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Thursday, July 2, 2009

Legend: Donald Byrd


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This was not an easy discography to compile. We got some work to do people.
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b. 9th December 1932, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.

Donald Byrd captured the tenor of his times as did like Clifford Brown and Freddie Hubbard. He studied music at Wayne State University, from which he received his bachelor's degree in 1954. He went on to receive a master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music in the mid-'50's. At the same time, he recorded for the Prestige, Riverside, and Blue Note, and Savoy labels (among others), both as a leader and as a sideman.

Following stints with the likes of Max Roach, Art Blakey, and Sonny Rollins, Byrd co-led a band with the baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams from 1958-61. Byrd studied composition in Europe from 1962-63, then returned to the U.S., where he established himself as an academician, teaching at Rutgers, Howard University, and the Hampton Institute. Byrd received his law degree in 1976; he subsequently taught at North Carolina Central University. In 1982, he received his doctorate from Columbia Teachers College. Byrd continued to perform and record, releasing a number of fine straight-ahead Blue Note albums throughout the '60's.

In the '70's, his music took a decidedly commercial turn. During the early Seventies, Byrd put together a group of his students, forming a band whose title became based around his surname. The Blackbyrds. They recorded a string of successful chart singles which included the song 'Walking In Rhythm', an enormous pop hit both sides of the Atlantic. Byrd recorded a number of heavily produced, pop-oriented albums on which his horn was subjugated by disco-fied vocals and string sections.

Byrd worked alongside producers 'The Mizell Brothers' throughout this period with 'Places & Spaces' being considered his finest work at this time. In the '80's and '90's Byrd returned to his jazz roots, recording with peers such as Joe Henderson and Bobby Hutcherson, and with younger musicians like Kenny Garrett and Mulgrew Miller.

In 2001, Donald Byrd had become unwell.

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Discography
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Leader
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1955

1956

1957
  • Donald Byrd/Clare Fischer - September Afternoon (Discovery DS 869)

1958

1959

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1966

1967

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1978

1979

1981

1982

1987
  • Donald Byrd - Harlem Blues (Landmark LLP 1516)
  • Donald Byrd - Harlem Blues (Landmark LCD 1516-2)

1989
  • Donald Byrd - Getting Down To Business (Landmark LLP 1523)
  • Donald Byrd - Getting Down To Business (Landmark LCD 1523-2)

1991



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Sideman
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1947
  • Robert Barnes Sextet (Fortune 113)

1955

1956

1957

1958

1959

1960
  • Earl Zindars/Armando Peraza - The Soul Of Jazz Percussion (Warwick W 5003ST) [also released as Donald Byrd\Booker Little - The Third World]
  • Bunky Green - My Babe (Exodus EXS 6001)

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1967

1977
  • Gene Harris - Tone Tantrums (Blue Note BN-LA 760-H)

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Resources


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Posted by SelfScience at 8:11 PM 37 comments

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