Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux

Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux
Live album by
ReleasedDecember 9, 2022
RecordedJuly 5, 1973
VenueMontreux Jazz Festival
Genre
Length45:24
LabelBlue Note
ProducerGeorge Butler
Donald Byrd chronology
Black Byrd
(1973)
Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux
(2022)
Street Lady
(1974)

Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux is a live album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd.[3] It was recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland on July 5, 1973, and was officially released on December 9, 2022—Byrd's would-be 90th birthday—by Blue Note Records.[4][5][6][7]

The live album was one of five produced by Blue Note president George Butler of performances at the 1973 Montreux Jazz Festival; however, it remained untouched in the label's vault until Byrd's death in 2013, when Gilles Peterson inquired about its existence to the label.[4][8] Leading up to its release, the album was previewed at a Blue Note pop-up store at Coal Drops Yard in London on November 11, 2022.[9][10]

Critical reception

In a review for Glide Magazine, Jim Hynes noted that the performance had a "slightly harder edge" than Byrd's previous album, Black Byrd, and added that the "45 minutes go by in a blink".[11] Mike Hobart of the Financial Times rated Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux three out of five stars.[12] Robert Baird, writing for Stereophile, considered the album an "undiscovered masterpiece".[2]

Track listing

Track order and lengths sourced from Spotify and Blue Note's official website.[4][13]

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Black Byrd"Larry Mizell8:11
2."You've Got It Bad Girl"Stevie Wonder7:42
3."The East"Donald Byrd9:19
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
4."Introductions" 2:58
5."Kwame"Donald Byrd11:50
6."Poco-Mania"Donald Byrd5:22
Total length:45:24

Personnel

See also

The four other albums of the "Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux" series:

References

  1. ^ Renaud, Philippe (January 7, 2023). "Disque". Le Devoir (in French). p. 32. Retrieved December 27, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b Baird, Robert (February 27, 2023). "A Funky Donald Byrd, Live from Montreux". Stereophile. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  3. ^ Schube, Will (December 10, 2022). "Listen To Donald Byrd's 'Live: Cookin' With Blue Note at Montreux'". udiscovermusic.com. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Donald Byrd "Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux" Gets First-Ever Official Release". Blue Note Records. December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  5. ^ "Previously Unreleased 1973 Donald Byrd Recording Coming in December". JazzTimes. November 16, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  6. ^ Chinen, Nate (July 18, 2023). "How Donald Byrd & the Mizell Brothers Built the Future". Tidal. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  7. ^ Graff, Gary (December 9, 2022). "From The Vaults". The Plain Dealer. p. C3. Retrieved December 27, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Jurkovic, Mike (December 18, 2022). "Donald Byrd: Donald Byrd Live: Cookin' With Blue Note at Montreux". All About Jazz. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  9. ^ Steel, Alastair (November 9, 2022). "Blue Note Records' Pop-Up Store returns to London". Rayo. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  10. ^ "A Blue Note vibe: The Iconic label's Pop-Up Store Returns to London this week". Jazzwise. November 9, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  11. ^ Hynes, Jim (December 8, 2022). "Donald Byrd's Smokin' 1973 Performance With Ten Piece Band Issued On 'Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux' (ALBUM REVIEW)". Glide Magazine. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  12. ^ Hobart, Mike (December 9, 2022). "Donald Byrd's funky set captured on Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux — album review". Financial Times. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  13. ^ "Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux - Album by Donald Byrd". Spotify. Retrieved December 27, 2025.