Donald Byrd

[JSngry]

He did make those later sides on Landmark...w/Joe Henderson, Kenny Garrett, Bobby Hutcherson...his chops were really down by then, but he could still present a good program of music.

[danasgoodstuff]

_{He and Pepper Addams certainly had a thing going on musically, an effective study in contrasts is just the beginning of it, and I always assumed they were close friends too.}

Edited February 8, 2013 by danasgoodstuff

[tranemonk]

Just listening right now to the "Transition Sessions!" RIP Mr. Byrd.

[mjzee]

Very sad news. His Byrd's Eye View is an all time favourite and very influential in my listening. I'm especially fond of his Savoy recordings too. Thanks for all the music Donald.

I'm not familiar with the Savoy material (I assume you mean as a leader). Any suggestions? And are they similar to his work on Prestige?

[Clunky]

Donald Byrd was one of the first jazz artists I started collecting as a kid. Electric Byrd was among the first five jazz albums I ever owned. The second Byrd album I bought was Kofi, and it was the beginning of the realization that the giant jazz section at the store was likely full of great music no one I knew could tell me about. I love so much of his music even more so that it played a role in opening my ears to jazz. RIP, and thank you Mr. Byrd.

I only got "Kofi" a year or two ago and was very impressed. He'd clearly been listening to Miles but it was promising something a little different.

[Indestructible!]

I... I... don't know what to say other than damn, this one hurts. Really hurts.

Donald Byrd was very important to me... he was an inspiration and a model... he was THE MAN, you know?

Rest in peace, Dr. Byrd. May your spirit continue to soar.

[ejp626]

RIP. Listening to Byrd in Flight right now (Byrd and Mobley and Pearson -- nice).

Will listen to a few other CDs tonight and over the weekend.

[ValerieB]

rest in peace, Dr. Byrd. so glad i was able to enjoy your music in person and get to know you a little decades ago. you were special and will remain so.

[mikeweil]

BTW - one of my favourite latter day sideman dates of Mr. Byrd is this David Torkanovsky record - his tone has grown a bit fragile, but has some elderly gentleman's charm that I really love.

[imeanyou]

Just heard the news. I've got a lot of Byrd's music and although I too lost interest during the Mizell period there's a lot of wonderful stuff from his Prestige and Blue Note years.. It's a testament to his artistry and dedication that he could fit in with a range of styles and was always looking to try something new in the music.

I'll be going back to Fuego, Byrd in Hand, Kofi and the incredibly funky Mustang in the next few days and his lovely version of Little Girl /(Boy) Blue from Byrd in Flight. Thanks for the music Mr. Byrd.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

An era is ending as great musicians like Donald Byrd pass. I am glad I caught the tail end of it. I never got the chance to see him on a stage but he lives on in my music collection. I play a lot of his Blue Note dates.

[ElginThompson]

RIP

[Kyo]

Sad to read about this. I have a lot of his albums and while I honestly couldn't name one that stands out in particular, I've always enjoyed his playing both on his own sessions and as a sideman quite a lot. I never cared to check out his more commercial funk stuff from the 70s, but I did like Kofi and Ethiopian Knights from 1970/71 a lot. And the last few albums he recorded for Landmark when he went back to playing acoustic jazz in the late 80s/early 90s were really enjoyable, too.

Edited February 9, 2013 by Kyo

[BruceH]

An era is ending as great musicians like Donald Byrd pass. I am glad I caught the tail end of it. I never got the chance to see him on a stage but he lives on in my music collection. I play a lot of his Blue Note dates.

I feel much the same. The greats from his generation are going one by one. Not surprising, perhaps. but sad and sobering. I have no doubt that I'll continue to play his Blue Notes.

[Teasing the Korean]

Will blast "Street Lady" in his honor.

Byrd Lives!

[Soulstation1]

RIP DB

Thank You ... For F.U.M.L....

[Brad]

RIP. Was just listening to him and Pepper.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

in '00 he was supposed to play in LA, i flew down, but the gig was cancelled. i -think- it was supposed to be donald byrd/curtis fuller band, IIRC

[Tom 1960]

Often overlooked in my collection even though I must own half a dozen of his Blue Note dates. When I think of the era when he recorded with Blue Note, I immediately think Freddie and Lee. Having been listening to his music the past few days has made me realise what an underated player he was. Thanks Donald for the great music!

