Donald Byrd

Donald Byrd on vinyl: from hard bop to jazz-funk

In short: Donald Byrd (1932–2013) from Detroit was one of the busiest hard bop trumpeters of the fifties and recorded with John Coltrane, Red Garland and Art Farmer. In the seventies, with producers Larry and Fonce Mizell, he took the step to jazz-funk – records that still get played in clubs and have often been sampled. The Vinyl Room currently has 9 Donald Byrd records.

What makes Donald Byrd special?

He was both musician and teacher. From the fifties come the session “All Mornin’ Long” with Red Garland and John Coltrane, “2 Trumpets” with Art Farmer and the live recording “Cannes ’58” with Bobby Jaspar. On Blue Note came “Royal Flush” and later “Blackjack”.

From the seventies it got funky: “Stepping Into Tomorrow” and “Caricatures” combine trumpet, vocals and groove. The collections “Donald Byrd’s Best” and “Early Byrd” offer further insights. He also founded the band The Blackbyrds with his students.

From our stock

First pressings

Records by Donald Byrd

→ Blue Note · Jazz-funk · Hard bop · Jazz on vinyl

FAQ

Which instrument did Donald Byrd play? Trumpet.

What does Donald Byrd have to do with jazz-funk? In the seventies he recorded albums such as “Black Byrd”, “Stepping Into Tomorrow” and “Caricatures” with the Mizell brothers.

Who were The Blackbyrds? A band Byrd founded with students while teaching at Howard University.

Which records do you have? Fifties hard bop and seventies jazz-funk in originals and reissues – 9 records in all.