Donald Byrd
Encyclopedia
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, (born December 9, 1932) is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop
jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a pop artist.
In 1973, he created The Blackbyrds
, a fusion group consisting of his best students. They scored several major hits including "Happy Music" (#3 R&B, #19 pop), "Walking In Rhythm" (#4 R&B, #6 pop) and "Rock Creek Park".
. He performed with Lionel Hampton
before finishing high school. After playing in a military band during a term in the United States Air Force
, he obtained a bachelor's degree in music from Wayne State University
and a master's degree from Manhattan School of Music
.
While still at the Manhattan School, he joined Art Blakey
's Jazz Messengers, as replacement for Clifford Brown
. In 1955, he recorded with Jackie McLean
and Mal Waldron
. After leaving the Jazz Messengers in 1956, he performed with many leading jazz musicians of the day, including John Coltrane
, Sonny Rollins
, Thelonious Monk
, and later Herbie Hancock
.
Byrd's first regular group was a quintet that he co-led from 1958-61 with baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams
, an ensemble whose hard driving performances are captured "live" on At the Half Note Cafe
. In June 1964, Byrd jammed with jazz legend Eric Dolphy
in Paris just two weeks before Dolphy's death from insulin shock.
In the 1970s, he moved away from the hard-bop
jazz idiom and began to record jazz fusion
and rhythm and blues
. He teamed up with the Mizell Brothers
(producer-writers Larry and Fonce) for Black Byrd
in 1972. It was highly successful and became Blue Note
Records' highest-ever selling album. The title track climbed to #19 on Billboard's R&B chart and reached the Hot 100 pop chart, peaking at #88. The Mizell brothers' follow-up albums for Byrd, Street Lady, Places and Spaces
and Steppin' Into Tomorrow were also big sellers, and have subsequently provided a rich source of samples for acid jazz artists such as Us3
. Most of the material for the albums was written by Larry Mizell.
In 1994, Byrd appeared on the Red Hot Organization
's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African American community, was heralded as "Album of the Year" by Time Magazine.
He has taught music at Rutgers University
, the Hampton Institute, New York University
, Howard University
, Queens College, Oberlin College
, Cornell University
and Delaware State University
.
In addition to his Masters from Manhattan School of Music, Byrd has two masters from Columbia University. Byrd received a law degree in 1976, and his doctorate from Columbia University Teachers College in 1982.
In September 2009, he was named an artist-in-residence at Delaware State University. Byrd lives in Teaneck, New Jersey
.
Bebop
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a pop artist.
In 1973, he created The Blackbyrds
The Blackbyrds
The Blackbyrds were an American rhythm and blues and jazz-funk fusion group, formed in Washington, D.C. in 1973.-History:The group was inspired by trumpeter Donald Byrd and featured some of his Howard University students: Kevin Toney , Keith Killgo , Joe Hall , Allan C. Barnes , and Barney Perry...
, a fusion group consisting of his best students. They scored several major hits including "Happy Music" (#3 R&B, #19 pop), "Walking In Rhythm" (#4 R&B, #6 pop) and "Rock Creek Park".
Biography
Byrd attended Cass Technical High SchoolCass Technical High School
The Cass Tech Technicians football team is a high school football program in Division 1 Public School League, representing the prestigious Cass Technical High School in Detroit, MI. Cass Tech High School has long been recognized nationwide for its extraordinary football program dating back to its...
. He performed with Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
before finishing high school. After playing in a military band during a term in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, he obtained a bachelor's degree in music from Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
and a master's degree from Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
.
While still at the Manhattan School, he joined Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
's Jazz Messengers, as replacement for Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown , aka "Brownie," was an influential and highly rated American jazz trumpeter. He died aged 25, leaving behind only four years' worth of recordings...
. In 1955, he recorded with Jackie McLean
Jackie McLean
John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City.-Biography:McLean's father, John Sr., played guitar in Tiny Bradshaw's orchestra...
and Mal Waldron
Mal Waldron
Malcolm Earl Waldron was an American jazz and world music pianist and composer, born in New York City.Like his contemporaries, Waldron's roots lie chiefly in the hard bop and post-bop genres of the New York club scene of the 1950s; but with time, he gravitated more towards free jazz and composition...
. After leaving the Jazz Messengers in 1956, he performed with many leading jazz musicians of the day, including John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
, Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
, Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
, and later Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
.
Byrd's first regular group was a quintet that he co-led from 1958-61 with baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams
Pepper Adams
Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III was a jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 43 pieces, was the leader on twenty albums, and participated in 600 sessions as a sideman.-Biography:...
