(Soul-Jazz, Jazz-Funk) [LP] [24/192] Donald Byrd - Ethiopian Knights - 1971/2019, FLAC (tracks)

Lineage:
Rega P10 Turntable with Rega P10 PSU > Virgin Vinyl > Rega Apheta 3 Cartridge > PS Audio NuWave Phono Converter ADC > AudioQuest Carbon USB Cable > USB-IN > Audition CC 2019 @ 24bit float, 192kHz capture.
Processing:
24bit wav > Run through Click Repair 3.9.9 at 10/0 on DeClick > Volume Boost +1.65/3.45 DB > Remove DC Bias > Saved as 24bit,192kHz WAV > FLAC > Tagged with Discogs tagger through Foobar.
Scans:
Epson Expression 11000XL -> 16bit 600 DPI with Unsharp Mask -> Color Correction in Photoshop CC 2019 x64 -> 8bit 600DPI PNG.

foobar2000 1.6.9 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2022-01-17 13:47:52
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Analyzed: Donald Byrd / Ethiopian Knights
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DR Peak RMS Duration Track
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DR13 -1.89 dB -16.95 dB 15:23 01-The Emperor
DR12 -3.02 dB -19.03 dB 3:54 02-Jamie
DR12 -3.64 dB -17.72 dB 17:48 03-The Little Rasti
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Number of tracks: 3
Official DR value: DR12
Samplerate: 192000 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 24
Bitrate: 5019 kbps
Codec: FLAC
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Right from the stop-start bass groove that opens "The Emperor," it's immediately clear that Ethiopian Knights is more indebted to funk -- not just funky jazz, but the straight-up James Brown/Sly Stone variety -- than any previous Donald Byrd project. And, like a true funk band, Byrd and his group work the same driving, polyrhythmic grooves over and over, making rhythm the focal point of the music. Although the musicians do improvise, their main objective is to keep the grooves pumping, using their solos more to create texture than harmonic complexity. That's why jazz purists began to detest Byrd with this album (though the follow-ups certainly cinched it); in truth, even though Ethiopian Knights did move Byrd closer to R&B, it's still more jazz than funk, and didn't completely foreshadow his crossover. The dense arrangements and lo-o-o-ng workouts (two of the three tracks are over 15 minutes) are indicative of Byrd's continued debt to Miles Davis, in particular the bevy of live double LPs Davis issued in the early '70s. Byrd again leads a large ensemble, but with mostly different players than on his recent sessions; some come from the group assembled for Bobby Hutcherson's Head On album, others from the Jazz Crusaders. That's part of the reason there are fewer traces of hard bop here, but it's also clear from the title that Byrd's emerging Afrocentric consciousness was leading him -- like Davis -- to seek ways of renewing jazz's connection to the people who created it. Even if it isn't quite as consistent as Kofi and Electric Byrd, Ethiopian Knights is another intriguing transitional effort that deepens the portrait of Byrd the acid jazz legend.

Donald Byrd - trumpet
Harold Land - tenor saxophone
Thurman Green - trombone
Bobby Hutcherson - vibes
Don Peake, David Walker, Greg Poree - guitar
William Henderson III - piano
Joe Sample - organ
Wilton Felder - bass
Ed Greene - drums
Recorded at A&M Recording Studios on August 25-26, 1971.
Mastered by Kevin Gray.