Major Keys Vinyl & CDs

Review: A flummoxing fusion of jazz, soul and funk from 1972, Donald Byrd's Think Twice is ironically one of few jazz records that we don't really have to think twice about. Taken from the bokeh-grained, 1974 impressionistic prog-jazz opus Stepping Into Tomorrow - on which a whirlwind cast of performers including Mayuto Correa, Larry Mizell, Gary Bartz and Harvey Mason also appear - Byrd's unmistakable trumpet is heard whinnying across this LP-fronter, which rides serious thermals of flugelhorn, soprano and alto sax, ARP synth and backing choir. The vocals by Kay Haith are duly cautionary, insisting but seemingly also tantalising our worst impulses: "Maybe we oughta think twice... Before we start something nice / No need to sacrifice the spice in our lives, ooh ooh / our love's like fire and ice, pretty baby / That's why we oughta think twice..." A rare anti-YOLO anthem!