Donald Byrd's career as a progressive musician willing to move with the times as well as an educator who was intent on nurturing multiple new generations of players is well summarised on this triple disc set. It covers the highlights of the string of albums cut during his fusion years as well as the work of The Blackbyrds, the group of Howard University students he mentored while teaching there in the early 1970s.

Taken together the songs of elders and youngers have valiantly stood the test of time. Byrd's gems include a slew of tracks produced by the Mizell brothers that have their immediately distinctive signature – ethereal, wistful vocals, spectral electronics and flushing strings, as can be heard on ‘Dominoes’, ‘Stepping Into Tomorrow’ and ‘Wind Parade’ – while The Blackbyrds have a sharp, gritty funk edge typified by ‘Rock Creek Park’, ‘Do It Fluid’ and ‘Gut Level’, even though ‘Walking In Sunshine’ is a super soulful strut.

By the late 1970s and early 80s Byrd went on to work with new producers such as Stax legend Isaac Hayes and the results were not at all unsatisfactory. Albums such as Love Byrd had the sumptuous string arrangements and sharp rhythm parts that would have appealed to Curtis, Marvin and Stevie fans. Lovers of Byrd's acoustic work of the 1960s may have been scratching their heads, but they were not the target audience.

The trumpeter solos far less, and that was the whole point.

The songs really did the talking. Four decades down the line they still have something pretty hip to say.