, an ensemble whose hard driving performances are captured "live" on At the Half Note Cafe
At the Half Note Cafe
At the Half Note Cafe is a live album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd recorded in 1960 at the Half Note in Manhattan and released on the Blue Note label originally as two single LP issues and reissued as a double CD set....
. In June 1964, Byrd jammed with jazz legend Eric Dolphy
Eric Dolphy
Eric Allan Dolphy was an American jazz alto saxophonist, flutist, and bass clarinetist. On a few occasions he also played the clarinet and baritone saxophone. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain prominence in the 1960s...
in Paris just two weeks before Dolphy's death from insulin shock.
In the 1970s, he moved away from the hard-bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
jazz idiom and began to record jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
and rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
. He teamed up with the Mizell Brothers
Mizell Brothers
The Mizell Brothers were a record producing team in the 1970s, consisting of Larry Mizell and Alphonso "Fonce" Mizell .-History:...
(producer-writers Larry and Fonce) for Black Byrd
Black Byrd
- Personnel :* Donald Byrd - trumpet, flugelhorn, electric trumpet, vocals* Allen Curtis Barnes - flute, oboe, saxophone* Roger Glenn - saxophone, flute* Fonce Mizell - trumpet, vocals* Larry Mizell - vocals* Kevin Toney - piano...
in 1972. It was highly successful and became Blue Note
Blue note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
Records' highest-ever selling album. The title track climbed to #19 on Billboard's R&B chart and reached the Hot 100 pop chart, peaking at #88. The Mizell brothers' follow-up albums for Byrd, Street Lady, Places and Spaces
Places and Spaces
Places and Spaces is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd, that was released on Blue Note in 1975.The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awards this album with 4 stars and states: "Boasting sweeping string arrangements, sultry rhythm guitars, rubbery bass, murmuring flügelhorns, and...
and Steppin' Into Tomorrow were also big sellers, and have subsequently provided a rich source of samples for acid jazz artists such as Us3
US3
Us3 is a jazz-rap group founded in London in 1991. Their name was inspired by a Horace Parlan recording produced by Alfred Lion, the founder of Blue Note Records. On their debut album, Hand on the Torch, Us3 used samples from the Blue Note Records catalogue, all originally produced by...
. Most of the material for the albums was written by Larry Mizell.
In 1994, Byrd appeared on the Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization is a not-for-profit, 501 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilation albums, related television programs and media events to raise...
's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African American community, was heralded as "Album of the Year" by Time Magazine.
He has taught music at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
, the Hampton Institute, New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
, Queens College, Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
, Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and Delaware State University
Delaware State University
Delaware State University , is an American historically black, public university located in Dover, Delaware, and there are two satellite campuses located in Wilmington, Delaware, and Georgetown, Delaware...
.
In addition to his Masters from Manhattan School of Music, Byrd has two masters from Columbia University. Byrd received a law degree in 1976, and his doctorate from Columbia University Teachers College in 1982.
In September 2009, he was named an artist-in-residence at Delaware State University. Byrd lives in Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, and a suburb in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 39,776, making it the second-most populous among the 70 municipalities in Bergen County....
.
As leader
- Off to the RacesOff to the RacesOff to the Races is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd recorded in 1958 and released on the Blue Note label in 1959 as BLP 4007.-Reception:...
(1958), Blue NoteBlue Note RecordsBlue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters... - Byrd in HandByrd in HandByrd in Hand is an album by Donald Byrd engineered by Rudy Van Gelder. It was recorded in May 1959 and was released in the same year as BLP 4019 and BST 84019...
(1959), Blue Note - FuegoFuego (Donald Byrd album)Fuego is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd recorded in 1959 and released on the Blue Note label as BLP 4026 featuring Byrd with Jackie McLean, Duke Pearson, Doug Watkins, and Lex Humphries.-Reception:...
(1959), Blue Note - Byrd in FlightByrd in FlightByrd in Flight is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd recorded in 1960 and released on the Blue Note label as BLP 4048 featuring Byrd with Jackie McLean or Hank Mobley, Duke Pearson, Doug Watkins or Reggie Workman, and Lex Humphries.-Reception:...
(1960), Blue Note - At the Half Note CafeAt the Half Note CafeAt the Half Note Cafe is a live album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd recorded in 1960 at the Half Note in Manhattan and released on the Blue Note label originally as two single LP issues and reissued as a double CD set....
(1960), Blue Note - Motor City SceneMotor City SceneMotor City Scene, also released as Stardust, is an album by trumpeter Donald Byrd and saxophonist Pepper Adams recorded in 1960 and released on the Bethlehem label as BCP 6056 featuring Byrd and Adams with Kenny Burrell, Tommy Flanagan, Paul Chambers, and Louis Hayes.-Reception:The Allmusic review...
