident in "Ray's Idea"; Donald Byrd, who tried to avoid the trap ropes of the spectacular at all costs and produced brilliant inventions on his trumpet, received the lion's share of the honor for a theme that was very fashionable at the time, "Dear Old Stockholm", an adaptation of a Swedish folk song; in the "Flute Blues" Bobby Jaspar proved that he was still a specialist for this instrument; "Paul's Pal" showed that sonny Rollins' playing on the tenor saxophone had not gone unnoticed. On the other hand, it must be said that this influence did not have much effect on the discrete lyricisms that underlay the choruses he played during his "St. Germain" period.
The audience at the Olympia did not spare their applause for the five musicians. How differently should they have reacted to the fire with which the band played a piece like "The Blues Walk"? Not much was missing and we would have applauded ourselves, even though 55 years have passed since then...

Features:

• Limited Edition
• 180 Gram Vinyl
• Mono

Musicians:

• Doug Watkins, bass
• Art Taylor, drums
• Bobby Jaspar, flute
• Walter Davis Junior, piano
• Bobby Jaspar, tenor saxophone
• Donald Byrd, trumpet

Selections:

Side A

1. Dear Old Stockholm
2. Paul's Pals

Side B

1. Flute Blues
2. Ray's Idea
3. The Blues Walk