You can divide Donald Byrd's career into three main phases: hard bop, which lasted from 1955 to the mid 60s; from there he moved into soul jazz for a number of years; and finally into jazz funk. It is the latter period, which this is the best of, taking tracks off his 1970 albums. Influenced by the likes of Earth, Wind & Fire, these are tunes where there is little--i.e. it's microscopic if there is indeed any--improvisation. Instead there are funky disco grooves, with vocalists (often female but sometimes including Byrd himself) singing of the "hustle" and "the laydeees". To some jazz purists it may not be jazz but even if the lyrics are gloriously cheesy and the music often kitsch there is no mistaking the fun of it all. These are tunes, which have influenced today's acid jazzers and are why Byrd has enjoyed renewed interest of late, including work with Guru's jazz rap project, Jazzmatazz. Get on down!--Phil Brett