Charlie Byrd

Charlie Lee Byrd (September 16, 1925 – December 2, 1999) was an American jazz guitarist who played fingerstyle on a classical guitar. Byrd was best known for his association with Brazilian music, especially bossa nova. In 1962, he collaborated with Stan Getz on the album Jazz Samba, a recording which brought bossa nova into the mainstream of North American music.

Early life Charlie Byrd was born in 1925 in Suffolk, Virginia, and grew up in the borough of Chuckatuck. His father, a mandolinist and guitarist, taught him how to play the acoustic steel guitar at age 10. Byrd had three brothers, Oscar, Jack, and Gene "Joe" Byrd, who was an upright bass player. In 1942, Byrd entered the Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI, now better known as Virginia Tech) and played in the school orchestra. In 1943, he was drafted into the United States Army, saw combat in World War II, and was stationed in Paris in 1945. There he played in an Army Special Services band and toured occupied Europe in the all-soldier production G.I. Carmen.

After the war, Byrd returned to the United States and studied composition and jazz theory at the Harnett National Music School in Manhattan, New York City. During this time, he began playing a classical guitar. His first nylon string classical guitar is believed to be a 1933 Vincente Tatay which he purchased in a NYC music store. (source - Elana Byrd - Sister in-law) After moving to Washington, D.C., in 1950, he studied classical guitar with Sophocles Papas for several years. In 1954, he became a pupil of the Spanish classical guitarist Andrés Segovia and spent time studying with him in Italy.

Byrd's earliest and greatest influence was the gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, whom he saw perform in Paris.

Career In 1957, Byrd met double bassist Keter Betts in a Washington, D.C., club called the Vineyard. The two men began performing gigs together, and by October were frequently performing at a club called the Showboat. In 1959, they joined Woody Herman's band and toured Europe for three weeks as part of a State Department-sponsored goodwill tour. The other members of the band were Vince Guaraldi, Bill Harris, Nat Adderley, and drummer Jimmy Campbell. Byrd led his own groups that sometimes featured his brother Joe. Byrd was also active as a teacher in the late 1950s; he trained guitar students at his home in Washington, D.C., each being required to audition before he agreed to be their teacher.

Byrd was introduced to Brazilian music by Felix Grant, a friend and radio host who had contacts in Brazil in the late 1950s, and who was well-known there by 1960 due to the efforts of Brazilian radio broadcaster Paulo Santos. Following a 1961 diplomatic tour of South America (including Brazil) for the State Department, Byrd returned home and met with 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 which he had brought back. Getz liked what he heard and the two decided that they wanted to make an album of the songs. The task of creating an authentic sound, however, proved much more challenging than either had anticipated.

Getz convinced Creed Taylor at Verve Records to produce the album. Taylor and Byrd assembled a group of musicians they knew. 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 practiced with them in Washington, D.C., until he felt they were ready to record. The group included his brother Gene ("Joe") Byrd, as well as Keter Betts, Bill Reichenbach and Buddy Deppenschmidt. Reichenbach and Deppenschmidt were drummers, and the combination made it easier to achieve samba rhythm. 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 building's excellent acoustics.

On March 13–16, 1963, Byrd travelled two hours south of Washington, DC to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville to provide music for an original musical, Lament For Guitar and Two Lovers. The play was by Lee Devin of the UVa drama department, with music for 10-piece ensemble by Sidney Hodkinson of the UVa music department. Two nights later on March 18, the Byrd trio played a concert featuring "Lament for Guitar and Two Lovers" at Cabell Hall, the university's acoustic auditorium. The solo dancer for the concert was Jocelyn Anker Moss.

In 1963, Byrd toured Europe with Les McCann and Zoot Sims. Between 1964 and 1965, he appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival with Episcopal priest Malcolm Boyd, accompanying prayers from his book Are You Running With Me Jesus? with guitar. 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 the royalties from the album.

In 1973, Byrd moved to Annapolis, Maryland, and in September of that year he recorded an album with Cal Tjader titled Tambú, the only recording the two would make together. That same year, Byrd joined guitarists Herb Ellis and Barney Kessel and formed the Great Guitars group, which also included drummer Johnny Rae. Byrd collaborated with Venezuelan pianist and composer Aldemaro Romero on the album Onda Nueva/The New Wave.

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. He also collaborated with the Annapolis Brass Quintet in the late 1980s, appearing with them in over 50 concerts across the United States and releasing two albums.

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. He also authored the 1973 publication Charlie Byrd's Melodic Method for Guitar. Currently, a collection of Charlie Byrd's recordings, photographs and other treasures from his life and career are displayed in "The Byrd Room" at The Mainstay music venue in Rock Hall, Md.The Mainstay is also home to the Charlie Byrd Society, an exclusive group of music enthusiasts and supporters. Charlie's 1933 Vincento Tatay guitar now also resides in a private collection in Rock Hall, MD and is often exhibited upon request at The Mainstay. The public is invited to visit The Byrd Room, where Charlie's wife, Becky often tends the bar, and find out more about the life and times of Charlie Byrd.

Personal life Byrd was married three times. His first wife was singer Virginia "Ginny" Marie Byrd, who performed vocals on a number of his early recordings and who died in 1974. They had two children: Carol M. Rose and Jeffrey. Jeffrey, died in 1973 after a car accident. His second marriage to Maggie Byrd ended in divorce; they had one daughter, Charlotte E. Byrd.