- with Pepper Adams (1960), BethlehemBethlehem RecordsBethlehem Records was a record label based in New York and Hollywood founded by Gus Wildi in 1953. It was bought by King Records in the early 1960s.... - ChantChant (Donald Byrd album)Chant is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd recorded in 1961 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1979.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "This is superior hard bop from the early '60s"....
(1961), Blue Note - The Cat WalkThe Cat WalkThe Cat Walk is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd recorded in 1961 and released on the Blue Note label in 1962 as BLP 4075.-Reception:...
(1961), Blue Note - Royal FlushRoyal Flush (album)Royal Flush is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring Byrd with Pepper Adams, Herbie Hancock, Butch Warren, and Billy Higgins recorded in 1961 and released on the Blue Note label as BLP 4101...
(1961), Blue Note - Free FormFree Form (album)Free Form is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring Byrd with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Butch Warren, and Billy Higgins recorded in 1961 and released on the Blue Note label in 1962. It was remastered in 2003 and reissued on CD...
(1961), Blue Note - A New PerspectiveA New PerspectiveA New Perspective is a 1963 album by jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd released on the Blue Note label as BLP 4124 and BST 84124. The performances are mainly in a hard bop style, but the recording also features a gospel choir....
(1963), Blue Note - Up with Donald ByrdUp with Donald ByrdUp with Donald Byrd is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring performances by Byrd with Jimmy Heath, Stanley Turrentine, Herbie Hancock, and Kenny Burrell recorded in 1964...
(1964), VerveVerve RecordsVerve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve... - I'm Tryin' to Get HomeI'm Tryin' to Get HomeI'm Tryin' to Get Home is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring performances by Byrd with a large brass section and vocalists recorded in 1964 and released on the Blue Note label in 1965 as BLP 4188.-Reception:...
(1964), Blue Note - Mustang!Mustang! (Donald Byrd album)Mustang! is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring performances by Byrd with Sonny Red, Hank Mobley, McCoy Tyner, Walter Booker, and Freddie Waits recorded in 1966 and released on the Blue Note label in 1965 as BLP 4238...
(1966), Blue Note - Blackjack (1967), Blue Note
- Slow DragSlow Drag (album)Slow Drag is a jazz album by trumpeter Donald Byrd recorded in 1967 and released on the Bue Note label as BST 84292.- Track listing :# "Slow Drag" – 9:47# "Secret Love" – 3:58# "Book's Bossa" – 6:52...
(1967), Blue Note - The CreeperThe Creeper (album)The Creeper is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring Byrd with Sonny Red, Pepper Adams, Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitous, and Mickey Roker recorded in October 1967 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1981.-Reception:...
(1967), Blue Note - Fancy FreeFancy Free (Donald Byrd album)Fancy Free is an album by the American jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd, that was released on Blue Note records in 1970.The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awards this album with 3 stars and states: "Recorded just a few months after Miles Davis' In a Silent Way, Fancy Free finds Byrd leading a large...
(1969) Blue Note - Electric ByrdElectric ByrdElectric Byrd is a jazz album released by Donald Byrd in 1970 .- Track listing :*"Estavanico" - 11:00*"Essence" - 10:30*"Xibaba" - 13:35*"The Dude" - 8:00...
(1969–70), Blue Note - KofiKofi (album)Kofi is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring performances by Byrd with Frank Foster, Lew Tabackin, Duke Pearson, Ron Carter, Bob Cranshaw, Airto Moreira, Wally Richardson, and Mickey Roker recorded in 1969 and 1970 and released on the Blue Note label in 1971.-Reception:The Allmusic...
(1969), Blue Note - Ethiopian KnightsEthiopian KnightsEthiopoian Knights is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring performances by Byrd with Thurman Green, Harold Land, Bobby Hutcherson, and Joe Sample recorded and released on the Blue Note label in 1971.-Reception:...
(1971), Blue Note - Black ByrdBlack Byrd- Personnel :* Donald Byrd - trumpet, flugelhorn, electric trumpet, vocals* Allen Curtis Barnes - flute, oboe, saxophone* Roger Glenn - saxophone, flute* Fonce Mizell - trumpet, vocals* Larry Mizell - vocals* Kevin Toney - piano...
(1972), Blue Note - Street LadyStreet LadyStreet Lady is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd recorded and released on the Blue Note label in 1973.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 3 stars and stated "the appeal of Street Lady is how its polished neo-funk and pseudo-fusion sound uncannily...
(1973), Blue Note - Stepping into TomorrowStepping into TomorrowStepping Into Tomorrow is a 1974 album by jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd.The Allmusic Review by Andy Kellman awards the album with 4 stars.-Track listing:#"Stepping Into Tomorrow" – 5:06#"Design A Nation" – 4:19...
