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Biography
BLP sources|date=September 2010Infobox musical artist| name = Donald Byrd| image =| caption =| image_size =| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist| birth_name = Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II| alias =| birth_date = birth date and age|1932|12|09| death_date =| origin = Detroit , Michigan , United States | instrument = Trumpet | genre = bebop|Bop Hard bop Funk Soul music|Soul | occupation =| years_active =| label =| associated_acts = Pepper Adams , Gigi Gryce , Jackie McLean , Hank Mobley | website =| current_members =| past_members =| notable_instruments ='''Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II , (born December 9, 1932) is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a pop artist.
In 1973, he created The Blackbyrds , a fusion group consisting of his best students. They scored several major hits including "Happy Music" (#3 R& B, #19 pop), "Walking In Rhythm" (#4 R& B, #6 pop) and "Rock Creek Park".
Biography
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 , he 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 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 .
Byrd's first regular group was a quintet that he co-led from 1958-61 with baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams , an ensemble whose hard driving performances are captured "live" on At the Half Note Cafe . In June 1964, Byrd jammed with jazz legend Eric Dolphy in Paris just two weeks before Dolphy's death from insulin shock.
In the 1970s, he moved away from the Hard bop|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 in 1972. It was highly successful and became Blue Note Records' highest-ever selling album. The title track climbed to #19 on Billboard's R& B chart and reached the Hot 100 pop chart, peaking at #88. The Mizell brothers' follow-up albums for Byrd, Street Lady , Places and Spaces and '' Steppin' 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 1994, Byrd appeared on the Red Hot Organization 's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool . The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African American community, was heralded as "Album of the Year" by Time Magazine .
He has taught music at Rutgers University , the Hampton Institute , New York University , Howard University , Queens College , Oberlin College , Cornell University and Delaware State University .
In addition to his Masters from Manhattan School of Music, Byrd has two masters from Columbia University. Byrd received a law degree in 1976, and his doctorate from Columbia University Teachers College in 1982.
In September 2009, he was named an artist-in-residence at Delaware State University. http://www.desu.edu/jazz-artist-donald-byrd-named-artist-residence-0 Dr. Donald Byrd Named Artist in Residence, DSU Press Release , September 4, 2009 Byrd lives in Teaneck, New Jersey . http://www.nj.com/greatday/stories/more.html The State of Jazz: Meet 40 MoreJersey Greats, The Star-Ledger , September 28, 2004
Discography
As leader
Off to the Races (1958), Blue Note Records|Blue Note
1995 Guru (rapper)|Guru - '' Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality
References
Reflist
External links
Allmusic|class=artist|id=p60833
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Donald+Byrd Donald Byrd Discogs entry
http://www.jazzdisco.org/donald-byrd/discography/ Donald Byrd discography at jazzdisco.org
Persondata | NAME =Byrd, Donald | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =December 9, 1932 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Byrd, Donald Category:1932 births Category:African American musicians Category:American funk musicians Category:American jazz trumpeters Category:Bessie Award winners Category:Blue Note Records artists Category:Cass Technical High School alumni Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Crossover jazz trumpeters Category:Elektra Records artists Category:Hard bop trumpeters Category:Jazz-funk trumpeters Category:Jazz fusion trumpeters Category:Living people Category:Manhattan School of Music alumni Category:Musicians from Detroit, Michigan Category:People from Teaneck, New Jersey Category:Post-bop trumpeters Category:Prestige Records artists Category:Savoy Records artists Category:Verve Records artists Category:Wayne State University alumni
