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Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (born December 9, 1932) is an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 and rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues is the name given to a wide-ranging genre of popular music first created by African Americans in the late 1940s and early 1950s....
 trumpeter.

in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Wayne County, Michigan. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwestern United States of the United States....
, Byrd attended Cass Technical High School
Cass Technical High School

Lewis Cass Technical High School is a four-year high school in Detroit, Michigan, Michigan, United States. The school is named in honor of Lewis Cass, an United States military officer and politician who served as governor of the Michigan Territory from 1813 until 1831....
. He performed with Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton

Lionel Leo Hampton , was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players....
 before finishing high school. After playing in a military band during a term in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Military of the United States and one of the uniformed services of the United States....
, he obtained a bachelor's degree in music from Wayne State University
Wayne State University

Wayne State University is located in Detroit, Michigan, in the city's Midtown, Detroit#Midtown Cultural Center, Detroit and is a 4th tier national university comprised of 12 schools and colleges offering more than 350 major subject areas to 33,000 graduate and undergraduate students....
 and a master's degree from Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music

The Manhattan School of Music is a world-renowned music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers Academic degrees on the Bachelors degree, Masters degree, and doctoral levels in the areas of european classical music and jazz performance and composition....
.

e still at the Manhattan School he joined Art Blakey
Art Blakey

Arthur Blakey , born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, he was an United States jazz drummer and bandleader....
's Jazz Messengers, replacing Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown

Clifford Brown , aka "Brownie," was an influential and highly rated United States jazz trumpeter. He died aged 25, leaving behind only four years' worth of recordings....
.






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Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (born December 9, 1932) is an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 and rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues is the name given to a wide-ranging genre of popular music first created by African Americans in the late 1940s and early 1950s....
 trumpeter.

Biography


Early life and education

Born in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Wayne County, Michigan. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwestern United States of the United States....
, Byrd attended Cass Technical High School
Cass Technical High School

Lewis Cass Technical High School is a four-year high school in Detroit, Michigan, Michigan, United States. The school is named in honor of Lewis Cass, an United States military officer and politician who served as governor of the Michigan Territory from 1813 until 1831....
. He performed with Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton

Lionel Leo Hampton , was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players....
 before finishing high school. After playing in a military band during a term in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Military of the United States and one of the uniformed services of the United States....
, he obtained a bachelor's degree in music from Wayne State University
Wayne State University

Wayne State University is located in Detroit, Michigan, in the city's Midtown, Detroit#Midtown Cultural Center, Detroit and is a 4th tier national university comprised of 12 schools and colleges offering more than 350 major subject areas to 33,000 graduate and undergraduate students....
 and a master's degree from Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music

The Manhattan School of Music is a world-renowned music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers Academic degrees on the Bachelors degree, Masters degree, and doctoral levels in the areas of european classical music and jazz performance and composition....
.

Playing career

While still at the Manhattan School he joined Art Blakey
Art Blakey

Arthur Blakey , born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, he was an United States jazz drummer and bandleader....
's Jazz Messengers, replacing Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown

Clifford Brown , aka "Brownie," was an influential and highly rated United States jazz trumpeter. He died aged 25, leaving behind only four years' worth of recordings....
. In 1955, he recorded with Jackie McLean
Jackie McLean

John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City....
 and Mal Waldron
Mal Waldron

Malcolm Earl Waldron was an United States jazz and world music pianist and composer, born in New York City.His jazz work was chiefly in the hard bop, post-bebop and free jazz genres....
. After leaving the Jazz Messengers in 1956 he performed with a wide variety of highly regarded jazz musicians, including John Coltrane
John Coltrane

John William Coltrane was an United States jazz saxophonist and composer.Starting in bebop and hard bop, Coltrane later pioneered free jazz. He influenced generations of other musicians, and remains one of the most significant tenor saxophonists in jazz history....
, Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins

Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is an United States jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins' long, prolific career began at the age of 11, and he was playing with piano legend Thelonious Monk before reaching the age of 20....
, Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock

Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is a jazz pianist and composer. He embraces elements of rock and roll and soul music while adopting freer stylistic elements from jazz....
, and Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk

Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer.Widely considered one of the most important musicians in jazz -- he is one of only three jazz musicians to be featured on the cover of Time magazine -- Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epi...
. In June 1964, Byrd jammed with jazz legend Eric Dolphy
Eric Dolphy

Eric Allan Dolphy was an American jazz alto saxophone, Western concert flute #In jazz, and bass clarinetist.Dolphy was one of several groundbreaking jazz alto saxophone players to rise to prominence in the 1960s....
 in Paris just two weeks before Dolphy's tragic death from insulin shock.

