Charlie Byrd

[Milestones]

Calling on Charlie Byrd fans.

This was a guy that I seriously under-valued.  I mainly knew him for bossa nova and the Stan Getz connection.  I think I actually took more notice of his fine contributions to Ken Peplowski's It's a Lonesome Old Town.  And now I have done a little more investigation, and overall I really like what I hear.  True, he did have an attraction to pop material, but his huge discography shows what range he had.  He was not so soft as I had presumed, and indeed there's plenty of blues quality in his work.   He was a well-trained musician and excelled in all kinds of settings.  I do wish, however, he'd recorded more often with jazz heavyweights--as he did with Clark Terry on a live record.

While not a player who really produced masterpieces, Charlie Byrd offers much that can be thoroughly enjoyed.

   

[mjzee]

Again I agree with you, Milestones.  Byrd has such a huge discography that it's hard to know where to dig in (12 or so albums for Riverside alone - see discography).  A friend turned me on to Blues For Night People (from Byrd At The Gate).  One I found on my own was "At The Village Vanguard," where he really stretches out.  He was the first to discover and popularize bossa nova, bringing it to Getz's attention.  Looking forward to more Charlie Byrd recommendations.

I got to see him once, in a version of The Great Guitars.  It was at a concert honoring Barney Kessel, who was in the audience (post-stroke, unfortunately).  The Great Guitars on that day consisted of Byrd, Tal Farlow, and Herb Ellis.  Wonderful stuff.  It was neat seeing Byrd play his classical guitar with proper form, footstool and all.

[duaneiac]

A couple of discs I really enjoyed from his Concord years:

 

[Milestones]

There's also an early record named Blues for Night People, which is rather good.  But I agree that the track of the same name (on the Village Gate record, yet not on the earlier studio LP) is really superb.

[mr jazz]

He was a local so I was able to see him a couple of times and enjoyed the shows. His brother and accompanist Joe was an underrated player, IMO. The Bossa Nova Years was a later release (1991) that I enjoy. If you have surround sound capability the DSD multi channel issue is well worth seeking out. 

[Milestones]

Here's a good one from later career--Moments like This, the ultimate meeting with Peplowski.

 

[kh1958]

His Columbia album with Herb Ellis, Guitar/Guitar, is a really good one.

[Milestones]

Yeah, I remember seeing that one with Ellis on Spotify.

 

[Teasing the Korean]

On October 7, 2016 at 7:45 PM, Milestones said:

...True, he did have an attraction to pop material, but his huge discography shows what range he had.  He was not so soft as I had presumed, and indeed there's plenty of blues quality in his work.      

I have most or all of his bossa records, including the ones on Riverside and Columbia, but not too much beyond that, maybe an early session or two leaning more toward the jazz side of the spectrum. 

I'm not sure I understand the "pop" reference in your initial post.  Haven't many jazz musicians who lean toward the more melodic/song structure side of the spectrum included "pop" music of one form or other in their repertoires?   Also - and I am just curious - is having a "blues quality" to one's playing an important criterion in assessing non-blues music?  Again, I am just curious to learn what sorts of qualities draw certain listeners. 

[Milestones]

Byrd, along with Wes Montgomery and many others, often selected pop material such as songs by the Beatles (the gentler ones) and big pop hits of the day.  For that matter, isn't bossa nova basically popular (pop) music of Brazil?  This is different from someone like Pat Metheny, who features a strong melodic element in much of his work--but nearly always writes his own stuff.  

I've always understood "blues" to the a key element to the work of nearly all major jazz players.

 

  

Edited October 10, 2016 by Milestones

[Teasing the Korean]

5 hours ago, Milestones said:

Byrd, along with Wes Montgomery and many others, often selected pop material such as songs by the Beatles (the gentler ones) and big pop hits of the day.  

Gotcha.  I was interpreting "pop" more broadly, to also encompass the Great American Songbook, etc.  This speaks to the very long and complex relationship between jazz and pop music. 

5 hours ago, Milestones said:

For that matter, isn't bossa nova basically popular (pop) music of Brazil?  

Yes, but bossa was also an attempt combine American jazz with a Brazilian sensibility, so again, we get into the very long and complex relationship between jazz and pop music.  The scene that gave birth to bossa consisted of primarily wealthy Brazilian kids who were obsessed with Sinatra and Stan Kenton.

5 hours ago, Milestones said:

I've always understood "blues" to the a key element to the work of nearly all major jazz players.

I am sure that is true, to the point that the blues influence is there whether anyone is consciously listening for it or not.  I suppose I expect to hear a "blues" feel in certain sub-genres of jazz more than others.  That said, lots of bossa tunes have a heavy blues element, for example, some of Jobim's more groove-oriented tunes like "Captain Bacardi." 

 

Edited October 10, 2016 by Teasing the Korean

[six string]

My knowledge of his music is lacking, but I have Latin Impressions, More Brazilian Byrd and At The Village Vanguard.  I like his playing but for some reason I have not put as much effort into listening to his musoc as other artists.  I always enjoy the music when I play it, I just don't play it as much.    I've heard good things about that Village Gate album over the years but I haven't found a copy worth bringing home.  The Village Vanguard album, which is NP is a solid effort in a trio format with Keter Betts and Buddy Deppenschmidt.  I'll be following this thread for recommendations and maybe one of those Village Gate lps will show up in decent shape in the near future.