Release date: 28-09-2011 (Originally released in 1973)

2004 Blue note 6-Track Stereo vinyl edtion, originally released in 1973 -Street Lady plays like the soundtrack to a forgotten blaxploitation film. Producer/arranger/composer Larry Mizell conceived Street Lady as a concept album to a spirited, independent prostitute, and while the hooker with a heart of gold concept is a little trite, the music uncannily evokes an urban landscape, circa the early '70s. The album oozes with wah-wah guitars, stuttering electric pianos, percolating percussion, soaring flutes and charmingly anemic tuneless vocals. - sealed in originally artwork sleeve

Tracks:
01. Lansana's Priestress
02. Miss Kane
03. Sister Love
04. Street Lady
05. Witch Hunt
06. Woman Of the World

Not so much a fusion album as an attempt at mainstream soul and R&B, Street Lady plays like the soundtrack to a forgotten blaxploitation film. Producer/arranger/composer Larry Mizell conceived Street Lady as a concept album to a spirited, independent prostitute, and while the hooker with a heart of gold concept is a little trite, the music uncannily evokes an urban landscape circa the early '70s. Borrowing heavily from Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes, and Sly Stone, Donald Byrd and Mizell have created an album that is overflowing with wah-wah guitars, stuttering electric pianos, percolating percussion, soaring flutes, and charmingly anemic, tuneless vocals. It's certainly not jazz, or even fusion, but it isn't really funk or R&B, either -- the rhythms aren't elastic enough, and all of the six songs are simply jazzy vamps without clear hooks. But the appeal of Street Lady is how its polished neo-funk and pseudo-fusion sound uncannily like a jive movie or television soundtrack from the early '70s -- you can picture the Street Lady, decked out in polyester, cruising the streets surrounded by pimps with wide-brimmed hats and platform shoes. And while that may not be ideal for jazz purists, it's perfect for kitsch and funk fanatics. =allmusic

Donald Byrd (vocals, trumpet, fluegelhorn)
Fonce Mizell (trumpet, clavinet); Roger Glenn (flute); Jerry Peters (piano, electric piano); Fred Perren (synthesizer); David T. Walker (guitar); Chuck Rainey (electric bass)