(1974), Blue Note - Places and SpacesPlaces and SpacesPlaces and Spaces is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd, that was released on Blue Note in 1975.The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awards this album with 4 stars and states: "Boasting sweeping string arrangements, sultry rhythm guitars, rubbery bass, murmuring flügelhorns, and...
(1975), Blue Note - Caricatures (1976), Blue Note
- Thank You... for F.U.M.L. (Funking Up My Life) (1978), ElektraElektra RecordsElektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
- Love Byrd (1981), Elektra
- Words, Sounds, Colors and Shapes (1983) LandmarkLandmark RecordsLandmark Records was an American jazz record label founded in 1985 by Orrin Keepnews as a successor to Milestone Records. Landmark Records published albums recorded by the Kronos Quartet of music by Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk, as well as straight jazz albums...
- Harlem Blues (1987), Landmark
- Getting Down to Business (1989), Landmark
- A City Called Heaven (1991), Landmark
- Touchstone (2000)
- The Transition Sessions (2002)
As sideman
- 1955 Kenny ClarkeKenny ClarkeKenny Clarke , born Kenneth Spearman Clarke, nicknamed "Klook" and later known as Liaqat Ali Salaam, was a jazz drummer and an early innovator of the bebop style of drumming...
- Bohemia After DarkBohemia After DarkBohemia After Dark is an album by jazz drummer Kenny Clarke, featuring the earliest recordings by Cannonball Adderley and Nat Adderley, produced for the Savoy label... - 1955 Cannonball Adderley - DiscoveriesDiscoveries (album)Discoveries is a compilation album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley released on the Savoy label featuring alternate takes of tracks from Adderley's recording debut originally released as Kenny Clarke's Bohemia After Dark and his first album Presenting Cannonball Adderley performed by a...
- 1955 Oscar PettifordOscar PettifordOscar Pettiford was an American jazz double bassist, cellist and composer known particularly for his pioneering work in bebop.-Biography:...
- Another One - 1955 Hank JonesHank JonesHenry "Hank" Jones was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award...
- Quartet-Quintet - 1955 Hank Jones - Bluebird - one track only
- 1955 Ernie WilkinsErnie WilkinsErnest Brooks Wilkins Jr. was a jazz arranger and writer who also played tenor saxophone. He might be best known for his work with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie...
- Top Brass - 1956 George WallingtonGeorge WallingtonGeorge Wallington was a highly regarded American bop pianist and composer....
- Jazz for the Carriage Trade - 1956 Jackie McLeanJackie McLeanJohn Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City.-Biography:McLean's father, John Sr., played guitar in Tiny Bradshaw's orchestra...
- Lights Out! - 1956 Hank MobleyHank MobleyHenry Mobley was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone that was neither as aggressive as John Coltrane nor as mellow as Stan Getz...
- The Jazz Message of Hank MobleyThe Jazz Message of Hank MobleyThe Jazz Message of Hank Mobley is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley released on the Savoy label in 1956. It was recorded on February 8, 1956 and features performances by Mobley, Donald Byrd, Ronnie Ball, Horace Silver, Doug Watkins, Wendell Marshall, John LaPorta and Kenny Clarke.- Track... - 1956 Kenny Clarke - Klook's Clique
- 1956 Art BlakeyArt BlakeyArthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
- The Jazz MessengersArt Blakey with the Original Jazz MessengersArt Blakey with the Original Jazz Messengers is a 1956 album by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, released by Columbia Records. It was the last recording by the inaugural Jazz Messengers lineup featuring pianist Horace Silver.The LP is out-of-print... - 1956 Rita ReysRita ReysRita Reys is a jazz singer from the Netherlands.At the 1960 jazz festival of Juan Les Pins , she received the title 'Europe’s first lady of jazz'.-Early career:...
- The Cool Voice of Rita Reys - 1956 Elmo HopeElmo HopeSt. Elmo Sylvester Hope was an American jazz pianist, performing chiefly in the bop and hard bop genres. His highly individual piano-playing and, especially, his compositions have led a few enthusiasts and critics such as David Rosenthal to place him alongside his contemporaries Bud Powell and...
- Informal JazzInformal JazzInformal Jazz is an album by jazz musician Elmo Hope, released in 1956 on Prestige Records, catalogue 7043. It has been reissued in 1969 as Two Tenors under the billing of Hope's sidemen for the session, John Coltrane and Hank Mobley.-Reception:... - 1956 Phil WoodsPhil WoodsPhilip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
- Pairing Off - 1956 Jackie McLean - 4, 5 and 6
- 1956 Gene AmmonsGene AmmonsEugene "Jug" Ammons also known as "The Boss," was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, and the son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons.-Biography:...