At the time of his death, Byrd had been married to Rebecca Byrd, of Annapolis, for one year. He was survived by his wife, his daughters from his first and second marriage, two brothers: Jack R. Byrd of Suffolk, Va., and Gene H. "Joe" Byrd of Edgewater, and a granddaughter.

Death Byrd died of lung cancer on December 2, 1999, at his home in Annapolis, at the age of 74.

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 As leader Recorded Title Label Released Notes 1957 Jazz Recital Savoy 1957 1957 Blues for Night People Savoy 1957 Everybody's Doin' the Bossa Nova Riverside 1960 1960 Four Suites by Ludovico Roncalli Washington Records 1960 1962 Latin Impressions Riverside 1962 1962 Jazz Samba Verve 1962 Co-led with Stan Getz 1960 Mr. Guitar Riverside 1962 Originally issued as Jazz at the Showboat, Vol. 3 (Offbeat) 1962 Bossa Nova Pelos Passaros Riverside 1962 1958 Byrd's Word! Riverside 1962 Originally issued as Jazz at the Showboat (Offbeat) 1960 The Guitar Artistry of Charlie Byrd Riverside 1963 Originally issued as Charlie's Choice (Offbeat) 1961 Charlie Byrd at the Village Vanguard Riverside 1963 Originally issued on Offbeat 1961 Blues Sonata Riverside 1963 Originally issued on Offbeat 1963 Once More! Charlie Byrd's Bossa Nova Riverside 1963 1963 Byrd at the Gate Riverside 1963 1959 Byrd in the Wind Riverside 1963 Originally issued on Offbeat 1964 Byrd Song Riverside 1964 1963 Guitar/Guitar Columbia 1965 Co-led with Herb Ellis 1965 Travellin' Man Columbia 1965 1965 Brazilian Byrd Columbia 1965 Byrdland Columbia 1966 1965 The Touch of Gold Columbia 1966 1966 Christmas Carols for Solo Guitar Columbia 1966 1966 The Byrd & the Herd! Pickwick 1966 Charlie Byrd & Woody Herman 1967 Hollywood Byrd Columbia 1967 1965 Solo Flight Riverside 1967 1967 More Brazilian Byrd Columbia 1967 1967 Sketches of Brazil: The Music of Villa-Lobos Columbia 1968 1968 Hit Trip Columbia 1968 1968 Delicately Columbia 1968 The Great Byrd Columbia 1968 1969 Aquarius Columbia 1969 Reached No. 197 in the US Let Go Columbia 1969 Reached No. 129 in the US Let It Be Columbia 1970 1971 For All We Know Columbia 1971 1971 The Stroke of Genius Columbia 1971 Onda Nueva Columbia 1972 Co-led with Aldemaro Romero 1973 Crystal Silence Fantasy 1973 1973 Tambu Fantasy 1974 Co-led with Cal Tjader 1974 Byrd by the Sea Fantasy 1974 1975 Great Guitars Concord Jazz 1975 Co-led with Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis 1975 Top Hat Fantasy 1975 1976 Charlie Byrd Swings Downtown Improv 1976 1976 Great Guitars 2 Concord Jazz 1976 Co-led with Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis 1977 Charlie Byrd Crystal Clear Records 1977 1977 Encores At The Maryland Inn SRI 1977 1979 Blue Byrd Concord Jazz 1979 Sugarloaf Suite Concord Jazz 1979 Great Guitars at the Winery Concord Jazz 1980 Co-led with Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis Brazilian Soul Concord Jazz 1981 Co-led with Laurindo Almeida 1981 Brazilville Concord Jazz 1982 Co-led with Bud Shank 1982 The Charlie Byrd Christmas Album Concord Jazz 1982 1983 Latin Odyssey Concord Jazz 1983 Co-led with Laurindo Almeida 1984 Isn't It Romantic Concord Jazz 1984 1985 Tango Concord 1985 Co-led with Laurindo Almeida 1986 Byrd and Brass Concord Jazz 1986 Co-led with Annapolis Brass Quintet 1988 It's a Wonderful World 1988 Music of the Brazilian Masters Concord 1989 Co-led with Laurindo Almeida, Carlos Barbosa-Lima 1991 The Bossa Nova Years Concord 1991 with Ken Peplowski 1992 The Washington Guitar Quintet Concord Jazz 1992 1994 Moments Like This Concord 1994 1993 Aquarelle Concord 1994 1994 I've Got the World on a String Timeless 1994 1995 Homage to Jobim Concord Picante 1995 1995 Du Hot Club de Concord Concord Jazz 1995 1996 The Return of the Great Guitars Concord Jazz 1996 Co-led with Herb Ellis, Mundell Lowe 1997 Au Courant Concord Jazz 1998 1999 My Inspiration Concord 1999 2000 For Louis Concord 2000

As sideman With Woody Herman Bamba Samba Bossa Nova (Everest, 1958) Woody Herman Sextet at the Roundtable (Forum, inprint of Roulette Records, 1959)

With Buck Clayton and Tommy Gwaltney's Kansas City 9 Goin' to Kansas City (Riverside, 1960)

With Helen Merrill The Artistry of Helen Merrill (Mainstream, 1965)

With Joe Glazer Garbage and Other Songs of Our Times (Collector, 1971)

With Malcolm Boyd Are You Running with Me, Jesus? (Columbia, 1965) Happening: Prayers for Now (Columbia, 1965)