In the 1970s, he moved away from his previous hard-bop
Hard bop

Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Hard bop incorporates influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano playing....
 jazz base and began to record jazz fusion
Jazz fusion

Fusion or, more specifically, jazz fusion or jazz rock, is a musical genre that merges jazz with elements of other styles of music, particularly funk, Rock and roll, R&B, electronic music, and world music, but also pop music, classical music, and folk music, or sometimes even Heavy metal music, reggae, ska, country music, hip hop...
, Jazz-funk, soul-Jazz, and rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues is the name given to a wide-ranging genre of popular music first created by African Americans in the late 1940s and early 1950s....
. Teaming up with the Mizell Brothers
Mizell Brothers

The Mizell Brothers were a highly influential production team in the 1970s, consisting of Larry and Alphonso "Fonce" Mizell....
, they produced Black Byrd
Black Byrd

Black Byrd is a 1972 album by Donald Byrd, which was enormously successful and became Blue Note Records' highest-ever selling album....
, which was enormously successful and became Blue Note
Blue note

In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower Pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres....
 Records' highest-ever selling album. The Mizell Brothers follow-up production albums for Byrd, Places and Spaces, Steppin' Into Tomorrow and Street Lady were also big sellers, and have subsequently provided a rich source of samples for acid jazz artists such as Us3
US3

Us3 is a jazz-rap group founded in London in 1991. Their name was inspired by a Horace Parlan recording produced by Alfred Lion, the founder of Blue Note Records....
.

In 1993, Byrd teamed up with Gang Starr
Gang Starr

Gang Starr was an influential East Coast hip hop group that consisted of Guru and DJ Premier. The group was known mainly for their unique style, which combines elements of New York swing jazz and hip hop music....
 MC Guru
Guru (rapper)

Guru , is an United States rapper of Trinidadian descent, and the lyrical half of the hip-hop group Gang Starr, together with DJ Premier. With his Jazzmatazz album series, he is also considered to be one of the pioneers of hiphop/jazz crossover....
 for the track "Loungin'" on the Jazzmatazz
Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1

Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 is a jazz rap album by alternative hip hop artist Guru , released on May 18, 1993 on Chrysalis Records. This album is one of the first albums to combine a live jazz band with hip hop production and rapping....
 project.

As a music educator

He has taught music at Rutgers University
Rutgers University

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766 and is the Colonial colleges in the United States....
, the Hampton Institute, New York University
New York University

New York University is a private university, nonsectarian, research university in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan....
, Howard University
Howard University

Howard University is a private university, coeducational, nonsectarian, Historically black colleges and universities university located in Washington, D.C., United States....
, and Oberlin College
Oberlin College

Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1833 by Presbyterian ministers, and is home to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, making it the only top-ranked Liberal arts colleges in the United States with a top-ranked conservatory....
. In 1974 he created the Blackbyrds, a fusion group consisting of his best students. They scored several major hits including "Rock Creek Park", "Walking In Rhythm" and "Blackbyrds Theme".

Byrd lives in Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck, New Jersey

Teaneck is a Township in Bergen County, New Jersey, New Jersey, and is a suburb in the New York metropolitan area. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 39,260....
.

Discography


Leader

  • Off to the Races (1958), Blue Note
    Blue Note Records

    Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards....
  • Byrd in Hand
    Byrd in Hand

    Byrd in Hand is an album by Donald Byrd, released in 1959. Engineered by Rudy Van Gelder.Track listing#"Witchcraft" #"Here Am I" ...
     (1959)
  • Fuego (1959)
  • Byrd in Flight
    Byrd in Flight

    Byrd in Flight is an album by Donald Byrd, released in 1960....
     (1960)
  • Royal Flush (1961)
  • Free Form (1961)
  • The Cat Walk (1962)
  • Groovin' for Nat (1962)
  • A New Perspective
    A New Perspective

    A New Perspective is a 1963 album by Donald Byrd...
     (1963)
  • I'm Tryin' To Get Home (1964)
  • Up With Donald Byrd (1965)
  • Mustang! (1966)
  • Slow Drag
    Slow Drag (album)