- Jammin' with Gene - 1956 Horace SilverHorace SilverHorace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
- Silver's BlueSilver's BlueSilver's Blue is an album by jazz pianist Horace Silver recorded for the Columbia label in 1956 featuring performances by Silver with Joe Gordon, Hank Mobley, Doug Watkins, and Kenny Clarke and another session with Donald Byrd and Art Taylor replacing Gordon and Clarke... - 1956 Hank Mobley - Mobley's MessageMobley's MessageMobley's Message is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley, released on the Prestige label in 1956. It was recorded on July 20, 1956 and features performances by Mobley, Donald Byrd, Barry Harris, Doug Watkins and Art Taylor, with Jackie McLean guesting on one track.- Track listing :All...
- 1956 Hank Mobley - Jazz Message #2
- 1956 Art FarmerArt FarmerArthur Stewart "Art" Farmer was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet/flugelhorn combination designed for him by David Monette. His identical twin brother, Addison Farmer Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer (August 21, 1928, Council Bluffs, Iowa –...
- 2 Trumpets - 1956 Paul ChambersPaul ChambersPaul Laurence Dunbar Chambers, Jr. was a jazz bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, his importance in the development of jazz bass can be measured not only by the length and breadth of his work in this short period but also his impeccable time, intonation, and virtuosic...
- Whims of ChambersWhims Of ChambersWhims of Chambers is a jazz album by bassist Paul Chambers released on the Blue Note label in 1956. The album features performances by Chambers with Donald Byrd, John Coltrane, Kenny Burrell, Horace Silver and Philly Joe Jones.... - 1956 Phil WoodsPhil WoodsPhilip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
/Donald Byrd - The Young Bloods - 1956 Horace Silver - 6 Pieces of Silver6 Pieces of Silver6 Pieces of Silver is an album by jazz pianist Horace Silver released on the Blue Note label in 1956 featuring performances by Silver with Donald Byrd, Hank Mobley, Doug Watkins, and Louis Hayes...
- 1956 Hank Mobley - Hank Mobley SextetHank Mobley SextetHank Mobley Sextet is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley released on the Blue Note label in 1957 as BLP 1540...
- 1956 Doug WatkinsDoug WatkinsDouglas Watkins was an American hard bop jazz double bassist from Detroit.-Biography:An original member of the Jazz Messengers, he later played in Horace Silver's quintet and freelanced with Gene Ammons, Kenny Burrell, Donald Byrd, Art Farmer, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Sonny Rollins,...
- Watkins at Large - 1956 Sonny RollinsSonny RollinsTheodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
- Sonny Rollins, Vol. 1Sonny Rollins, Vol. 1Sonny Rollins, Vol. 1 is a jazz album by Sonny Rollins.-Track listing:#"Decision"#"Bluesnote"#"Plain Jane"#"Sonnysphere"#"How are things in Glocca Mora?"-Personnel:*Sonny Rollins - Tenor Saxophone*Donald Byrd - Trumpet*Max Roach - Drums... - 1956 Kenny BurrellKenny BurrellKenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell is an American jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians.-Biography:...
- All Night Long - 1957 Kenny Burrell - All Day LongAll Day LongAll Day Long is a jazz album by guitarist Kenny Burrell. It was released in 1957 under Prestige label as PRLP 7081. It's characterized by fast pieces and also was one of the first albums in which Burrell was presented as a leader. All the pieces were composed by the members of the band...
- 1957 Gigi GryceGigi GryceGigi Gryce was an American saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, educator, and big band bandleader.His performing career was relatively short and, in comparison to other musicians of his...
/Donald Byrd - Jazz Lab - 1957 Art Farmer/Donald Byrd/Idrees SuliemanIdrees SuliemanIdrees Sulieman was a bop and hard bop trumpeter. He studied at Boston Conservatory, and gained early experience playing with the Carolina Cotton Pickers and the wartime Earl Hines Orchestra...
- Three Trumpets - 1957 Lou DonaldsonLou DonaldsonLou Donaldson is a jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Badin, North Carolina. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker.His first recordings were...
- Wailing with LouWailing with LouWailing with Lou is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson released on the Blue Note label in 1957 featuring performances by Donaldson's Quintet with Donald Byrd, Herman Foster, Peck Morrison and Art Taylor.... - 1957 Jimmy SmithJimmy Smith (musician)Jimmy Smith was a jazz musician whose performances on the Hammond B-3 electric organ helped to popularize this instrument...
