How this remarkable live set from Donald Byrd sat in the Blue Note vaults for nearly 50 years is baffling. Byrd – and his label – were already enjoying the heights that a crossover hit like his 1973 album Black Byrd could bestow, drawing in a new generation of funk and soul fans while jazz purists seethed, making it the best-selling album in the vaunted jazz label’s history. Who wouldn’t want to cash in with a live album? Regardless, this Montreaux set is a revelation, revealing that the silky smooth sheen of those Mizell studio albums still had a Carhartt-hard, Detroit-built toughness about them. There’s three never-recorded Byrd originals and the chance to hear Byrd and the Mizells go off on a Stevie Wonder gem. You can thrill at the multi-city jazz summit of Detroiter Byrd, Pittsburgh sax legend Nathan Davis, and LA icon Henry Franklin on bass or hear how current Howard students/ imminent future Blackbyrds (Allan Barnes, Kevin Toney, Barney Perry, and Keith Killgo) interact with fellow alums the Mizells. A fascinating intersection of jazz and funk in any case.