    Slow Drag is a jazz album released by Donald Byrd in 1967 .Track listing # Slow Drag 9:47# Secret Love 3:58# Book's Bossa 6:52...
     (1967)
  • Blackjack (1967)
  • Fancy Free (1969)
  • Electric Byrd
    Electric Byrd

    Electric Byrd is a jazz album released by Donald Byrd in 1970 ....
     (1970)
  • Ethiopian Knights (1971)
  • Black Byrd
    Black Byrd

    Black Byrd is a 1972 album by Donald Byrd, which was enormously successful and became Blue Note Records' highest-ever selling album....
     (1972)
  • Street Lady (1973)
  • Stepping into Tomorrow
    Stepping into Tomorrow

    Stepping Into Tomorrow is a 1974 album by jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd....
     (1974)
  • Places and Spaces (1975)
  • Caricatures (1976)
  • Thank You...For F.U.M.L. (Funking Up My Life) (1978)
  • Donald Byrd And 125th Street, N.Y.C. (1979)
  • Love Byrd: Donald Byrd and 125th St, N.Y.C.
    Love Byrd: Donald Byrd and 125th St, N.Y.C.

    Track listing...
     (1981)
  • Words, Sounds, Colors and Shapes (1983)
  • Harlem Blues (1987)
  • Getting Down to Business (1989)
  • A City Called Heaven (1991)
  • Touchstone (2000)
  • The Transition Sessions (2002)
  • Out of This World (2003)
  • At the Half Note Cafe, Vol. 1 (2003)
  • At the Half Note Cafe, Vol. 2 (2003)
  • At the Half Note Cafe, Vol. 1-2 (Bonus Tracks) (2004)
  • In a Soulful Mood (2005)
  • Pop-Jazz Volume 1 (2006)


Sideman

  • 1956 Kenny Burrell
    Kenny Burrell

    Kenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell is an United States jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians....
     - All Night Long
  • 1956 Hank Mobley
    Hank Mobley

    Henry Mobley was an United States hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone that was neither as aggressive as John Coltrane nor as mellow as Stan Getz....
     - Mobley's Message
    Mobley's Message

    Mobley's Message is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley released on the Prestige Records label in 1956. It was recorded on July 20, 1956 and features performances by Mobley, Donald Byrd, Barry Harris, Doug Watkins and Art Taylor with Jackie McLean guesting on one track....
  • 1956 Horace Silver
    Horace Silver

    Horace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer. His father, who was known as John Tavares Silva, was from the island of Maio, Cape Verde in Cape Verde....
     - Silver's Blue
  • 1956 Paul Chambers
    Paul Chambers

    Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers, Jr. was one of the most influential jazz double basss of the 20th century. A prominent figure in many rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, his importance in the development of jazz bass can be measured not only by the length and breadth of his work in this short period but also his impeccable time, int...
     - Whims of Chambers
  • 1956 Jackie McLean
    Jackie McLean

    John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City....
     - Lights Out!
  • 1956 Jackie McLean
    Jackie McLean

    John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City....
     - 4,5, and 6
  • 1956 Phil Woods
    Phil Woods

    Philip Wells Woods is an United States jazz bebop Alto saxophone, clarinetist, bandleader and composer....
     - The Young Bloods
  • 1957 Kenny Drew
    Kenny Drew

    Kenneth Sidney Drew was an United States jazz pianist.Born in New York City, New York, he first recorded with Howard McGhee in 1949, and over the next two years recorded with Buddy DeFranco, Coleman Hawkins, Milt Jackson, Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich, and Dinah Washington....
     - This is New
  • 1957 Kenny Drew
    Kenny Drew

    Kenneth Sidney Drew was an United States jazz pianist.Born in New York City, New York, he first recorded with Howard McGhee in 1949, and over the next two years recorded with Buddy DeFranco, Coleman Hawkins, Milt Jackson, Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich, and Dinah Washington....
     - Trio/Quartet/Quintet
  • 1957 Gigi Gryce
    Gigi Gryce

    Gigi Gryce was an American saxophonist, flutist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, educator, and big band bandleader. His performing career was relatively short and, in comparison to other musicians of his generation, Gryce's work is little known; however, several of his compositions have been covered extensively and are frequently heard in...
     - Gigi Gryce and The Jazz Lab Quintet
  • 1957 Art Taylor
    Art Taylor

