Byrd Jazz in Bloomington, MN

First Flight: Yusef Lateef with Donald Byrd
is trumpeter
Donald Byrd
's debut LP. Recorded in his native Detroit with such local players as tenor saxophonist
Yusef Lateef
, pianist
Berry Harris
, and
Bernard McKinney
on euphonium,
Byrd
is heard at the age of 22 when he was very much influenced by
Clifford Brown
. Unlike
,
Lateef
already had his own style at this early stage. The sextet here mostly performs bop originals plus a blues, "Yusef," and "Torsion Level." All of the music is straight-ahead and swinging. A fine beginning for the very interesting career of
. ~ Scott Yanow