Slow Drag was one of trumpeter Donald Byrd's final hard bop dates. Teamed with altoist Sonny Red, pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Walter Booker and drummer Billy Higgins (who takes a surprise vocal on the title cut), this quintet outing features originals by Byrd, Walton and Red along with the standards "Secret Love" and "My Ideal." The music in general finds Byrd looking both backwards toward the blues and forwards toward modal music and hints of the avant-garde. A fine effort.
01 - Slow Drag
02 - Secret Love
03 - Book's Bossa
04 - Jelly Roll
05 - The Loner
06 - My Ideal
Donald Byrd, trumpet
Sonny Red, alto sax
Cedar Walton, piano
Walter Booker, bass
Billy Higgins , drums, vocal
Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on May 12, 1967
Blue Note BST-84292 [1968]
email: grumpywon@gmail.com
ReplyDelete