CHARLIE BYRD

Charlie Lee Byrd (September 16, 1925 – November 30, 1999) was a famous American jazz and classical guitarist born in Suffolk, Virginia. Byrd collaborated on the famous 1962 album Jazz Samba with Stan Getz, a recording which pushed bossa nova into the mainstream of American music. 

During the late 1950s he toured Europe with Woody Herman as part of a United States State Department "goodwill tour". Byrd also led his own groups that at times featured his own brother Joe Byrd. His earliest and strongest musical influence was Django Reinhardt, the famous gypsy guitarist. 

Early life 

Charlie Byrd was born in Suffolk, Virginia in 1925 and grew up in the town of Chuckatuck, Virginia. His father—a mandolin and guitar player—taught him how to play the acoustic steel guitar at age 10. He had three brothers, Oscar, Jack and one fellow musician, Joe Byrd. In 1942 he entered the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and played in the school orchestra there. By 1943 he had been drafted into the United States Army for World War II and subsequently saw combat, then was stationed in Paris in 1945 and played in an Army Special Services band. He returned to the United States and went to New York, where he studied composition and jazz theory at the Harnett National Music School in Manhattan, New York. During this time he began using a classical guitar. After moving to Washington, D.C. in 1950, he studied classical guitar with Sophocles Papos for several years. In 1954 and became a pupil of the Spanish classical guitarist Andres Segovia and spent time studying in Italy with "the Maestro." . Byrd's earliest influence was the gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt, whom he saw perform in Paris.

Career 

1950s 

In 1957 Byrd met double bassist Keter Betts in a Washington, D.C. club called The Vineyard. The two began doing gigs together, and by October they were frequently performing at The Showboat. In 1959 the pair joined Woody Herman's band and toured Europe for 3 weeks as part of a United States State Department sponsored "goodwill" tour. The other members of the band were Vince Guaraldi, Bill Harris, Nat Adderley and drummer Jimmy Campbell.[4] During the late 1950s he also trained several guitar students at his home in D.C., each being required to 'audition' for him, before he decided they had potential enough to warrant his input. 

1960s 

Following a spring 1961 diplomatic tour of South America (i.e. Brazil) for the United States State Department, Charlie Byrd returned home and met with his friend Stan Getz at the Showboat Lounge. Byrd invited Getz back to his home to listen to some bossa nova recordings by João Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim he had brought back. Getz liked what he heard and the two decided they wanted to make an album of the songs. The task of creating an authentic sound, however, proved much more challenging than either man had anticipated.

Getz convinced Creed Taylor at Verve Records to produce the album, and Byrd and he assembled a group of musicians they both knew to create the recordings. These early sessions did not turn out to either man's liking, so Byrd gathered a group of musicians that had been to Brazil with him previously and practised with them in Washington, D.C. until he felt they were ready to record. The group included his brother Gene Byrd, as well as Keter Betts, Bill Reichenbach and Buddy Deppenschmidt. Bill and Buddy were both drummers, and the combination made it easier to achieve authentic samba rhythms. Finally the group was deemed ready and Getz and Taylor arrived in Washington D.C. on February 13, 1962. They recorded in a building adjacent to All Souls Unitarian Church because of the excellent acoustics found there.

The recordings were released in April 1962 as the album Jazz Samba, and by September the recording had entered Billboard's pop album chart. By March of the following year the album had moved all the way to number one, igniting a bossa nova craze in the American jazz community as a result. It should be noted that the term bossa nova did not become used in reference to the music until later. The album remained on the charts for seventy weeks, and Getz soon beat John Coltrane in a Downbeat poll. One of the album's most popular tunes was a Jobim hit, titled "Desafinado". 

In 1963 Byrd did a European tour with Les McCann and Zoot Sims, among others. Either in 1964 or 1965 Byrd appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival with Episcopal priest Malcolm Boyd, accompanying prayers from his book Are You Running With Me Jesus? with guitar.[8] In 1967 Byrd brought a lawsuit against Stan Getz and MGM, contending that he was unfairly paid for his contributions to the 1962 album Jazz Samba. The jury agreed with Byrd and awarded him half of all royalties from the album.
  
