Free Form (Donald Byrd album)

Free Form
Free Form
Studio album by Donald Byrd
Released	October 1966
Recorded	December 11, 1961
Studio	Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Genre	Jazz
Length	40:21; 45:33 with bonus track
Label	Blue Note; BST 84118
Producer	Alfred Lion
Donald Byrd chronology
Alternative cover
	2004 CD cover

Free Form is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring Byrd with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Butch Warren, and Billy Higgins recorded in 1961 and released on the Blue Note label later in 1966.^[2] It was remastered in 2003 and reissued on CD. On the CD reissue, the original stereo release is erroneously given as "BST 84106" instead of BST 84118.

Reception[]

The Allmusic review by Michael G. Nastos awarded the album 4 stars and stated "Free Form is both a smorgasbord of modern jazz styles and a breakthrough album showing the Detroit born trumpeter's versatility and interest in diversity... This may be close to Donald Byrd's best early work, a strong statement that is by no means homogeneous, but expresses many of the avenues in jazz he was exploring while finding his own unique voice on the trumpet".^[3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	^[4]

Track listing[]

All compositions by Donald Byrd except as indicated

"Pentecostal Feelin'" - 6:43
"Night Flower" (Herbie Hancock) - 6:48
"Nai Nai" - 6:37
"French Spice" - 8:02
"Free Form" - 11:11
"Three Wishes" (Hancock) - 5:12 Bonus track on CD reissue

Personnel[]

References[]

^ Billboard Oct 22, 1966
^ Donald Byrd discography accessed September 2, 2010
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Nastos, M. G. Allmusic Review accessed September 2, 2010
^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1992). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette (1st ed.). Penguin. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-14-015364-4.

[1] Billboard Oct 22, 1966

[Byrd_discography-2] Donald Byrd discography accessed September 2, 2010

[Allmusic-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b Nastos, M. G. Allmusic Review accessed September 2, 2010

[Penguin1-4] Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1992). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette (1st ed.). Penguin. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-14-015364-4.

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show v t Donald Byrd
Years indicated are for the recording(s), not first release.
As leader	Byrd's Eye View (1955) Byrd Jazz (1955) Byrd's Word (1955) Byrd Blows on Beacon Hill (1956) 2 Trumpets (with Art Farmer, 1956) The Young Bloods (with Phil Woods, 1956) Jazz Eyes (and John Jenkins ao, 1957) Fuego (1959) Byrd in Flight (1960) Free Form (1961) A New Perspective (1963) I'm Tryin' to Get Home (1964) Up with Donald Byrd (1964) Mustang! (1966) Blackjack (1967) Slow Drag (1967) Fancy Free (1969) Kofi (1969–70) Ethiopian Knights (1971) Black Byrd (1972) Street Lady (1973) Stepping into Tomorrow (1974) Places and Spaces (1975) Caricatures (1976) Thank You...For F.U.M.L. (Funking Up My Life) (1978) Donald Byrd and 125th Street, N.Y.C. (1979) Love Byrd (1981) Words, Sounds, Colors and Shapes (1982) Harlem Blues (1987) Getting Down to Business (1989) A City Called Heaven (1991)
With Pepper Adams	10 to 4 at the 5 Spot (1958) Off to the Races (1959) Byrd in Hand (1959) At the Half Note Cafe (1960) Motor City Scene (1960) Out of This World (1961) Chant (1961) The Cat Walk (1961) Royal Flush (1961) The Creeper (1967) Electric Byrd (1970)
With The Jazz Messengers	The Jazz Messengers (1956) Originally (1956) Art Blakey Big Band (1957) Holiday for Skins (2 volumes, 1958)
With Gigi Gryce	At Newport (and Cecil Taylor, 1957) Gigi Gryce and the Jazz Lab Quintet (Riverside, 1957) Jazz Lab (Columbia album) (1957) Jazz Lab (Jubilee album) (1957 [1958]) Modern Jazz Perspective (with Jackie Paris, 1957) New Formulas from the Jazz Lab (1957)
With Jackie McLean	Lights Out! (1956) 4, 5 and 6 (1956) New Soil (1959) Jackie's Bag (1959) Vertigo (1963)
With Hank Mobley	The Jazz Message of Hank Mobley (Savoy, 1956) Mobley's Message (Prestige, 1956) Jazz Message No. 2 (Savoy, 1957) Hank Mobley Sextet (1956) Hank (1957) No Room for Squares (1963) Straight No Filter (1963) The Turnaround! (1963) Far Away Lands (1967)
With others	Discoveries/Presenting Cannonball Adderley (Cannonball Adderley, 1955) Jammin' with Gene (Gene Ammons, 1956) All Night Long (Kenny Burrell, 1956) All Day Long (Kenny Burrell, 1957) 2 Guitars (Kenny Burrell & Jimmy Raney, 1957) Whims of Chambers (Paul Chambers, 1956) Paul Chambers Quintet (1957) Sonny's Crib (Sonny Clark, 1957) My Conception (Sonny Clark, 1959) Bohemia After Dark (Kenny Clarke, 1955) Lush Life (John Coltrane, 1957–58) The Believer (John Coltrane, 1957–58) The Last Trane (John Coltrane, 1957–58) Black Pearls (John Coltrane, 1957–58) Davis Cup (Walter Davis Jr., 1959) Wailing With Lou (Lou Donaldson, 1957) Lou Takes Off (Lou Donaldson, 1957) This Is New (Kenny Drew, 1957) All Mornin' Long (Red Garland, 1957) Soul Junction (Red Garland, 1957) High Pressure (Red Garland, 1957) One Flight Up (Dexter Gordon, 1964) Ladybird (Dexter Gordon, 1965) Snap Your Fingers (Al Grey, 1962) Johnny Griffin Sextet (1958) Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 (Guru, 1993) Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality (Guru, 1994–95) My Point of View (Herbie Hancock, 1993) Tone Tantrum (Gene Harris, 1977) Swamp Seed (Jimmy Heath, 1963) Informal Jazz (Elmo Hope, 1956) African High Life (Solomon Ilori, 1963) Big Byrd: The Essence Part 2 (Ahmad Jamal, 1994 or 1995) Quartet-Quintet (Hank Jones, 1955) Bluebird (Hank Jones, 1955) TV Action Jazz! (Mundell Lowe, 1959) The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall (1959) Goin' Out of My Head (Wes Montgomery, 1965) Hush! (Duke Pearson, 1962) Wahoo! (Duke Pearson, 1964) Another One/Oscar Pettiford Volume 2 (1955) Winner's Circle (Oscar Pettiford, et al, 1957) Blues in Trinity (Dizzy Reece, 1958) The Cool Voice of Rita Reys (1956) Dimensions & Extensions (Sam Rivers, 1967) Sonny Rollins, Volume 1 (1956) Don't Stop the Carnival (Sonny Rollins, 1978) Silver's Blue (Horace Silver, 1956) 6 Pieces of Silver (Horace Silver, 1956–58) A Date with Jimmy Smith Volume One (1957) A Date with Jimmy Smith Volume Two (1957) Taylor's Wailers (Art Taylor, 1957) Soul Sauce (Cal Tjader, 1964) A Bluish Bag (Stanley Turrentine, 1967) Top Brass (Ernie Wilkins, 1955) Pairing Off (Phil Woods, 1956)

