Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop musicians who successfully explored funk and soul while remaining a jazz artist. As a bandleader, Byrd was an influence on the early career of Herbie Hancock and many others.
Broken beat is an electronic dance music genre characterized by syncopated beats and tense rhythms, including staggered or punctuated snare beats and/or hand claps. It has been heavily influenced by styles such as jazz-funk and R&B. Artists in this area typically emerged from the drum and bass, house, hip hop, techno or acid jazz scenes.
Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat (groove), electrified sounds, and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creation of a genre whose spectrum is quite wide and ranges from strong jazz improvisation to soul, funk or disco with jazz arrangements, jazz riffs, jazz solos, and sometimes soul vocals.
Joseph Lucian Messina was an American guitarist. Dubbed the "white brother with soul", he was one of the most prolific guitarists in Motown Records' in-house studio band, the Funk Brothers.
James Earl Gilstrap is an American singer and session musician. He is best known for his 1975 solo hit single "Swing Your Daddy", as well as singing co-lead to the theme from the TV series Good Times.
Kevin Kraig Toney is an American jazz pianist and composer who was a member of The Blackbyrds.
The Blackbyrds are an American rhythm and blues and jazz-funk fusion group, formed in Washington, D.C., in 1973 and reformed in 2012 by Keith Killgo.
The Mizell Brothers were an American record producing team in the 1970s, consisting of Larry Mizell and Alphonso "Fonce" Mizell. They worked together on a string of jazz or R&B albums.
Barbara Ann "Bobbi" Humphrey is an American jazz flautist and singer. She has recorded twelve albums over the course of her career, mostly playing jazz fusion, funk, and soul-jazz. In 1971, she was the first female instrumentalist signed by Blue Note and in 1994, she founded the jazz label Paradise Sounds Records.
Black Byrd is a 1973 album by Donald Byrd and the first of his Blue Note albums to be produced by Larry Mizell, assisted by his brother, former Motown producer Fonce. In the jazz funk idiom, it is among Blue Note Records' best selling album releases. The title of the album inspired the name of Byrd's apprentice group, The Blackbyrds.
Stepping Into Tomorrow is a 1974 album by jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd.
"You Can Leave Your Hat On" is a song written by Randy Newman and appearing on his 1972 album Sail Away.
Don't Stop the Carnival is a live album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, recorded at the Great American Music Hall and released on the Milestone label in 1978, featuring performances by Rollins with Mark Soskin, Aurell Ray, Jerome Harris and Tony Williams with Donald Byrd joining on five tracks.
Places and Spaces is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd, that was released on Blue Note in 1975.
Allan Curtis Barnes was an American jazz musician, based in Detroit for the majority of his career.
Ethiopian Knights is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring performances by Byrd with Thurman Green, Harold Land, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Sample and others, recorded for the Blue Note label in 1971.
The Blackbyrds is the debut album by the American rhythm and blues and jazz-funk fusion group the Blackbyrds. It was produced by Larry Mizell and Donald Byrd with production supervision by Orrin Keepnews.
Flying Start is the second album by the American rhythm and blues and jazz-funk fusion group The Blackbyrds. Produced by Donald Byrd, the album includes the top ten hit single, "Walking in Rhythm".
Gambler's Life is an album by jazz keyboardist Johnny Hammond. It was released in 1974 and produced by Larry Mizell.
Thank You...For F.U.M.L. is an album by trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring compositions by The Blackbyrds which was released on the Elektra label in 1978. The album marked a distinct movement away from jazz toward more rhythm and blues and disco influences.
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