1970s 

In 1973 Byrd moved to Annapolis, Maryland, and in September of that year he recorded an interesting album with Cal Tjader titled Tambú, the only recording the two would make together.[10] That same year Byrd joined guitarists Herb Ellis and Barney Kessel and formed the Great Guitars group, which also included drummer Johnny Rae. This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. 
Please improve this article if you can. (December 2007) 

1980s 

From 1980 through 1996, he released several of his arrangements to the jazz and classical guitar community through Guitarist's Forum (gfmusic.com) including Charlie Byrd's Christmas Guitar Solos, Mozart: Seven Waltzes For Classical Guitar, and The Charlie Byrd Library featuring the music of George Gershwin and Irving Berlin. 

His earliest trios included bassist Keeter Betts and drummers Buddy Deppinschmidt and Bertel Knox. In the early 1960s Betts joined Ella Fitzgerald and Byrd's brother Gene H. (Joe) Byrd became bassist for the group. Joe Byrd played with his brother until Charlie Byrd's death in 1999 of cancer. Byrd's trios also included drummers Billy Reichenbach for over ten years, Wayne Phillips for several years and for the last 19 years Chuck Redd. 

Charlie Byrd, Joe Byrd and Chuck Redd were also a part of the famous act called "The Great Guitars" with electric guitarists Herb Ellis and Barnie Kessel. This group toured and recorded albums in the 1980s. Byrd collaborated with many famous jazz players over his lengthly career. A jazz supper club in Georgetown, DC also bore his name, "Charlie's". When he died, he was "at home" in the King of France Tavern of the Maryland Inn. 

Other endeavors 

Byrd played for several years at a jazz club in Silver Spring, Maryland called The Showboat II which was owned and managed by his manager Peter Lambros. He was also home-based at the King of France Tavern nightclub at the Maryland Inn in Annapolis from 1973 until his death in 1999. In 1992 the book "Jazz Cooks"—by Bob Young and Al Stankus—was published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang, a compilation of recipes that include a few recipes from Byrd.[12] He also authored the 1973 publication Charlie Byrd's Melodic Method for Guitar. 

Personal life 

Byrd loved sailboating, and owned a twenty-six foot boat called "I'm Hip" that he sailed to various parts of the world.[13] Charlie Byrd died of lung cancer on November 30, 1999 at his home in Annapolis, Maryland. Byrd was married to Rebecca Byrd, and has two daughters from previous marriages. Carol Rose of Charlotte NC & Charlotte Byrd of Crownsville MD.

Style 

Byrd played a classical guitar with nylon strings using fingerstyle.

Awards 

1999 - Knighted by the government of Brazil as a Knight of the Rio Branco 
1997 - deemed a "Maryland Art Treasure" by the Community Arts Alliance of Maryland 

