JSngry Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 Byrd is also the guy who encouraged Herbie (and others) to demand control of their publishing. Not an insignificant move, that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romualdo Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 OMG - how did I miss this? RIP Donald have quite a bit of your recorded output & will give it a memorial replay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stryker Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 (edited) Herbie has also said (to me and many others) that it was Donald who told him at a certain point: "It's time for you make a record." Byrd arranged a private audition/meeting with Alfred Lion for Herbie and helped him prepare by telling him to bring in three compositions for the company and three for himself, meaning three tunes that that Lion could relate to (one was "Watermelon Man") and then the others could be more personal, esoteric, etc. I seem to recall Herbie saying that he played the three tunes for the company and then told Lion he could do three standards, but then Alfred insisted he play more originals. All the songs on "Takin' Off" are originals -- highly unusual for a debut in those days. Edited February 11, 2013 by Mark Stryker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noj Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 (edited) Sad news. I wished a rumor like this would turn out to be untrue but when David Weiss is reporting it, I was pretty sure his info was right. I did lose interest in Byrd - actually at the point that so captivated Noj - but he recorded so many strong records over so many years before that. RIP. At the very beginning I bought jazz albums if they featured an electric piano, haha. Electric Byrd I bought for that reason, and because I had heard Donald's version of "Cantaloupe Island" on a Verve compilation (I still love that version). So I had an inkling that Donald Byrd might be a jazz artist I'd like. I noticed that album was from the Blue Note Rare Groove series, and then I snapped up as many of that series as I could afford. That led me to simply buy Blue Note CDs in general, which led me to the Blue Note Bulletin Board, and all you crazy music knowledge-havin' cats. Since that time I've added Motor City Scene with Pepper Adams (Avenue Jazz), Off To The Races, Byrd In Hand, Fuego, Byrd In Flight, Royal Flush, The Cat Walk, Free Form, A New Perspective, Blackjack, Kofi, Ethiopian Knights, Black Byrd, Street Lady, and Places & Spaces. And, I dig Byrd in every context. I wish there were more extended jam type albums like Ethiopian Knights, I have a particular taste for those. The Mizell stuff is great from a Roy Ayers funk jazz perspective. If I were to bring the same expectations I have for a hard bop record to it, it's not good at all. To me that stuff was cool: ace studio musicians making quirky, playful, funky music. There's the same striation here as is being discussed in the George Benson thread, and incidentally I like Benson in all his various environments too. Edited February 11, 2013 by Noj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffcrom Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 I avoided posting in this thread for a long time, but I guess the news is as "official" as it's going to get. The first Blue Note album I bought was Fuego. I liked Byrd's compact sound and lyrical approach right away, and my appreciation for him has grown over the years. To my ears, his absolute peak was reached with the two 1961 albums The Cat Walk and Royal Flush, with Mustang, Blackjack and Slow Drag from 1966-67 representing another high point. And I'm grateful to Rooster Ties' thread on Byrd's Ethiopian Knights album - after hearing (and disliking) some of the Mizell-produced funk albums, I wouldn't have checked out Knights, but it's now one of my favorite Byrd albums, in spite of its obvious difference from Royal Flush, my absolute favorite. Donald Byrd was not an innovator, but not everyone can or should be. RIP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 Wonder what's the real reason behind the withholding of an official announcement of the death of Donald Byrd! So far the only word of the sad news comes from Donald's nephew Alex Bugnon via the Amoeba.music.com website. A week later, none of the regular channels (AP, Reuters, AFP, New York Times, Washington Post et al) have been able to report the news. They all need an official word to go ahead. What's going on with Byrd's family? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John L Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 I love the late 60s albums: Mustang Blackjack Slow Drag Fancy Free Kofi (though I believe that's 1970) :tup So do I. My first exposure to Donald Byrd was actually a live Blackbyrds concert (Walking in Rhythm). I was just getting real interested in jazz back then, coming from R&B, and that was a nice bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 Wonder what's the real reason behind the withholding of an official announcement of the death of Donald Byrd! Something really weird is going on. Not even an acknowledgement from the BBC. The Guardian is also usually quick off the block with obiuaries but other than a very brief mention, nothing from them either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 Wonder what's the real reason behind the withholding of an official announcement of the death of Donald Byrd! So far the only word of the sad news comes from Donald's nephew Alex Bugnon via the Amoeba.music.com website. A week later, none of the regular channels (AP, Reuters, AFP, New York Times, Washington Post et al) have been able to report the news. They all need an official word to go ahead. What's going on with Byrd's family? Could it really be that over here the press and newspeople are faster? We've had obits both online as well as in today's local daily newspaper (and IIRC even yesterday's special Sunday edition ran a brief obit). So ...?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 Could it really be that over here the press and newspeople are faster? They're not faster, they usually just do not stick to the same standards of news reporting. French newspapers and websites also have plenty of stories on Byrd passing. All quoting his nephew! The main news agencies need an official word (usually a press release or a direct witness) to go with the story. I understand that several have tried to call the family but could not get a confirmation So to repeat myself... what's going on with the Byrd family? