Donaldson Toussaint La’Ouverture byrd II, born December 9, 1932 and died February 4, 2013, was an American rhythm and blues and jazz trumpeter. Byrd, who was a sideman for many jazz musicians of his time, is best remembered as a pioneer of funk and soul music while also being a jazz musician. Byrd was a graduate of Cass Technical High School. Before he graduated high school, he performed with Lionel Hampton. He was a member of a military band while serving a term with the United States Air Force. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Wayne State University in music and a master’s from Manhattan School of Music. He joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers as Clifford Brown’s replacement while still at Manhattan School. He recorded with Jackie McLean, Mal Waldron in 1955. He performed with many of the top jazz musicians of that era, including John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. From 1958 to 1961, Byrd co-led a quintet with Pepper Adams. This group is known for its hard-working performances and can be seen “live” at the Half Note Cafe. In June 1964, Byrd jammed with multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy in Paris just two weeks before Dolphy’s death from insulin shock. Byrd began recording jazz fusion and rhythm and Blues in the 1970s. He departed from hard-bop jazz. Black Byrd (1973) was his collaboration with the Mizell brothers (producer-writers Larry u0026 Fonce). It was a huge success and Blue Note’s most successful commercial album in many years. The No. 1 hit, the title track, was nominated by Billboard. 19 on Billboard’s R