Discography 

First Flight 1957 
Jazz Recital 1957 
Blues for Night People 1957  
Midnight Guitar 1957  
Byrd's Word 1958  
Mr. Guitar 1959  
The Guitar Artistry of Charlie Byrd 1960  
Charlie Byrd at the Village Vanguard 1961 live 
Latin Impressions 1962  
Bossa Nova Pelos Passaros 1962  
Once More! Bossa Nova 1963  
Guitar/Guitar 1963 In collaboration with Herb Ellis 
Charlie Byrd Trio at the Village Gate 1964 live 
Brazilian Byrd 1965  
Travellin' Man 1965 
The Touch of Gold 1965 label: Columbia 
Byrd Song 1965  
Solo Flight 1965  
Byrdland 1966  
Hollywood Byrd 1967  
More Brazilian Byrd 1967  
Christmas Carols for Solo Guitar 1967  
Music for "Villa Lobos" 1967  
Delicately 1968  
Hit Trip 1968  
The Great Byrd 1969  
Let It Be 1970  
For All We Know 1971  
Crystal Silence 1973  
The World of Charlie Byrd 1973 double album 
The Stroke of Genius 1974  
The New Wave (La Onda Nueva) 1974 In collaboration with venezuelan Aldemaro Romero. Label: Columbia Records 
Byrd by the Sea 1974 live 
Great Guitars 1974 live 
Top Hat 1975  
Charlie Byrd Swings Downtown 1976 live 
Blue Byrd 1978  
Sugarloaf Suite 1979 live 
Great Guitars at the Winery 1980  
Brazilville 1981  
Brazilian Soul 1981-1983 with Laurindo Almeida 
Latin Odyssey 1981-1983 with Laurindo Almeida 
Charlie Byrd Christmas Album 1982  
Isn't It Romantic 1984  
Tango 1985  
Byrd and Brass 1986 w/Annapolis Brass Quintet 
It's a Wonderful World 1988  
Christmas With Byrd and Brass 1989 w/Annapolis Brass Quintet 
Tambu 1992  
Rise and Shine 1992  
The Washington Guitar Quintet 1992  
Music to Dine By 1993  
Aquarelle 1993  
I've Got the World on a String 1994  
Moments Like This 1994  
Jazz & Samba 1995  
Du Hot Club De Concord 1995  
Great Guitars 2 1995  
Live At Music Room 1996 live 
Au Courant 1997  
My Inspiration: Music of Brazil 1999  
For Louis 2000  
Charlie Byrd 2000 label: Delta 
Byrd in the Wind 2002  
Bamba Samba Bossa Nova 2005  
Aquarius 2005  
Byrd at the Gate: Charlie Byrd Trio at the Village Gate 2005 Extended CD Release, live 
Everybody's Doin' the Bossa Nova 2005  
Great Guitars Concord Jazz 2005 label: Concord Jazz, live 
Let Go 2005  
Lodovico Roncalli Suites 2005  
Music of the Brazilian Masters 2005  
World of Charlie Byrd 2005  

References 

Hurwitz, Tobias. "Fly Away Home". Retrieved on 2007-06-07. 
a b Salon.com. "Jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd dies at 74". Retrieved on 2007-06-07. 
norfolk.gov. "Charlie Byrd:Legends of Music". Retrieved on 2007-06-07. 
Price, Suzi. "Legendary Bassist, Keter Betts". Retrieved on 2007-06-07. 
a b c Gelly, Dave (2004). Stan Getz: Nobody Else But Me (A Musical Biography). Backbeat Books. p. 120. ISBN 0879307293. 
Roberts, John Storm (1999). The Latin Tinge: The Impact of Latin American Music on the United States. Oxford University Press. p. 171. ISBN 0195121015. 
Doerschuk, Robert L. (2001). 88: The Giants of Jazz Piano. Backbeat Books. p. 133. ISBN 0879306564. 
Boyd, Malcolm (2001). Simple Grace: A Mentor's Guide to Growing Older. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 104. ISBN 0664223737. 
Holley, Joe. "James Goding; Lawyer in Royalties Case". Retrieved on 2007-06-07. 
a b Yanow, Scott (2000). Afro-Cuban Jazz. Backbeat Books. p. 144. ISBN 087930619X. 
Sallis, James (1996). The Guitar in Jazz: An Anthology. University of Nebraska Press. p. 114. ISBN 0803242506. 
Fabricant, Florence. "Jazz Makers Swing From Ham Hocks To Health Food". Retrieved on 2007-06-06. 
"Jazz legend Byrd dies". Retrieved on 2007-06-07. 

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Charlie Byrd (1925 – 1999) began playing the guitar at an early age under the guidance of his father. In his teens he was playing plectrum guitar with local groups in Virginia and Washington. At the Polytechnic Institute in Virginia, he played guitar with the school band. During World War II he played with an Army band in Europe. After the war he settled in New York where he played with local jazz groups such as Joe Marsala and Freddie Slack.

