DONALD BYRD Kofi (Blue Note Tone Poet Series 2024 limited edition 4-track stereo LP cut directly from the original analogue tapes, mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and pressed at RTI on 180-gram vinyl. Drawn from two sessions recorded in December 1969 and December 1970, and not first released until 1995, Kofi found Donald Byrd in the early stages of his transformation from top-notch hard-bop trumpeter to fusion pioneer. Byrd had already begun to move away from a pure hard-bop sound with his album Fancy Free in the spring of 1969, and the two Kofi sessions straddled the recording of his adventurous fusion album Electric Byrd. High quality tip-on pasted picture sleeve, hype sticker & factory sealed inside its loose bag. Recommended)