Charles L. Byrd (19th September 1925 – 29th November 1999), also known as Charlie Byrd was an American jazz guitarist. He was born in Suffolk, Virginia. He was the only jazz guitarist at that time whose primary instrument was the classic guitar, which gave him his distinctive sound. Byrd looked up to Django reinhardt. To study classical guitar with the Sophocles Papas, he moved to Washington, D.C. Later, he moved to Italy and studied with Andres Semovia. He was in South America on a State Department tour, in the 1960’s, when he discovered bossa nova. This was Brazil’s musical obsession that began in the late 50s. Stan Getz, a jazz saxophonist, had visited Brazil six months before Byrd. He was also on a State Department trip and was also exposed to bossa nova. Shortly after, Getz called Byrd in D.C. to suggest that they collaborate on an album of bossa nova. This album was the first to introduce bossa nova in North America. Perhaps his most famous contribution is that he worked with Stan Getz on Jazz Samba, an album that featured many themes related to bossa nova and samba. You can also access user-contributed text under the Creative Commons By–SA License.
