Fancy Free (Donald Byrd album)

Fancy Free is an album by American jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd that was recorded and released in 1969 by Blue Note Records.

Fancy Free
Studio album by
ReleasedDecember 1969[1]
RecordedMay 9, June 6, 1969
StudioVan Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
GenreJazz, jazz fusion
Length39:10
LabelBlue Note
ProducerDuke Pearson
Donald Byrd chronology
The Creeper
(1967)
Fancy Free
(1969)
Electric Byrd
(1970)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

Reception

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AllMusic awarded the album with 3 stars and its review by Steve Huey says, "Recorded just a few months after Miles Davis' In a Silent Way, Fancy Free finds Byrd leading a large ensemble prominently featuring Frank Foster on tenor, Lew Tabackin or Jerry Dodgion on flute, and several percussionists. But the most important piece of the puzzle is Duke Pearson's electric piano, the first time Byrd utilized the instrument."[2] Critic Marc Myers described the album in 2018 as "decades ahead of its time".[3] Myers also wrote that the album began a new period in Byrd's career, in which, "Unlike rock fusion, which was popular with sit-down audiences in college dorm rooms and events, Byrd focused more on grooves and beats, accompanying them on his trumpet rather than being driven by them."[3]

Track listing

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  1. "Fancy Free" (Donald Byrd) – 12:06
  2. "I Love the Girl" (Byrd) – 8:48
  3. "The Uptowner" (Mitch Farber) – 9:16
  4. "Weasil" (Charles Hendricks) – 9:00

Note

  • Recorded on May 9 (#2, 4) and June 6, 1969. (#1, 3)

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ "Best selling Jazz LP's"[sic]], Billboard, February 28, 1970
  2. ^ a b Huey, Steve (2011). "Fancy Free – Donald Byrd". AllMusic. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  3. ^ a b Myers, Marc (January 22, 2018). "Donald Byrd: Fancy Free". jazzwax.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019.