MP3 Exclusives New Arrivals   Alt-Country Alternative Blues Electronic Jambands Jazz Metal Pop Punk R&B Rap/Hip Hop Reggae Rock   Top Downloads Features Archive Contests Control Panel MUSICBLITZ Alert!   METALBLITZ REGGAEBLITZ BLUESBLITZ Musician's Friend   Alt-Country Alternative Blues Electronic Jambands Jazz Hip Hop Metal Pop Punk R&B Reggae Rock   Getting Started Free Players	Welcome !      Donald Byrd Starting his career as one of the tough young players who shouldered bebop’s legacy in the ‘50s, trumpeter Donald Byrd is still a well-known figure today. Ironically, it’s his funk experiments -- which provided a motherlode of material for acid jazz DJs and producers in the ‘90s -- that are responsible for his higher public profile. Byrd has also been involved with more than just music throughout the years -- he’s become a lawyer, professor and (non-medical) doctor while laying down the groove. A Detroit native who studied music at Wayne State University, Byrd began playing sessions as a bandleader and sideman while earning his master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music. After backing hard-bopping stars like Art Blakey and Max Roach, Byrd tried directing his own working band, co-leading a group with saxman Pepper Adams from 1958 to 1961. When that outfit dissolved, Byrd headed for Europe, becoming one of the many American jazz expatriates. He studied composition for a couple of years, then returned home, where he put his new skills to use. Byrd had been recording dates for the famed Blue Note label since the late ‘50s, and he continued that string, waxing an occasional set for labels like Verve and Black Lion too. By 1967, Byrd’s music had shifted from theory-heavy bop to a more funky, R&B-oriented style on albums like The Creeper, and when jazz went electric and moved toward fusion, Byrd was riding the wave. His ‘70s output aimed straight at the charts -- a la Herbie Hancock’s hit “Chameleon” -- and was fairly successful in that respect. Efforts like 1975’s Places and Spaces and the following year’s Caricatures embraced the steamrolling disco beat coming into fashion, and featured vocals on some tracks -- which led to criticism from jazz purists. After recording a disappointing couple of discs for Elektra in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Byrd took a powder from music for a while. He’d been teaching at schools like Rutgers and Howard University, and had scored his law degree in 1976. In 1982, he got his doctorate from Columbia Teachers College. But by the end of the decade he was back, recording a trio of discs for the Landmark label that went back to his bop roots and featured young, like-minded sidemen such as Miles Davis’ saxophonist Kenny Garrett, as well as ‘60s contemporaries like Joe Henderson. Byrd did little recording in the ‘90s, but his influence continued to be felt, as producers plundered his funk records for breakbeats that they turned into new tunes. And in 2000 he entered the musical arena yet again, with a new album, Touchstone, on the Starburst label.     Donald Byrd That's All There Is To Love PlayJ Jazz Forget da funk! This Byrd flight heads straight for the heart, as the famed trumpeter soars above the sounds of an old-fashioned jazz standard.
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