Donald Byrd

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Donaldson Toussaint L’Ouverture Byrd II (born December 9, 1932) is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter, born in Detroit, Michigan. 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, replacing Clifford Brown. After leaving the Jazz Messengers in 1956 he performed with a wide variety of highly regarded jazz musicians.

In the 1970s, he moved away from his previous hard-bop jazz base and began to record jazz fusion and rhythm and blues. Teaming up with the Mizell Brothers, he produced Black Byrd, which was enormously successful and became Blue Note Records’ highest-ever selling album. The follow-up albums, Places and Spaces, Steppin’ Into Tomorrow and Street Lady were also big sellers, and have subsequently provided a rich source of samples for hip-hop artists such as Us3.

He has taught music at Rutgers University, the Hampton Institute, New York University, Howard University, and Oberlin College. In 1974 he created the Blackbyrds, a fusion group consisting of his best students. They scored several major hits, including “Walking In Rhythm” and “Blackbyrds Theme”.
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  • The Best Of Donald Byrd
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  • Places and Spaces
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  • Stepping Into Tomorrow
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  • A New Perspective
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  • luke1619

    Love has come around

    February 2012
  • IllumoHorizon

    that rhythm, 'at a loss for words....' [2]

    January 2012
  • HipHop1984

    at a loss for words....

    December 2011
  • Androstanolone

    Too high for the familiarity of the denominations.

    December 2011
  • kaly_

    Happy Birthday !!!

    December 2011
  • Chayilwoman

    This is what I cut my 'jazz-teeth' on! Classic!!!!! (:

    October 2011
  • rm508

    Product placement from two angles.

    October 2011
  • otsukaretimu

    Check out the cover of Off To The Races then look at A New Perspective. Pretty clevaaaarr!

    August 2011
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Thanks for your support

21 May 2007 | from blog.myspace.com/donaldbyrdjazzfunk

Thank you for everyone's support on this fan site. This site is not affiliated with Dr Byrd, but instead is here to share the love of his musicPeace

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