Fancy Free (Donald Byrd album)

Fancy Free is an album by American jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd that was recorded and released in 1969 by Blue Note Records.

Fancy Free
Studio album by Donald Byrd
Released	December 1969
Recorded	May 9, June 6, 1969
Studio	Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Genre	Jazz, jazz fusion
Length	39:10
Label	Blue Note
Producer	Duke Pearson
Donald Byrd chronology
The Creeper (1967) Fancy Free (1969) Electric Byrd (1970)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic

Reception

AllMusic awarded the album with 3 stars and its review by Steve Huey says, "Recorded just a few months after Miles Davis' In a Silent Way, Fancy Free finds Byrd leading a large ensemble prominently featuring Frank Foster on tenor, Lew Tabackin or Jerry Dodgion on flute, and several percussionists. But the most important piece of the puzzle is Duke Pearson's electric piano, the first time Byrd utilized the instrument." Critic Marc Myers described the album in 2018 as "decades ahead of its time". Myers also wrote that the album began a new period in Byrd's career, in which, "Unlike rock fusion, which was popular with sit-down audiences in college dorm rooms and events, Byrd focused more on grooves and beats, accompanying them on his trumpet rather than being driven by them."

Track listing

1. "Fancy Free" (Donald Byrd) – 12:06
2. "I Love the Girl" (Byrd) – 8:48
3. "The Uptowner" (Mitch Farber) – 9:16
4. "Weasil" (Charles Hendricks) – 9:00

Note

• Recorded on May 9 (#2, 4) and June 6, 1969. (#1, 3)

Personnel

• Donald Byrd – trumpet
• Julian Priester – trombone
• Frank Foster – tenor and soprano saxophone
• Jerry Dodgion (#1, 3) – flute
• Lew Tabackin (#2, 4) – flute
• Duke Pearson – electric piano
• Jimmy Ponder – guitar
• Roland Wilson – bass guitar
• Joe Chambers (#2, 4), Leo Morris (#1, 3) – drums
• Nat Bettis – percussion
• John H. Robinson Jr. – percussion