YOU ARE BIDDING ON A LP BY DONALD BYRD CALLED "BLACK BYRD". IT WAS RELEASED ON THE BLUE NOTE LABEL (SLP-1505) OUT OF THE U.S. IN 1973. THE COVER & THE LP ARE NEAR MINT- (YOU WON'T FIND A BETTER COPY) 

***ALL LP'S COMES IN RESEALABLE JAPANESE MYLAR SLEEVES FOR PROTECTION

**************MOST LP'S ARE DOWN GRADED JUST TO AVOID ANY CONTROVERSY. I'VE BEEN SELLING LP'S FOR OVER 3 DECADES BUT EVERYBODY HAS DIFFERENT IDEA'S ABOUT GRADING

Tracklist Flight Time8:30 Black Byrd8:00 Love's So Far Away6:00 Mr. Thomas5:15 Sky High5:59 Slop Jar Blues6:00 Where Are We Going?4:40
Purists howled with indignation when released , a full-fledged foray into R&B that erupted into a popular phenomenon. was branded a sellout and a traitor to his hard bop credentials, especially after became the biggest-selling album in Blue Note history. What the elitists missed, though, was that was the moment when 's brand of fusion finally stepped out from under the shadow of his chief influence, , and found a distinctive voice of its own. Never before had a jazz musician embraced the celebratory sound and style of contemporary funk as fully as did here -- not even , whose dark, chaotic jungle-funk stood in sharp contrast to the bright, breezy, danceable music on . gives free rein to producer/arranger/composer , who crafts a series of tightly focused, melodic pieces often indebted to the lengthier orchestrations of and . They're built on the most straightforward funk rhythms had yet tackled, and if the structures aren't as loose or complex as his earlier fusion material, they make up for it with a funky sense of groove that's damn near irresistible. 's solos are mostly melodic and in-the-pocket, but that allows the funk to take center stage. Sure, maybe the electric piano, sound effects, and 's ubiquitous flute date the music somewhat, but that's really part of its charm. was state-of-the-art for its time, and it set a new standard for all future jazz/R&B/funk fusions -- of which there were many. would continue to refine this sound on equally essential albums like and the fantastic , but stands as his groundbreaking signature statement