Tasteful, low-key, and ingratiatingly melodic, Charlie Byrd had two notable accomplishments to his credit -- applying acoustic classical guitar techniques to jazz and popular music and helping to introduce Brazilian music to mass North American audiences. Born into a musical family, Byrd experienced his first brush with greatness while a teenager in France during World War II, playing with his idol Django Reinhardt. After some postwar gigs with Sol Yaged, Joe Marsala and Freddie Slack, Byrd temporarily abandoned jazz to study classical guitar with Sophocles Papas in 1950 and Andrés Segovia in 1954. However he re-emerged later in the decade gigging around the Washington D.C. area in jazz settings, often splitting his sets into distinct jazz and classical segments. He started recording for Savoy as a leader in 1957, and also recorded with the Woody Herman Band in 1958-59. A tour of South America under the aegis of the U.S. State Department in 1961, proved to be a revelation, for it was in Brazil that Byrd discovered the emerging bossa nova movement. Once back in D.C., he played some bossa nova tapes to Stan Getz, who then convinced Verve's Creed Taylor to record an album of Brazilian music with himself and Byrd. That album, Jazz Samba, became a pop hit in 1962 on the strength of the single "Desafinado" and launched the bossa nova wave in North America. Thanks to the bossa nova, several albums for Riverside followed, including the defining Bossa Nova Pelos Passaros, and he was able to land a major contract with Columbia, though the records from that association often consisted of watered-down easy listening pop. In 1973, he formed the group Great Guitars with Herb Ellis and Barney Kessel and also that year, wrote an instruction manual for the guitar that has become widely used. From 1974 onward, Byrd recorded for the Concord Jazz label in a variety of settings, including sessions with Laurindo Almeida and Bud Shank. He died December 2, 1999 after a long bout with cancer. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
 
In 1950 Charlie Byrd returned to the Washington DC area where he began studying the classical guitar. He had always had an interest in classical guitar and decided at this time to begin a serious study of the instrument. He studied guitar with Sophocles Papas and music theory with Thomas Simmons. In 1954 he went to Italy to study with Andres Segovia. It was shortly after that trip that he formed a jazz trio for the first time and began performing in local clubs. His instrument of choice for his trio was the concert guitar.  

In the trio format Byrd’s found the perfect form for mixing his love of jazz and blues with classical music. The orientation of the music for the trio was jazz, but jazz infused with classical technique and sound. Between 1957 and 1960 his trio performed in and around Washington. During that time Charlie Byrd made some of his best recorded work In 1957 he released Jazz recital and Blues For Night Peopleand in 1958 Jazz at The Showboat and in 1959 Guitar in the Wind and in 1960 Charlie’s Choice also known under the title The Artistry of Charlie Byrd. In 1961 he released Charlie Byrd at The Village Vanguard. It was this recording that introduced Charlie to a broader audience than he had had in Washington DC.  

In 1962 Charlie Byrd and his trio traveled to South America under the sponsorship of the State Department. When he returned to the US he made the landmark recording with Stan Getz Jazz Samba. Unlike the Laurindo Almeida and Bud Shank recordings of Brazilian music, this record caught on with the listening public and made Charlie Byrd a household name.  

Throughout the 1970’s 1980 and 1990’s Charlie Byrd continued to record and play. He made some exceptional recordings with Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis as The Great Guitars and dozens of recordings under his own name.  

Charlie Byrd is best remembered for the work he did with Stan Getz, and for his work with Herb Ellis and Barney Kessel, as The Great Guitars. The significance of those two associations sometimes obscures the remarkably innovative work he did in the late 1950’s and 1960’s with his trio. Although Laurindo Almeida preceded him in the use of the concert guitar in a jazz setting, Byrd’s style and technique seemed a perfect fit for jazz. He brought to the concert guitar both a high degree of sophistication due to his classical training and a kind of down home quality that came through when he played blues and straight ahead jazz.  

It was said he could play a Bach Cantata with the same ease as a Gershwin song, but he delivered each in its own unique way.  

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