Stepping into Tomorrow

Occupation

  • Donald Byrd - flugelhorn, trumpet, vocals
  • Gary Bartz - alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet
  • Jerry Peters - piano, organ
  • Larry Mizell - piano, synthesizer, backing vocals, arrangement, conductor
  • Fonce Mizell - Clavinet, Trumpet, backing vocals
  • Fred Perren - synthesizer, background vocals
  • David T. Walker - Guitar
  • John Rowin - Guitar
  • Ronghea Southern - guitar
  • Chuck Rainey - Bass
  • Harvey Mason - drums, harmonica
  • Mayuto Correa - Congas
  • Roger Sainte - percussion
  • Stephanie Spruill - percussion, background vocals
  • Kay Haith - Vocals
  • James Carter - Pipes
  • Margie Evans - backing vocals
  • Lorraine Kennar - backing vocals

Stepping into Tomorrow ( dt: Into the morning come ) is a jazz-funk album of the American trumpeter Donald Byrd, which he recorded in October and December 1974 in Los Angeles and the Blue Note Records published in 1975.

Background

Stepping into Tomorrow was the third in a series of albums, which together with the brothers Larry and Fonce Mizell Byrd recorded at the beginning of the 1970s and contained strong elements of fusion, funk and rhythm and blues. Although jazz critics panned the album, was the first album of the series, Black Byrd, the biggest selling album in the history of Blue Note Records. Byrd formed after the first album, a group of young musicians from the Howard University, the Blackbyrds so-called, with whom he recorded the following albums. Compared to the first two albums of the series is the Focus in Step into Tomorrow on melodic and relaxed arrangements.

Reception

After the first few albums were still criticized herb, the criticisms of the new style of Byrd gradually milder were. Andy Kellmann of Allmusic gave the album four out of five stars and wrote:

"As ever, Those who pined for the approach of Byrd 's '60s dates would tune out a sublime set of material, but maybe some of Those Who sniffed at the straight forward nature of some of the rhythms and riffing were won over by the supreme layering of the many components ..., not to mention some deeply evocative playing from Byrd himself. "

" As usual, those who have been languishing the Byrds approach of the '60s, would not agree with a whole range of material, but perhaps some were from those who sniffed at the simple nature of some rhythms and riffs, done the by the excellent layering many components ... not to mention the deeply impressive game by Byrd himself "

Restrained in their assessment, Richard Cook and Brian Morton, which gave the album in the Penguin Guide to Jazz only two ( out of four) stars; the authors compared the album with the previous productions Blackbyrd (1974) and Street Lady ( 1973):

" [ ... ] There's Certainly even less worth keeping on Both the bubble - brained ' Stepping into Tomorrow ' and the soupy ' Places and Spaces ' [ ... ] "

" [ ... ] It's certainly worth even less to stay with the empty-headed ' Stepping into Tomorrow ' and the schmaltzy ' Places and Spaces ' [ ... ]. "

Title list

  • Donald Byrd - Stepping into Tomorrow ( Blue Note - BN- LA368 -G)
  • All tracks were composed by Larry Mizell, unless otherwise noted
  • The title Think Twice / We're Together was released as a single ( Blue Note BN- XW 650 -X). The also recorded during the sessions titles Harvey 's Tune, destination and Hash and Eggs, Hold the Eggs remained unpublished.
Record label Genre Singing Jazzfunk Jazz fusion Richard Cook (journalist) Brian Morton (Scottish writer)
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