Donald Byrd, Legendary Detroit Jazz Man, Dies at 80
Trumpeter, composer and educator Donald Byrd, one of the most important, widely recorded and versatile jazz musicians to come roaring out of Detroit during the city's golden age of bebop in the 1950s, has died at age 80.
Born Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, on Dec. 9, 1932, he attended Cass Tech, where he studied classical music and was mentored by the legendary band director Dr. Harry Begian, a famous disciplinarian.
Byrd played trumpet in military bands during a stint in the Air Force from 1951-53, before graduating from Wayne State University in 1954 with a music degree. Like many of the best young Detroit jazz musicians, he also studied with Detroit's reigning bebop guru, pianist Barry Harris.
Byrd's warmly burnished sound, fluent technique and aggressive-yet-graceful swing was rooted in the style of Clifford Brown, but his gangly, rhythmically loose phrasing was a unique calling card right from the get-go. As Byrd matured in the late '50s and early '60s, he tempered his hummingbird flourishes with a cooler sensibility and phrasing.
Byrd recorded prolifically both as a sideman and a leader, appearing on scores of recordings on the Savoy Records, Prestige, Riverside and Blue Note Records labels. He led a feisty quintet with his old pal from Detroit, baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams], from 1958-61. Byrd also gave a young pianist from Chicago named Herbie Hancock] his first major exposure by hiring him in 1961.
As a composer, Byrd was proficient in church-inspired shouts, funky and sophisticated blues forms and structurally interesting originals. He had a wider field of vision than many of his peers, exemplified by his influential 1963 LP, "A New Perspective" (Blue Note), which married his small group with a gospel choir.
Byrd never stopped going to school. He earned a master's degree in music education from the Manhattan School of Music in the late '50s, studied composition with the famous classical pedagogue Nadia Boulanger in France in the early '60s, earned a law degree from Howard University in 1976 and a doctorate from Columbia Teachers College in New York in the early '80s.
Beginning in the '60s, Byrd taught at many universities, most notably Rutgers, Howard and North Carolina Central.
By the early 1970s, Byrd had begun exploring a danceable fusion of jazz, R&B and soul. In 1973, he teamed with current and former students at Howard, where he was chairman of the black music department, to make the best-selling LP "Black Byrd." Produced by brothers Larry Mizell and Fonce Mizell, the record and its sequels elevated Byrd into a crossover star.
Source: Hispanic Business web-site - © 2013 the Detroit Free Press. Distributed by MCT Information Services.
Born Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, on Dec. 9, 1932, he attended Cass Tech, where he studied classical music and was mentored by the legendary band director Dr. Harry Begian, a famous disciplinarian.
Byrd's warmly burnished sound, fluent technique and aggressive-yet-graceful swing was rooted in the style of Clifford Brown, but his gangly, rhythmically loose phrasing was a unique calling card right from the get-go. As Byrd matured in the late '50s and early '60s, he tempered his hummingbird flourishes with a cooler sensibility and phrasing.
Byrd recorded prolifically both as a sideman and a leader, appearing on scores of recordings on the Savoy Records, Prestige, Riverside and Blue Note Records labels. He led a feisty quintet with his old pal from Detroit, baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams], from 1958-61. Byrd also gave a young pianist from Chicago named Herbie Hancock] his first major exposure by hiring him in 1961.
As a composer, Byrd was proficient in church-inspired shouts, funky and sophisticated blues forms and structurally interesting originals. He had a wider field of vision than many of his peers, exemplified by his influential 1963 LP, "A New Perspective" (Blue Note), which married his small group with a gospel choir.
Byrd never stopped going to school. He earned a master's degree in music education from the Manhattan School of Music in the late '50s, studied composition with the famous classical pedagogue Nadia Boulanger in France in the early '60s, earned a law degree from Howard University in 1976 and a doctorate from Columbia Teachers College in New York in the early '80s.
Beginning in the '60s, Byrd taught at many universities, most notably Rutgers, Howard and North Carolina Central.
By the early 1970s, Byrd had begun exploring a danceable fusion of jazz, R&B and soul. In 1973, he teamed with current and former students at Howard, where he was chairman of the black music department, to make the best-selling LP "Black Byrd." Produced by brothers Larry Mizell and Fonce Mizell, the record and its sequels elevated Byrd into a crossover star.
Source: Hispanic Business web-site - © 2013 the Detroit Free Press. Distributed by MCT Information Services.