- A Date with Jimmy Smith Volume OneA Date with Jimmy Smith Volume OneA Date with Jimmy Smith Volume One is an album by American jazz organist Jimmy Smith featuring performances recorded in 1957 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 3 stars out of 5.-Side one:... - 1957 Art TaylorArt TaylorArthur S. Taylor, Jr. was an American jazz drummer of the hard bop school.After playing in the bands of Howard McGhee, Coleman Hawkins, Buddy DeFranco, Bud Powell, and George Wallington from 1948 to 1957, he formed his own group, the Wailers...
- Taylor Wailer's - 1957 Gigi Gryce - Gigi Gryce and The Jazz Lab Quintet
- 1957 George Wallington - The New York Scene
- 1957 Various Artists - American Jazzmen Play Andre Hodeir's Essais
- 1957 Kenny Burrell/Jimmy RaneyJimmy RaneyJimmy Raney was an American jazz guitarist born in Louisville, Kentucky most notable for his work from 1951–1952 and 1962–1963 with Stan Getz and for his work from 1953–1954 with the Red Norvo trio, replacing Tal Farlow. In 1954 and 1955 he won the Down Beat critics poll for guitar...
- 2 Guitars - 1957 Kenny DrewKenny DrewKenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew was an American jazz pianist.-Biography:Born in New York City, New York, he first recorded with Howard McGhee in 1949, and over the next two years recorded with Buddy DeFranco, Coleman Hawkins, Milt Jackson, Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich, and Dinah Washington...
- This is New - 1957 Hank Mobley - HankHank (album)Hank is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley released on the Blue Note label in 1957 as BLP 1560. It was recorded on January 13, 1957 and features Mobley, Donald Byrd, John Jenkins, Bobby Timmons, Wilbur Ware and Philly Joe Jones.-Reception:...
- 1957 Paul Chambers - Paul Chambers QuintetPaul Chambers QuintetPaul Chambers Quintet is an album by American jazz bassist Paul Chambers recorded in 1957 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Steve Leggett awarded the album 4 stars stating "Nothing is particularly innovative with this set, but these tracks don't push or pull...
- 1957 The Gigi Gryce/Donald Byrd Jazz Lab - At NewportAt Newport (Cecil Taylor & Gigi Gryce album)At Newport is a live album by the Gigi Gryce-Donald Byrd Jazz Laboratory and the Cecil Taylor Quartet recorded for the Verve label at the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1957. The original LP album featured one side of performances by Taylor with Buell Neidlinger, Denis Charles and Steve Lacy and the...
- One side of LP which also features Cecil TaylorCecil TaylorCecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and... - 1957 Gigi Gryce/Donald Byrd - New Formulas from the Jazz Lab
- 1957 Gigi Gryce/Donald Byrd - Modern Jazz Perspective
- 1957 Sonny ClarkSonny ClarkConrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark was an American jazz pianist who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom.-Biography:...
- Sonny's CribSonny's CribSonny's Crib is an album by jazz pianist Sonny Clark recorded for the Blue Note label and performed by Clark with Donald Byrd, Curtis Fuller, John Coltrane, Paul Chambers, and Art Taylor... - 1957 John JenkinsJohn Jenkins (jazz musician)John Jenkins was an American jazz saxophonist.Jenkins initially studied clarinet in high school but switched to saxophone after six months on the instrument. He played in jam sessions led by Joe Segal at Roosevelt College from 1949-1956. He played with Art Farmer in 1955 and led his own group in...
- Star Eyes - 1957 Oscar Pettiford - Winner's CircleWinner's Circle-Track listing:#"Lazy Afternoon"#"Not So Sleepy"#"Seabreeze"#"Love and the Weather"#"She Didn't Say Yes"#"If I'm Lucky "#"At Home with the Blues"#"Turtle Walk"-Personnel:Recorded October 1957 in Hackensack, NJ....
- 1957 George Wallington - Jazz at Hotchkiss
- 1957 Red GarlandRed GarlandWilliam "Red" Garland was an American hard bop jazz pianist whose block chord style, in part originated by Milt Buckner, influenced many forthcoming pianists in the jazz idiom.-Beginnings:...
- All Mornin' LongAll Mornin' LongAll Mornin' Long is a jazz album by pianist Red Garland and his quintet. It was originally issued in 1957 under the Prestige label and catalogued as PRLP 7130. It features only three pieces, which belong to the hard bop sub-genre and distinguish themselves by being fast-paced and bluesy... - 1957 Red Garland - Soul Junction
- 1957 Red Garland - High Pressure
- 1957 Lou Donaldson - Lou Takes OffLou Takes OffLou Takes Off is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Blue Note label and performed by Donaldson's Sextet with Donald Byrd, Curtis Fuller, Sonny Clark, Jamil Nasser, and Art Taylor...
