Donald Byrd

Donaldson Toussaint L’Ouverture Byrd II was born in Detroit, Michigan on December 9, 1932. His father Elijah Thomas Byrd was a Methodist minister who valued education. His mother Cornelia Taylor introduced Byrd to jazz music and her brother gave him his first trumpet. Byrd attended Cass Technical High School and performed with Lionel Hampton before graduation. His first professional recording came in 1949 with the Robert Barnes Sextette at Fortune Records in Detroit. The U.S. Air Force drafted him in 1951 and he played in military bands until 1952. Byrd graduated from Wayne State University in 1954 with a bachelor’s degree in music. He earned a master’s degree in music education from Manhattan School of Music and moved to New York in 1955. Art Blakey hired Byrd for the Jazz Messengers in late 1955 as Clifford Brown’s replacement. He appeared on “The Jazz Messengers” (1956) for Columbia Records. Byrd became a prolific sideman from 1956 to 1958, recording for Prestige, Savoy, and Riverside with John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Red Garland, Horace Silver, and Thelonious Monk. His lyrical trumpet style and flawless technique made him a favorite studio musician. Savoy released his early leader dates including “Byrd’s Word” and “Byrd’s Eye View” (both 1956). Byrd co-led a quintet with baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams from 1958 to 1961, documented on “At the Half Note Cafe.” Blue Note signed him in 1958 and released “Off to the Races” (1959) with Pepper Adams, followed by “Byrd in Hand” (1959) and “Fuego” (1960) with Jackie McLean. “Royal Flush” (1961) featured Herbie Hancock’s Blue Note debut. Byrd mentored the young pianist, letting him sleep on a hide-a-bed in his Bronx apartment and advising him never to give away publishing rights. Hancock credited Byrd with launching his career and connecting him with Mongo Santamaria, who turned “Watermelon Man” into a hit. Blue Note documented Byrd’s evolution through the 1960s. “A New Perspective” (1964) incorporated a gospel choir and R&B elements on “Cristo Redentor,” speaking to black culture and the church. Byrd studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris in 1963 and earned a J.D. from Howard University in 1976. His move toward fusion began with “Fancy Free” (1969) and “Electric Byrd” (1970), experimenting with electric keyboards and wah-wah trumpet. Byrd collaborated with producers Larry and Fonce Mizell for “Black Byrd” (1973), which became Blue Note’s best-selling album at the time. The title track reached number 19 on Billboard’s R&B chart and number 88 on the pop chart. “Street Lady” (1973), “Places and Spaces” (1975), and “Stepping into Tomorrow” (1975) continued the commercial jazz-funk formula. Byrd formed the Blackbyrds in 1973 with Howard University students, producing their recordings. His teaching career included positions at Rutgers, Howard, North Carolina Central, Cornell, and Delaware State universities. He earned a Ph.D. in music education from Columbia’s Teachers College in 1982. The National Endowment for the Arts named Byrd a Jazz Master in 2000. He died in Dover, Delaware on February 4, 2013 at age 80. His 1970s recordings influenced hip-hop, with artists sampling his work more than 200 times.