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Donald Byrd

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Occupation(s)
  
Musician

Years active
  
1954–2013


Name
  
Donald Byrd

Role
  
Jazz trumpeter

Donald Byrd Donald Byrd obituary Music The Guardian


Birth name
  
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II

Born
  
December 9, 1932Detroit, Michigan, United States (
1932-12-09
)

Genres
  
Bebop, hard bop, funk, soul

Instruments
  
Trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals

Died
  
February 4, 2013, Dover, Delaware, United States

Music groups
  
The Blackbyrds, The Jazz Messengers

Albums
  

Donald byrd at the montreux jazz festival 1973


Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while remaining a jazz artist. As a bandleader, Byrd is notable for his influence on the early career of Herbie Hancock.

Contents

Donald Byrd Landmark from Donald Byrd MTV

Aqui y jazz donald byrd fly little bird


Early life and career

Donald Byrd breath of life DONALD BYRD Byrd In Flight Mixtape

Byrd attended Cass Technical High School. He performed with Lionel Hampton before finishing high school. After playing in a military band during a term in the United States Air Force, Byrd obtained a bachelor's degree in music from Wayne State University and a master's degree from Manhattan School of Music. While still at the Manhattan School, he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, as replacement for Clifford Brown. In 1955, he recorded with Gigi Gryce, Jackie McLean and Mal Waldron. After leaving the Jazz Messengers in 1956, he performed with many leading jazz musicians of the day, including John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, and later Herbie Hancock.

Donald Byrd wwwsoulwalkingcouk00Images2020111DBNice2jpg

Byrd's first regular group was a quintet that he co-led from 1958 to 1961 with baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams, an ensemble whose hard-driving performances are captured "live" on At the Half Note Cafe.

Donald Byrd Songs 39The Dude39 by Donald Byrd The Kind

Byrd's 1961 LP Royal Flush marked the Blue Note debut of Hancock, who came to wider attention with Byrd's successful 1962 album Free Form, and these albums also featured the first recordings of Hancock's original compositions. Hancock has credited Byrd as a key influence in his early career, recounting that he took the young pianist "under his wings" when he was a struggling musician newly arrived in New York, even letting him sleep on a hide-a-bed in his Bronx apartment for several years

Donald Byrd donaldbyrdjpg

"He was the first person to let me be a permanent member of an internationally known band. He has always nurtured and encouraged young musicians. He's a born educator, it seems to be in his blood, and he really tried to encourage the development of creativity".

Donald Byrd Donald Byrd Dead Legendary Jazz Musician Dies At Age 80

Hancock also recalled that Byrd helped him in many other ways: he encouraged Hancock to make his debut album for Blue Note, connected him with Mongo Santamaria, who turned Hancock's tune "Watermelon Man" into a chart-topping hit, and that Byrd also later urged him to accept Miles Davis' offer to join his quintet.

Hancock also credits Byrd with giving him one of the most important pieces of advice of his career – not to give away his publishing. When Blue Note offered Hancock the chance to record his first solo LP, label executives tried to convince him to relinquish his publishing in exchange for being able to record the album, but he stuck to Byrd's advice and refused, so the meeting came to an impasse. At this point, he stood up to leave and when it became clear that he was about to walk out, the executives relented and allowed him to retain his publishing. Thanks to Santamaria's subsequent hit cover version of "Watermelon Man", Hancock was soon receiving substantial royalties, and he used his first royalty check of $3000 to buy his first car, a 1963 Shelby Cobra (also recommended by Byrd) which Hancock still owns, and which is now the oldest production Cobra still in its original owner's hands.

In June 1964, Byrd played with Eric Dolphy in Paris just two weeks before Dolphy's death from insulin shock.

Electric Byrd

By 1969's Fancy Free, Byrd was moving away from the hard bop jazz idiom and began to record jazz fusion and rhythm and blues. He teamed up with the Mizell Brothers (producer-writers Larry and Fonce) for Black Byrd (1973) which was, for many years, Blue Note's best-selling album. The title track climbed to No. 19 on Billboard′s R&B chart and reached the Hot 100 pop chart, peaking at No. 88. The Mizell brothers' follow-up albums for Byrd, Street Lady, Places and Spaces and Stepping into Tomorrow, were also big sellers, and have subsequently provided a rich source of samples for acid jazz artists such as Us3. Most of the material for the albums was written by Larry Mizell. In 1989, Byrd teamed with Robert Stewart (saxophonist) for a performance of the composition Fancy Free.

In 1973, he helped to establish and co-produce the Blackbyrds, a fusion group consisting of then-student musicians from Howard University, where Byrd taught in the music department and earned his J.D. in 1976. They scored several major hits including "Happy Music" (No. 3 R&B, No. 19 pop), "Walking in Rhythm" (No. 4 R&B, No. 6 pop) and "Rock Creek Park".