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pim Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 RIP mister Byrd. Listening to Free Form again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 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: Thanks a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon8 Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 The Mizell stuff is great from a Roy Ayers funk jazz perspective. If I were to bring the same expectations I have for a hard bop record to it, it's not good at all. To me that stuff was cool: ace studio musicians making quirky, playful, funky music. There's the same striation here as is being discussed in the George Benson thread, and incidentally I like Benson in all his various environments too. There's a very interesting analysis of Byrd's collaboration with the Mizell's by Darcy James Argue right here: http://www.secretsocietymusic.org/darcy_james_argues_secret/2012/08/disco-inferno.html "[...] the playing, writing, arranging, production, and recorded sound on these records is just brilliant, particularly on Stepping Into Tomorrow and Places and Spaces. The music is concise, soulful, and unpretentious, qualities a lot of other 1970's recordings by jazz artists could maybe have used a little more of." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alankin Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 I especially like his records with Pepper Adams. Not commenting on his work with the Mizell Brothers but I ran across this off topic item: "As an electrical engineer, Larry Mizell performed testing and reliability work on the Lunar Module for the NASA Apollo program. He was one of the first to do research on liquid crystals, which today are used for example in LCD displays." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 I guess I'm gonna have to try harder on the Mizell stuff. I just can't feel it hitting the deep groove that so many others do. And believe me, I have no problems whatsoever with the notion. I just don't feel that the notion and the outcome end up being the same thing. Oh well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stryker Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 The funeral home in metro Detroit that's handling service posted an obituary today. Services private. Still no word from family. Short story here: http://tinyurl.com/clwzlro (includes a link back to our obituary from last last week.) The NYT has also posted an obit this afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bichos Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 may his death confirmed or not: here is donald byrd´s first recording with robert barnes from 1949: http://crownpropeller.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/earliest-donald-byrd/ keep boppin´ marcel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stryker Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 (edited) may his death confirmed or not: here is donald byrd´s first recording with robert barnes from 1949: http://crownpropeller.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/earliest-donald-byrd/ keep boppin´ marcel Some interesting background: Robert (Bobby) Barnes is the uncle of saxophonist Allan Barnes (b. 1949) who was a student of Byrd's at Howard and a member of the Blackbyrds. I believe Bobby is still alive living in Las Vegas but I'm not positive. Allan lives here in Detroit. Assuming Byrd was 17 here, perhaps just 16, he sounds great -- he's got the vocabulary. Fats and Dizzy. Edited February 11, 2013 by Mark Stryker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trumpet Guy Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 may his death confirmed or not: here is donald byrd´s first recording with robert barnes from 1949: http://crownpropelle...st-donald-byrd/ keep boppin´ marcel Thanks for this! Pre-Clifford Brown, Donald shows Fats Navarro in his playing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin V Posted February 12, 2013 Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 may his death confirmed or not: here is donald byrd´s first recording with robert barnes from 1949: http://crownpropelle...st-donald-byrd/ keep boppin´ marcel With Claude Black on piano! I used to drive to Toledo to catch Claude Black with bassist Clifford Murphy at Murphy's Place, which closed after Murphy's life/business partner passed away. Claude Black mentioned growing up and being friends with Donald Byrd, but I didn't know about this record. Black is a fine pianist, and has been fighting some health problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted February 12, 2013 Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 If those cuts are any indication, they recorded drums really well in Detroit back then, for real. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stryker Posted February 12, 2013 Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 may his death confirmed or not: here is donald byrd´s first recording with robert barnes from 1949: http://crownpropelle...st-donald-byrd/ keep boppin´ marcel With Claude Black on piano! I used to drive to Toledo to catch Claude Black with bassist Clifford Murphy at Murphy's Place, which closed after Murphy's life/business partner passed away. Claude Black mentioned growing up and being friends with Donald Byrd, but I didn't know about this record. Black is a fine pianist, and has been fighting some health problems. You may not be aware but Black died last month in Toledo. Like Byrd, he was 80. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin V Posted February 12, 2013 Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 may his death confirmed or not: here is donald byrd´s first recording with robert barnes from 1949: http://crownpropelle...st-donald-byrd/ keep boppin´ marcel With Claude Black on piano! I used to drive to Toledo to catch Claude Black with bassist Clifford Murphy at Murphy's Place, which closed after Murphy's life/business partner passed away. Claude Black mentioned growing up and being friends with Donald Byrd, but I didn't know about this record. Black is a fine pianist, and has been fighting some health problems. You may not be aware but Black died last month in Toledo. Like Byrd, he was 80. I'm very sorry to hear that. He was originally supposed to play a gig in Cleveland with Ernie Krivda a few months ago, but another pianist ended up playing instead. I quite enjoy the three CDs of his that I have, particularly the one with David 'Fathead' Newman, Cookin' at Murphy's. He also seemed like a nice guy. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at Cass Tech in the '40s and '50s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted February 12, 2013 Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 After the Michigan funeral home confirmed his death, the main news organizations finally announced Donald Byrd's death. Some of the obituaries today: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/arts/music/donald-byrd-renegade-jazz-trumpeter-dies-at-80.html?_r=0 http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/donald-byrd-jazz-trumpeter-dies-at-80/2013/02/11/add73d4a-721a-11e2-8b8d-e0b59a1b8e2a_story.html http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-donald-byrd-20130212,0,1752286.story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flat5 Posted February 12, 2013 Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 and NPR: http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2013/02/11/171529832/remembering-donald-byrd-jazz-trumpeter-who-spanned-generations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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