show v t Herbie Hancock
Discography (As a sideman)
Studio albums	Takin' Off My Point of View Inventions & Dimensions Empyrean Isles Maiden Voyage Speak Like a Child The Prisoner Fat Albert Rotunda Mwandishi Crossings Sextant Head Hunters Dedication Thrust Man-Child Secrets Third Plane Herbie Hancock Trio Sunlight Directstep The Piano Feets, Don't Fail Me Now Monster Mr. Hands Magic Windows Herbie Hancock Trio Lite Me Up Quartet Future Shock Sound-System Village Life Perfect Machine A Tribute to Miles Dis Is da Drum The New Standard 1+1 Gershwin's World Future 2 Future Possibilities River: The Joni Letters The Imagine Project
Live albums	Hear, O Israel - A Prayer Ceremony in Jazz Flood V.S.O.P. The Quintet (V.S.O.P.) Tempest in the Colosseum (V.S.O.P.) An Evening with Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea: In Concert CoreaHancock V.S.O.P. Live Under the Sky (V.S.O.P.) Jazz Africa Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall Live: Detroit/Chicago
with Bob Brookmeyer	Bob Brookmeyer and Friends
with Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams	Out of This World (Pepper Adams Donald Byrd Quintet) Chant Royal Flush Free Form A New Perspective
with Miles Davis	Seven Steps to Heaven My Funny Valentine Four & More E.S.P. Miles Smiles Sorcerer Nefertiti Miles in the Sky Water Babies Filles de Kilimanjaro In a Silent Way Jack Johnson On the Corner Big Fun Get Up with It
with Jack DeJohnette and Pat Metheny	Parallel Realities
with Joe Farrell	Moon Germs Penny Arcade Upon This Rock Night Dancing
with Freddie Hubbard	Hub-Tones Straight Life Red Clay
with Joe Zawinul	Zawinul
Compilations	Treasure Chest (Herbie Hancock album) The Best of Herbie Hancock Then and Now: The Definitive Herbie Hancock The Essential Herbie Hancock
Compositions	"Watermelon Man" "Cantaloupe Island" "Maiden Voyage" "Chameleon" "Rockit"
Soundtracks	Blow-Up Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Fat Albert The Spook Who Sat by the Door Death Wish A Soldier's Story Round Midnight Action Jackson