Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Royal Flush

Donald Byrd made quite a few records, some great, some not so great, but Royal Flush is my personal favorite. This album dropped in 1961, it features Pepper Adams, Herbie Hancock, Butch Warren and Billy Higgins. No need to overanalyze, dissect, or wax pseudo-intellectual about Royal Flush, it's just hard bop, played well and played vibrantly. Settle into it, perhaps with a Beefeater Gin martini in hand, and let it do its work, baby.



8 comments:

K Murphy said...

Keep the old jazz coming, I am really really digging it!

Anonymous said...

I'm out of gin, but turns out this goes great with wine and pizza, too. And I have to agree with K Murphy. The great old jazz albums you're getting people into have been essential listening. Thanks for the free music education.

Death Breath said...

Damn... that is good.

Death Breath said...

Also, what do you make of 40's less extreme jazz?

Aesop said...

Less schooled in most recordings pre-late '50s but not opposed to it. We may see some Bechet, Babs Gonzales, Bird, and Duke here eventually

Johnnie Poindexter said...

Ahh...I see you are back to giving a fuck.

Shawn said...

I also recommend Lady Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Bessie Smith, Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, Bix Beiderbecke, Coleman Hawkins…

Chris said...

Great post.... I also highly recommend Mildred Bailey, to add to Shawn's list