    Arthur S. Taylor, Jr. was an United States jazz drummer of the hard bop school....
     - Taylor Wailer's
  • 1957 George Wallington
    George Wallington

    George Wallington was a highly regarded American bebop pianist and composer.From 1943 to 1953 he played with Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Marsala, Charlie Parker, Serge Chaloff, Allan Eager, Kai Winding, Terry Gibbs, Brew Moore, Al Cohn, Gerry Mulligan, Zoot Sims, Red Rodney, and Lionel Hampton, and recorded as a leader for Savoy Records and Blue...
     - The New York Scene
  • 1957 Sonny Clark
    Sonny Clark

    Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark was an United States hard bop pianist. An underappreciated jazz artist during his time, Clark's work has become much more widely known after his death....
     - Sonny's Crib
  • 1957 Red Garland
    Red Garland

    William "Red" Garland was an United States hard bop jazz pianist whose block chord style, in part originated by Milt Buckner, influenced many forthcoming pianists in the jazz idiom....
     - All Morning Long
  • 1957 Red Garland
    Red Garland

    William "Red" Garland was an United States hard bop jazz pianist whose block chord style, in part originated by Milt Buckner, influenced many forthcoming pianists in the jazz idiom....
     - Soul Junction
  • 1957 Red Garland
    Red Garland

    William "Red" Garland was an United States hard bop jazz pianist whose block chord style, in part originated by Milt Buckner, influenced many forthcoming pianists in the jazz idiom....
     Quintet with John Coltrane
    John Coltrane

    John William Coltrane was an United States jazz saxophonist and composer.Starting in bebop and hard bop, Coltrane later pioneered free jazz. He influenced generations of other musicians, and remains one of the most significant tenor saxophonists in jazz history....
     - High Pressure
  • 1957 Lou Donaldson
    Lou Donaldson

    Lou Donaldson is a jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Badin, North Carolina. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker....
     - Walking with Lou
  • 1958 Johnny Griffin
    Johnny Griffin

    John Arnold Griffin III was an United States bebop and hard bop tenor saxophonist....
     - Johnny Griffin Sextet
  • 1958 Pepper Adams
    Pepper Adams

    Pepper Adams , was a jazz baritone saxophonist, who is widely considered one of the most significant and influential baritone saxophonists in jazz....
     - 10 to 4 at the 5 Spot
  • 1959 Sonny Clark
    Sonny Clark

    Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark was an United States hard bop pianist. An underappreciated jazz artist during his time, Clark's work has become much more widely known after his death....
     - My Conception
  • 1959 Jackie McLean
    Jackie McLean

    John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City....
     - New Soil
  • 1963 Jackie McLean
    Jackie McLean

    John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City....
     - Vertigo
  • 1963 Hank Mobley
    Hank Mobley

    Henry Mobley was an United States hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone that was neither as aggressive as John Coltrane nor as mellow as Stan Getz....
     - No Room for Squares
    No Room for Squares

    No Room for Squares is an album by jazz tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley recorded on March 7 & October 2, 1963 and released on the Blue Note Records label....
  • 1963 Herbie Hancock
    Herbie Hancock

    Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is a jazz pianist and composer. He embraces elements of rock and roll and soul music while adopting freer stylistic elements from jazz....
     - My Point of View
    My Point of View

    My Point of View is the second album by Herbie Hancock, originally released in 1963 by Blue Note Records....
  • 1964 Dexter Gordon
    Dexter Gordon

    Dexter Gordon was an United States jazz tenor saxophonist, and an Academy Award-nominated actor. He is considered one of the first bebop tenor players....
     - One Flight Up
  • 1986 Hank Mobley
    Hank Mobley

    Henry Mobley was an United States hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone that was neither as aggressive as John Coltrane nor as mellow as Stan Getz....
     - Straight No Filter
    Straight No Filter

    Straight No Filter is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley released on the Blue Note Records label. It features performances recorded at four different sessions from 1963 to 1966....
  • 1990 Kenny Burrell
    Kenny Burrell

    Kenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell is an United States jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians....
     - All Day Long
  • 1992 Kenny Burrell
    Kenny Burrell

    Kenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell is an United States jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians....
     - 2 Guitars


External links