Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
  My favorite Mizell Bros. production for Mr.Byrd January 16, 2008
Great funky a$$ album by Donald.His 3rd collaboration with the genius and talented producers."Larry and Fonce Mizell." Starts off with a bang. and ends with a bang.The title track is my personal fav. on the album.I can listen to it for hours and have. It's also another collaboration of sorts
between Donald Byrd and saxman Gary Bartz. The interplay between the two are dynamic.they compliment each other very well. It was so great i guess.That the Mizell bros would produce Gary Bartz's albums"the Shadow Do' in 75' and "Music is my Sanctuary" in 77'. Both recommended as well.
There are alot of samples used from this album
One that comes to mind is "Think Twice" which Lisa Lisa & the cult jam used for "let the beat hit em"
Great album!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stepping Into Tomorrow with The Mizell Brothers February 25, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Born Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, Donald Byrd is a very talented, well trained jazz and blues trumpter. He has played with some of the best in his field, including Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Sonny Rollins, Monk, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock. His sound during this time period was hard bop jazz.
NOW . . . allow yourself to switch gears for a bit. It's the early 70s and Byrd teams up with jazz-funk producers, the Mizell Brothers, Fonce and Larry. Out of this union, FIVE albums are born, giving Byrd a new sound and much commerical success. They are:
1972--Black Byrd (biggest selling album in BLUE NOTE label history)
1973--Street Lady
1974--Stepping Into Tomorrow
1975--Places and Spaces
1976--Caricatures
For the most part, if you are a jazz purist, these five albums may not work for you. However, if you are simply a defender and promoter of good music as I am, (especially 70s funk/jazz/soul) dust off your cd player and make space in your music library. These five cds need to be in your collection.
Stepping Into Tomorrow, as well as the others listed, has a blended, smooth, layered sound. A sound with texture. The same "type" sound you'd hear when you listen to the 70s music of Roy Ayers, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfied or Isaac Hayes. It's a very sophisticated, down to earth sound. The Mizell Bros were also very successful with two Bobbi Humphrey albums and a Gary Bartz album, all worthy of owning. I love this cd! But then and again, I love Donald Byrd! Along with Roy Ayers, he is one of the most sampled jazz artists, thanks to the Hip-Hop community. Blending of the old with the new. Talkin' about steppin' into tomorrow. Now that's progressive!
 stepping into cheese December 8, 2005
9 out of 21 found this review helpful
Track 7 manages to funk a little bit, but most of this album is just downright painfully bad. It's disco meets funk-lite meets muzak with a bit of jazz attitude here and there. The lyrics are pure cheese. The whole thing borders on parody.
I picked this album up because it was on sale, had a nice cover, features Gary Bartz on sax, and the instrumentation seemed to promise something funky.
I heard the first track and knew I was in trouble, but told myself hey, maybe this is one of those albums with a cheesy opening song that makes up for it later on. Wrong. The vapid treading water disco funk-lite never lets up, the embarassing singing adds insult to injury track after track.
If this is your cup of tea, great. But if you're expecting something with a bit more funk to it, or edge, or jazz, or at least the absence of cheesy vocals, be forewarned!
This album calls itself Stepping Into Tomorrow, but nothing dates itself quicker than an era's ideas about the future. This album sounds very much a product of the seventies.
Stepping into Tomorrow... September 24, 2005
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
I first heard this on one of Mr. Byrd's "Greatest Hits" collections and wanted more. I purchased the CD and have had no regrets! Donald Byrd once again demonstrates his talent on this album. Set it in your CD player and forget it! Five stars!
Byrd's Finest! June 26, 2004
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
"Stepping Into Tomorrow" is one of those albums that laid
the groundwork for modern hip-hop music.That is it's plaintive
grooves,baselines and wide open spaces have been plundered in fond tribute by everyone from Guru to Yesterday' New
Quintet.That being said every song here (even the poppier ones)
have unbeatable grooves and a brooding sense of melody.And for the most part the heavy production values that often cluttered Byrd's mid 70's Blue Note albums is completely adsent here so the funky rhythm section and Byrd's horn is heard uncut.So the album is a mix of smooth and aggresive grooves and rhythms and is a welcoming journey to tomorrow,yesterday or wherever the albums title promises to have you step into.But it's a trip worth taking and don't be afraid to let it free your feet as well as your mind!
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