- 1958 John ColtraneJohn ColtraneJohn William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
- Lush Life - one track only - 1958 John Coltrane - The BelieverThe Believer (John Coltrane album)The Believer is a jazz album credited to John Coltrane released in 1964 on Prestige Records, catalogue 7292. It is an amalgam of two tracks reissued from New Jazz Records 8228 Ray Draper Quintet featuring John Coltrane released in 1960, with three unissued tracks by Coltrane as a leader from two...
- two tracks - 1958 John Coltrane - The Last TraneThe Last TraneThe Last Trane is an album credited to jazz musician John Coltrane, released in 1965 on Prestige Records, catalogue 7378. It is assembled from unissued results of three separate recording sessions at the studio of Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack, New Jersey in 1957 and 1958...
- two tracks - 1958 Johnny GriffinJohnny GriffinJohn Arnold Griffin III was an American bop and hard bop tenor saxophonist.- Early life and career :Griffin studied music at DuSable High School in Chicago under Walter Dyett, starting out on clarinet before moving on to oboe and then alto sax...
- Johnny Griffin Sextet - 1958 Pepper AdamsPepper AdamsPark Frederick "Pepper" Adams III was a jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 43 pieces, was the leader on twenty albums, and participated in 600 sessions as a sideman.-Biography:...
- 10 to 4 at the 5 Spot - 1958 John Coltrane - Black PearlsBlack Pearls (album)Black Pearls is an album credited to jazz musician John Coltrane, released in 1964 on Prestige Records, catalogue 7316. It is assembled from the results of a single recording session at the studio of Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack, New Jersey...
- 1958 Michel LegrandMichel LegrandMichel Jean Legrand is a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist...
- Legrand Jazz - 1958 Dizzy ReeceDizzy ReeceAlphonso Son "Dizzy" Reece is a hard bop jazz trumpeter with a distinctive sound and compositional style.Reece was born 5 January 1931 in Kingston, Jamaica, the son of a silent film pianist. He attended the Alpha Boys School , switching from baritone to trumpet at 14...
- Blues in TrinityBlues in TrinityBlues in Trinity is an album by Jamaican-born English-based jazz trumpeter Dizzy Reece featuring performances recorded in 1958 and released on the Blue Note label... - 1958 Art Blakey - Holiday for SkinsHoliday for SkinsHoliday for Skins is a 1958 album by jazz drummer Art Blakey. Recorded for Blue Note Records, the album was produced by Rudy Van Gelder and released in two volumes before being reissued together on CD in 2006.-Track listing:# "The Feast" - 8:54...
- 1958 Jim Timmens - Gilbert and Sullivan Revisited
- 1959 Jackie McLean - Jackie's BagJackie's BagJackie's Bag is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1959 and 1960 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "the music on Jackie's Bag finds McLean in a staunchly hard bop mode, with occasional hints...
- 1959 Thelonious MonkThelonious MonkThelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
- The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town HallThe Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town HallThe Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall is an album by Thelonious Monk, originally released in 1959. The concert included Hall Overton’s arrangements on Monk’s tunes... - 1959 Chris ConnorChris ConnorChris Connor was an American jazz singer.-Biography:She was born as Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Missouri to Clyde and Mabel Loutsenhizer. She studied and became proficient on the clarinet, having studied for 8 years throughout junior high and high school...
- Ballads of the Sad Cafe - 1959 Sonny ClarkSonny ClarkConrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark was an American jazz pianist who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom.-Biography:...
- My ConceptionMy ConceptionMy Conception is an album by jazz pianist Sonny Clark recorded for the Blue Note label and performed by Clark with Donald Byrd, Hank Mobley, Paul Chambers, and Art Blakey, combined with bonus tracks from a session previously released on Sonny Clark Quintets featuring Clifford Jordan, Kenny Burrell... - 1959 Manny AlbamManny AlbamManny Albam was a jazz baritone saxophone player who eventually put the instrument down in favour of a long and respected career as an arranger, writer, and teacher.-Biography:The son of Lithuanian immigrants, who was born in the Dominican Republic when his mother went into labour en route...
/Teo MaceroTeo MaceroTeo Macero , born Attilio Joseph Macero, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer...
- Something New, Something Blue - 1959 Jackie McLean - VertigoVertigo (Jackie McLean album)Vertigo' is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1962 and 1963 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1980. The original 1980 release contained only the five tracks from 1963 but the later 2000 CD release added six tracks from the 1962 session originally marked for...
- 1959 Jackie McLean - New SoilNew SoilNew Soil is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1959 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "New Soil wasn't the first session Jackie McLean recorded for Blue Note, but it was the first one...
- 1959 Walter Davis Jr. - Davis CupDavis Cup (album)Davis Cup is the debut album by American pianist Walter Davis Jr. featuring performances recorded in 1959 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...