During his tenure at North Carolina Central University during the 1980s, he formed a group which included students from the college called the "125th St NYC Band". They recorded the Love Byrd album, which featured Isaac Hayes on drums. "Love Has Come Around" became a disco hit in the UK and reached No. 41 on the charts.

Beginning in the 1960s, Byrd (who eventually gained his PhD in music education from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1982) taught at a variety of postsecondary institutions, including Rutgers University, the Hampton Institute, New York University, Howard University, Queens College, Oberlin College, Cornell University, North Carolina Central University and Delaware State University. Byrd returned to somewhat straight-ahead jazz later in his career, releasing three albums for Orrin Keepnews' Landmark Records, and his final album Touchstone, a quintet.

Byrd was a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey. He died on February 4, 2013 in Dover, Delaware. He was 80.

As leader

Transition Records
  • Byrd Jazz (1955) – also released as First Flight (Delmark)
  • Byrd's Eye View (1955)
  • Byrd Blows on Beacon Hill (1956)
  • The Transition Sessions (2002 compilation)
  • Prestige Records
  • 2 Trumpets (1956) – with Art Farmer
  • The Young Bloods (1956) – with Phil Woods
  • Verve Records
  • At Newport (1957) – with Gigi Gryce
  • Up with Donald Byrd (1964)
  • Columbia Records
  • Jazz Lab (1957) – with Gigi Gryce
  • Modern Jazz Perspective (1957) – with Gigi Gryce and Jackie Paris
  • Blue Note Records
  • Off to the Races (1959)
  • Byrd in Hand (1959)
  • Fuego (1959)
  • Byrd in Flight (1960)
  • At the Half Note Cafe (1960)
  • Chant (1961)
  • The Cat Walk (1961)
  • Royal Flush (1961)
  • Free Form (1961)
  • A New Perspective (1963)
  • I'm Tryin' to Get Home (1964)
  • Mustang (1966)
  • Blackjack (1967)
  • Slow Drag (1967)
  • The Creeper (1967)
  • Fancy Free (1969)
  • Electric Byrd (1969–70)
  • Kofi (1969)
  • Ethiopian Knights (1971)
  • Black Byrd (1973)
  • Street Lady (1973)
  • Stepping into Tomorrow (1974)
  • Places and Spaces (1975)
  • Caricatures (1976)
  • Elektra Records
  • Thank You... for F.U.M.L. (Funking Up My Life) (1978)
  • Donald Byrd And 125th Street, N.Y.C. (1979)
  • Love Byrd (1981)
  • Words, Sounds, Colors and Shapes (1983)
  • Landmark Records
  • Harlem Blues (1987)
  • Getting Down to Business (1989)
  • A City Called Heaven (1991)
  • Other labels
  • Byrd's Word (Savoy, 1955)
  • Jazz Eyes (Regent, 1957) – with John Jenkins
  • New Formulas from the Jazz Lab (Vik, 1957) with Gigi Gryce
  • Jazz in Camera (Sonorama, 1958) with Barney Wilen
  • Jazz Lab (Jubilee, 1958) with Gigi Gryce
  • Live Au Chat Qui Peche (Fresh Sound, 1958),
  • Jazz in Paris: Parisian Thoroughfare (Gitanes, 1958)
  • Jazz in Paris: Byrd in Paris (Gitanes, 1958)
  • Motor City Scene (Bethlehem, 1960)
  • Out of This World (Warwick, 1961)
  • September Afternoon (Discovery, 1982; rec. 1957) – with Clare Fischer and Strings
  • Touchstone (2000) Pepper Adams, Herbie Hancock, Teddy Charles, Jimmy Cobb
  • As sideman

    With Hank Jones

  • 1955 Quartet-Quintet (Savoy)
  • 1955 Bluebird
  • With George Wallington

  • 1955 Live at the Bohemia (Progressive, 1955; Prestige, 1970)
  • 1956 Jazz for the Carriage Trade
  • 1957 The New York Scene (Prestige)
  • 1957 Jazz at Hotchkiss (Savoy)
  • With Kenny Clarke

  • 1955 Bohemia After Dark (Savoy)
  • 1956 Klook's Clique (Savoy)
  • With Hank Mobley

  • 1956 The Jazz Message of Hank Mobley (Prestige)
  • 1956 Mobley's Message (Prestige)
  • 1956 Jazz Message No. 2 (Savoy)
  • 1956 Hank Mobley Sextet (Blue Note)
  • 1957 Hank (Blue Note)
  • 1963 No Room for Squares (Blue Note)
  • 1963 Straight No Filter – released 1986 (Blue Note)
  • 1963 The Turnaround (Blue Note)
  • 1967 Far Away Lands (Blue Note)
  • With Art Blakey

  • 1956 The Jazz Messengers (Columbia)
  • 1956 Originally
  • 1957 Art Blakey Big Band (Bethlehem)
  • 1958 Holiday for Skins (Blue Note)
  • With Jackie McLean

