Albums by Donald Byrd
ALBUMLive: Cookin' with Blue Note at MontreuxDonald Byrd
ALBUMThe SessionsDonald Byrd & Gigi Gryce
ALBUMThe Ultimate Jazz Archive 32 (3 of 4)Donald Byrd & Jackie McLean
ALBUMThe Third WorldBooker Little & Donald Byrd
ALBUMLandmarksDonald Byrd
ALBUMBlackjack (Remastered)Donald Byrd
ALBUMBlue BreakbeatsDonald Byrd
ALBUMByrd In Flight (Remastered)Donald Byrd
ALBUMThe Essential: Donald ByrdDonald Byrd
ALBUMFirst FlightDonald Byrd
Donald Byrd's Popular Music Videos
Loungin'
Guru & Donald Byrd
Black Byrd (Live at Montreux July 5, 1973)
Donald Byrd
You've Got It Bad Girl (Live at Montreux July 5, 1973)
Donald Byrd
Artist Playlists
Donald Byrd Essentials
The trumpeter went from bop to funk and back.
Donald Byrd: Flipped
Explore the influence of this iconic artist.
Donald Byrd: Sampled
Their original tunes have been the source material for some of modern music’s biggest hits.
Donald Byrd: Deep Cuts
The trumpet master could hang in nearly any style.
Donald Byrd: The Session Musicians
An agile sideman, he nailed every recording gig.
Artist Biography
A jazz trumpeter known for his impeccable technique, suave phrasing, and luminous tone, Donald Byrd began and ended his career in the field of hard bop. In between, this highly respected jazz educator at Howard University achieved jazz-pop crossover stardom. Born Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II in 1932, he arrived in New York at age 22 and succeeded Clifford Brown in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He went on to perform with John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, and Herbie Hancock—whose appearance on Byrd's 1961 Blue Note release, Royal Flush, marked the pianist's debut. In 1973, Byrd hit the pop charts with Black Byrd: A jazz/funk/R&B blend produced by two of his former students, the album launched the hit single "Walking in Rhythm" and became Blue Note's best-selling release to date. Byrd continued to explore fusion until 1987, when he released Harlem Blues, the first of three mostly hard-bop albums that provided a fitting bookend to a remarkable career.
Hometown
Detroit, MI, United States
Genre
Jazz