Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (born December 9, 1932) is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter.

Biography

Early life and education

Born in Detroit, Michigan, 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.

Playing career

While still at the Manhattan School he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, replacing Clifford Brown. In 1955, he recorded with Jackie McLean and Mal Waldron. After leaving the Jazz Messengers in 1956 he performed with a wide variety of highly regarded jazz musicians, including John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, and Thelonious Monk. In June 1964, Byrd jammed with jazz legend Eric Dolphy in Paris just two weeks before Dolphy's tragic death from insulin shock.

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

In 1993, Byrd teamed up with Gang Starr MC Guru for the track "Loungin'" on the Jazzmatazz project.

As a music educator

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 "Rock Creek Park", "Walking In Rhythm" and "Blackbyrds Theme".

Byrd lives in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Discography

Leader

• Off to the Races (1958), Blue Note
• Byrd in Hand (1959)
• Byrd in Flight (1960)
• Royal Flush (1961)
• Free Form (1961)
• The Cat Walk (1962)
• Groovin' for Nat (1962)
• A New Perspective (1963)
• I'm Tryin' To Get Home (1964)
• Up With Donald Byrd (1965)
• Mustang! (1966)
• Slow Drag (1967)
• Blackjack (1967)
• Fancy Free (1969)
• Electric Byrd (1970)
• Ethiopian Knights (1971)
• Black Byrd (1972)
• Street Lady (1973)
• Stepping into Tomorrow (1974)
• Places and Spaces (1975)
• Caricatures (1976)
• Thank You...For F.U.M.L. (Funking Up My Life) (1978)
• Donald Byrd And 125th Street, N.Y.C. (1979)
• Love Byrd: Donald Byrd and 125th St, N.Y.C. (1981)
• Words, Sounds, Colors and Shapes (1983)
• Harlem Blues (1987)
• Getting Down to Business (1989)
• A City Called Heaven (1991)
• Touchstone (2000)
• The Transition Sessions (2002)
• Out of This World (2003)
• At the Half Note Cafe, Vol. 1 (2003)
• At the Half Note Cafe, Vol. 2 (2003)
• Free Form (Bonus Track) (2004)
• Free Form (Japan Bonus Track) (2004)
• Blackjack (Bonus Tracks) (2004)
• At the Half Note Cafe, Vol. 1-2 (Bonus Tracks) (2004)
• Mustang! (Japan Bonus Tracks) (2004)
• In a Soulful Mood (2005)
• Pop-Jazz Volume 1 (2006)

Sideman

• 1956 Hank Mobley - Messages
• 1956 Horace Silver - Silver's Blue
• 1956 Paul Chambers - Whims of Chambers
• 1956 Jackie McLean - Lights Out!
• 1956 Jackie McLean - 4,5, and 6
• 1956 Phil Woods - The Young Bloods
• 1957 Kenny Drew - This is New
• 1957 Kenny Drew - Trio/Quartet/Quintet
• 1957 Gigi Gryce - Gigi Gryce and The Jazz Lab Quintet
• 1957 Art Taylor - Taylor Wailer's
• 1957 George Wallington - The New York Scene
• 1957 Sonny Clark - Sonny's Crib
• 1957 Red Garland - All Morning Long
• 1957 Red Garland - Soul Junction
• 1957 Red Garland Quintet with John Coltrane - High Pressure
• 1957 Lou Donaldson - Walking with Lou
• 1958 Johnny Griffin - Johnny Griffin Sextet
• 1958 Pepper Adams - 10 to 4 at the 5 Spot
• 1959 Sonny Clark - My Conception
• 1959 Jackie McLean - New Soil
• 1963 Jackie McLean - Vertigo
• 1963 Hank Mobley - No Room For Squares
• 1963 Herbie Hancock - My Point of View
• 1964 Dexter Gordon - One Flight Up
• 1986 Hank Mobley - Straight No Filter
• 1990 Kenny Burrell - All Day Long
• 1992 Kenny Burrell - 2 Guitars

References

External links

• at Discogs