[Shawn]

I love the late 60s albums:

Mustang

Blackjack

Slow Drag

Fancy Free

Kofi (though I believe that's 1970)

[hard bop head]

I heard about DB on NBC Nightly News on Friday. The overexposed Brian Williams reported. To be honest, I was a bit surprised that his death would be mentioned on the national news, but am glad in a way that it was.

I own two of his BN's, Fuego and Royal Flush. Classic BN hard bop, Royal Flush is one of my favorite BN's,period. His frontline teamwork w/ Pepper Adams was ahead of it's time when you consider all angles.

He taught at Howard Univ. in Washington,D.C., my hometown, for some years. There were always people in D.C. aware of his presence.

I am reminded of a rather poor book I read many years ago by the British critic Richard Cook, titled 'Blue Note Records'. I remember that he really cuts Byrd to pieces and more or less calls him a copycat.

Critics, another parasitic lifeform.

I will say that I never cared for 'A New Perspective' but most anything from '56-'62 is swingin' and classy.

RIP DB.

[Larry Kart]

I am reminded of a rather poor book I read many years ago by the British critic Richard Cook, titled 'Blue Note Records'. I remember that he really cuts Byrd to pieces and more or less calls him a copycat.

Byrd certainly had his influences -- who does not? -- but he was not a copycat. One recognized his voice as his from the first.

[JSngry]

He spoke a common language, but language is to voice as basic ingredients are to a finished recipe.

[clifford_thornton]

I am reminded of a rather poor book I read many years ago by the British critic Richard Cook, titled 'Blue Note Records'. I remember that he really cuts Byrd to pieces and more or less calls him a copycat.

Byrd certainly had his influences -- who does not? -- but he was not a copycat. One recognized his voice as his from the first.

That Blue Note book was a piece of trash in my opinion.

[mjzee]

RIP. The likes of Byrd, Lee Morgan, Mobley made some of the most enjoyable jazz. I only hope we can get back to that.

In Ben Sidran's Talking Jazz interview with Herbie Hancock, Herbie talked with great fondness and respect about Byrd. There was a great anecdote about Byrd, Herbie and Mongo discussing the roots of Watermelon Man.

I transcribed this section of the interview:

Sidran: There was something different about your little approach there, though...the rhythm in Watermelon Man was a little different.

Hancock: I had originally just conceived it as a kind of funky jazz tune. That’s all. But either just before the record was released or just after, I got a gig with Mongo Santamaria. I played with him one weekend.... Donald Byrd and I lived on the fifth floor (of a building in the Bronx), walk up, no elevator...it was in those days. Now, this incident happened in 1963...anyway, I played this gig with Mongo...one night, we played in the Bronx...Donald Byrd and I were roommates, and Donald came by to hear...Donald was like my older brother, and he used to laugh at me a lot, because I was kind of young and green to New York, but he kind of watched over me. So he came by the gig, and between shows, he and Mongo got into this very serious conversation about relationship between Afro-Cuban music and Afro-American music, you know, “slave ships went to both places, where’s that link between the two,” and Mongo had never found it. So I sort of half listened to the conversation, it was a little too heavy for me, and Donald says “Herbie, why don’t you play Watermelon Man for Mongo?” I said “Wha? Play Watermelon Man for Mongo? What’s that got to do with what you...” “Play it.” ‘Cause I conceived of it as a kind of funky jazz tune. So I went and started playing it, and Mongo gets up and says “Keep playin’ it,” and he walks over to his congas. As soon as he started playin’ the congas, it fit like a hand in a glove, just perfectly. And little by little, his band members joined in, the bass player starts watching the notes I was playing with my left hand, and checking out the form, so he picked up the bass line, and then the horn players picked up the melody line, and somebody starts soloing, and little by little, the people...it was a supper club, so little by little, people got up from the tables and started getting on the floor...pretty soon, everybody was dancing, and screaming and hollering, ‘cause they loved the tune. And then, after that, Mongo said “this is a wahira,” which is a type of country song they sing in the mountains. And I said “a wha-what?” I had no idea about any of this. He said “can I record it?” I said “sure.”