  • 1955 Presenting Jackie McLean (Ad Lib)
  • 1956 Lights Out! (Prestige)
  • 1956 4, 5 and 6 (Prestige)
  • 1959 New Soil (Blue Note)
  • 1959 Jackie's Bag 3 tracks (Blue Note)
  • 1963 Vertigo - released 1980 (Blue Note)
  • With Phil Woods

  • 1956 Pairing Off (Prestige)
  • 1956 The Young Bloods (Prestige)
  • With Horace Silver

  • 1956 Silver's Blue (Epic)
  • 1956 6 Pieces of Silver (Blue Note)
  • With Kenny Burrell

  • 1956 All Night Long (Prestige)
  • 1957 All Day Long (Prestige)
  • 1957 2 Guitars (Prestige)
  • With Art Farmer

  • 1956 2 Trumpets (Prestige)
  • 1957 Art Farmer/Donald Byrd/Idrees SuliemanThree Trumpets (Prestige)
  • With Gigi Gryce

  • 1957 Jazz Lab (Jubilee)
  • 1957 Gigi Gryce and the Jazz Lab Quintet (Riverside)
  • 1957 At Newport (Verve)
  • 1957 New Formulas from the Jazz Lab
  • 1957 Modern Jazz Perspective (Columbia)
  • With Jimmy Smith

  • 1957 A Date with Jimmy Smith Volume One (Blue Note)
  • 1957 A Date with Jimmy Smith Volume Two (Blue Note)
  • With Paul Chambers

  • 1956 Whims of Chambers (Blue Note)
  • 1957 Paul Chambers Quintet (Blue Note)
  • With Red Garland

  • 1957 All Mornin' Long (Prestige)
  • 1957 Soul Junction (Prestige)
  • 1957 High Pressure (Prestige)
  • With John Coltrane

  • 1958 Lush Life (Prestige)
  • 1958 The Believer (Prestige)
  • 1958 The Last Trane (Prestige)
  • 1958 Black Pearls (Prestige)
  • With Oscar Pettiford

  • 1955 Another One
  • 1957 Winner's Circle
  • With Lou Donaldson

  • 1957 Wailing with Lou (Blue Note)
  • 1957 Lou Takes Off (Blue Note)
  • With Sonny Clark

  • 1957 Sonny's Crib (Blue Note)
  • 1959 My Conception (Blue Note)
  • With others

  • 1955 Cannonball AdderleyDiscoveries
  • 1955 Ernie WilkinsTop Brass (Savoy)
  • 1956 Rita ReysThe Cool Voice of Rita Reys
  • 1956 Elmo HopeInformal Jazz (Prestige, 1956)
  • 1956 Gene AmmonsJammin' with Gene (Prestige)
  • 1956 Doug WatkinsWatkins at Large (Transition)
  • 1956 Sonny RollinsSonny Rollins, Vol. 1 (Blue Note)
  • 1957 Art TaylorTaylor's Wailers (Prestige)
  • 1957 Kenny DrewThis Is New (Riverside)
  • 1957 John Jenkins – Jazz Eyes (Savoy)
  • 1958 Johnny GriffinJohnny Griffin Sextet (Riverside)
  • 1958 Pepper Adams – 10 to 4 at the 5 Spot (Riverside)
  • 1958 Michel LegrandLegrand Jazz
  • 1958 Dizzy ReeceBlues in Trinity (Blue Note)
  • 1958 Jim Timmens – Gilbert and Sullivan Revisited
  • 1959 Mundell LoweTV Action Jazz!
  • 1959 Thelonious MonkThe Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall (Riverside)
  • 1959 Chris ConnorBallads of the Sad Cafe
  • 1959 Manny Albam/Teo MaceroSomething New, Something Blue
  • 1959 Walter Davis Jr. – Davis Cup (Blue Note)
  • 1962 Duke PearsonHush! (Jazztime)
  • 1962: Al Grey - Snap Your Fingers (Argo)
  • 1963 Jimmy HeathSwamp Seed (Riverside)
  • 1963 Herbie Hancock – My Point of View (Blue Note)
  • 1964 Eric DolphyNaima
  • 1964 Eric Dolphy – Last Recordings / Unrealized Tapes
  • 1964 Dexter GordonOne Flight Up (Blue Note)
  • 1964 Cal TjaderSoul Sauce (Verve)
  • 1964 Solomon IloriAfrican High Life
  • 1964 Duke Pearson – Wahoo! (Blue Note)
  • 1965 Dexter Gordon – Ladybird (SteepleChase)
  • 1965 Wes MontgomeryGoin' Out of My Head
  • 1967 Stanley TurrentineA Bluish Bag
  • 1967 Sam Rivers – Dimensions & Extensions
  • 1977 Gene HarrisTone Tantrum
  • 1978 Sonny Rollins – Don't Stop the Carnival (Milestone)
  • 1993 GuruJazzmatazz, Vol. 1
  • 1995 Guru – Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality
  • 1995 Ahmad JamalBig Byrd: The Essence Part 2
  • References

    Donald Byrd Wikipedia


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