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Nu Blaxploitation
Studio album by
Don Byron
Released1998
GenreFunk, jazz, hip hop[1]
LabelBlue Note[2]
ProducerDon Byron
Don Byron chronology
Bug Music
(1996) 		Nu Blaxploitation
(1998) 		Romance with the Unseen
(1999)

Nu Blaxploitation is an album by the American musician Don Byron, released in 1998.[3][4] Byron is credited with his band Existential Dred.[5] Byron supported the album with a North American tour.[6]

Production

The album was recorded in December 1997 and January 1998.[7] The poet Sadiq Bey performed on many of the tracks.[8] Biz Markie contributed rap verses to "Schizo Man".[5] Reggie Washington played bass; Uri Caine played piano.[9]

"Blinky" is about the abuse of Abner Louima by the NYPD.[10] "If 6 Was 9" is a cover of the Jimi Hendrix song; it contains a passage from the Turtles' "Happy Together".[11][12] Byron covered a couple of Mandrill songs; the band was one of Byron's childhood favorites.[13] "Dodi" references Dodi Fayed, while "Furman" references racist cop Mark Fuhrman.[14][15] "Domino Theories" was inspired by the work of political scientist Andrew Hacker.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[16]
Robert Christgau(dud)[17]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[18]
Los Angeles Daily News[15]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD[7]

Time called the album "overtly political funk and rap" full of "dark, fertile electric grooves."[19] The Chicago Reader deemed it "an incisive collection of loose-limbed funk, acerbic spoken word."[10] Stereo Review considered Nu Blaxploitation "a mix of old-school groove, social protest, and surrealistic asides—just the kind of ambitious sprawl you'd expect from someone who dedicates his album to both Latin/funk purveyors Mandrill and classical composer Arnold Schoenberg (among others)."[20]

Jazziz wrote that the album "unfolds like a series of existential concerns set to a backbeat—a churlish, unapologetic bit of brilliance that vamps, grooves, strolls, and riffs on several levels at once."[21] Newsday labeled it "a one-of-a-kind testimony on what it's like to be a caring, daring African-American intellectual-bohemian at the tail end of the 20th Century."[22] The Washington Post stated that "Byron has writer Sadiq tiresomely spell out his points with words that recall the sophomoric scribblings of punk poet Henry Rollins."[23]

AllMusic praised the "somber, chamber jazz arrangements and a bevy of funky, swinging charts."[16]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Alien" 
2."Domino Theories – Part I" 
3."Blinky" 
4."Mango Meat" 
5."Interview" 
6."Schizo Man" 
7."Dodi" 
8."I'm Stuck" 
9."I Cannot Commit" 
10."Fencewalk" 
11."Hagalo" 
12."Domino Theories – Part II" 
13."If 6 Was 9" 
14."Furman" 

References

  1. ^ Nicholson, Stuart (May 1, 2014). "Is Jazz Dead?: Or Has It Moved to a New Address". Routledge – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Wilonsky, Robert. "Don Byron". Dallas Observer.
  3. ^ "Don Byron Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  4. ^ Murph, John (July 24, 1998). "Clarinet as Bullhorn". Washington City Paper.
  5. ^ a b Mnookin, Seth (March 17, 1999). "Don Byron and Existential Dred". Salon.
  6. ^ Renner, Michael J. (11 Dec 1998). "Jazz Clarinetist Weaves Musical Ideas and Social Conscience". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. E4.
  7. ^ a b c The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. Penguin Books Ltd. 2000. p. 109.
  8. ^ Longley, Martin (5 June 1998). "Poetry with funk floats X-Dred's boat". Birmingham Post. p. 15.
  9. ^ Johnson, Phil (14 June 1998). "Jazz: Existential dread? Existential joy!". Features. The Independent. p. 10.
  10. ^ a b "Don Byron & Existential Dred". Chicago Reader. September 17, 1998.
  11. ^ Firestone, David (24 Mar 1998). "Learning Jazz Through Byron's Poetic Mix". The New York Times. p. B2.
  12. ^ Roberts, Randall (Sep 1998). "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly (61): 47.
  13. ^ Norris, Chris (16 June 1998). "Keeping it spiel". The Village Voice. 43 (24): 70.
  14. ^ "Don Byron Brings In The 'Nu'". Los Angeles Sentinel. 2 July 1998. p. B5.
  15. ^ a b Shuster, Fred (24 July 1998). "Sound Check". Los Angeles Daily News. p. L23.
  16. ^ a b "Don Byron - Nu Blaxploitation Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  17. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: Don Byron". www.robertchristgau.com.
  18. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. p. 109.
  19. ^ Handy, Bruce (October 12, 1998). "Music: Don't Call It Fusion". Time.
  20. ^ Walls, Richard C. (Oct 1998). "Return of the Headhunters / Nu Blaxploitation". Stereo Review. 63 (10): 94.
  21. ^ Palmer, Don (Aug 1998). "Don Byron and Existential Dred: Nu Blaxploitation". Jazziz. 15 (8): 64.
  22. ^ Seymour, Gene (30 Aug 1998). "On the Record". Newsday. p. D26.
  23. ^ Porter, Christopher (4 Oct 1998). "Jazz That's 'Nu' But Unimproved". The Washington Post. p. G2.
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