Originally released June 15, 1975
Reissued November 19, 2021
Blue Note
1xLP
In a similar vein to Bobbi Humphrey, who we covered last week, Donald Byrd is a seminal figure in melding of Clinton-style funk and more traditional bepop jazz. He is, by most accounts, the most fun artist in a genre that can be percieved — for better or worse — as self serious. Places & Spaces is arguably his magnum opus, largely because it hosts "Dominoes," which is an objectively perfect song. If any other album had "Dominoes," it would be hailed an instant classic. If a 3-hour recording of nails being punched into sheet metal was broken up in the middle by "Dominoes," it would go into the Library of Congress, it would make your curmudgeonly uncle jive. It's that fun.