- 1961 Pepper AdamsPepper AdamsPark Frederick "Pepper" Adams III was a jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 43 pieces, was the leader on twenty albums, and participated in 600 sessions as a sideman.-Biography:...
- Out of This World - 1962 Duke PearsonDuke PearsonDuke Pearson was an American jazz pianist and composer. Allmusic notes him as being a "big part in shaping the Blue Note label's hard bop direction in the 1960s as a producer."-History:...
- Hush!Hush!Hush! is the fifth album by American pianist and arranger Duke Pearson featuring performances by Pearson with Donald Byrd, and Johnny Coles originally recorded in 1962 and released on the short-lived Jazzline label... - 1963 Hank Mobley - No Room for SquaresNo Room for Squares- Track listing :# "Three Way Split" – 7:49# "Carolyn" – 5:30# "Up a Step" – 8:31# "No Room for Squares" – 6:57# "Me 'N You" – 7:17# "Old World Imports" – 6:08# "Carolyn" [alternate take] – 5:35 Bonus track on CD...
- 1963 Hank Mobley - Straight No FilterStraight No FilterStraight No Filter is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley released on the Blue Note label. It features performances recorded at four different sessions from 1963 to 1966.-Reception:...
- released 1986 - 1963 Hank Mobley - The TurnaroundThe Turnaround- Track listing :# "The Turnaround" - 8:15# "East of the Village" - 6:44# "The Good Life" - 5:08# "Straight Ahead" - 7:02# "My Sin" - 6:53...
- 1963 Jimmy HeathJimmy HeathJames Edward Heath , nicknamed Little Bird, is an American jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger. He is the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath.-Biography:...
- Swamp Seed - 1963 Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
- My Point of ViewMy Point of ViewMy Point of View is the second album by pianist Herbie Hancock. It was released in 1963 on Blue Note Records as BLP 4126 and BST 84126.-Track listing:All compositions by Herbie Hancock.#"Blind Man, Blind Man" – 8:19#"A Tribute to Someone" – 8:45... - 1964 Dexter GordonDexter GordonDexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
- One Flight UpOne Flight UpOne Flight Up is an album by American jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon recorded in 1964 in Paris and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:... - 1964 Cal TjaderCal TjaderCallen Radcliffe Tjader, Jr. a.k.a. Cal Tjader was a Latin jazz musician, though he also explored various other jazz idioms. Unlike other American jazz musicians who experimented with the music from Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America, he never abandoned it, performing it until his...
- Soul Sauce - 1964 Solomon IloriSolomon IloriSolomon Gbadegesin Ilori is an Nigerian drummer and percussionist who moved to New York City in the late 1950s and collaborated with jazz artists such as Art Blakey before recording his debut album for Blue Note Records in 1963.-References:...
- African High LifeAfrican High LifeAfrican High Life is the debut album by Nigerian drummer and percussionist Solomon Ilori recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label... - 1964 Duke Pearson - Wahoo!Wahoo!Wahoo! is an album by American pianist and arranger Duke Pearson, featuring performances recorded in 1964 and released on the Blue Note label in 1965.-Reception:...
- 1965 Dexter Gordon - Ladybird
- 1965 Wes MontgomeryWes MontgomeryJohn Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...
- Goin' Out of My Head - 1967 Stanley TurrentineStanley TurrentineStanley William Turrentine, also known as "Mr. T" or "The Sugar Man", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.-Biography:Turrentine was born in Pittsburgh's Hill District into a musical family...
- A Bluish BagA Bluish BagA Bluish Bag is an album by jazz saxophonist Stanley Turrentine consisting of two sessions recorded for the Blue Note label in 1967 and arranged by Duke Pearson, the first featuing Donald Byrd and the second featuring McCoy Tyner.- Reception :... - 1967 Sam RiversSam RiversSamuel Carthorne Rivers , is an American jazz musician and composer. He performs on soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano....
- Dimensions & ExtensionsDimensions & ExtensionsDimensions & Extensions is an album by American saxophonist Sam Rivers recorded in 1967 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1986. The album was originally scheduled for issue in 1967 but was held back from release until 1975 when the tracks appeared as part of the Double LP set Involution... - 1967 Hank Mobley - Far Away LandsFar Away Lands- Track listing :# "A Dab of This and That" - 5:14# "Far Away Lands" - 5:34# "No Argument" - 6:33# "The Hippity Hop" - 5:42# "Bossa for Baby" - 6:08# "Soul Time" - 6:47*Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, May 26, 1967...
- 1977 Gene HarrisGene HarrisGene Harris was an American jazz pianist known for his warm sound and blues and gospel infused style that is known as soul jazz....
- Tone TantrumTone TantrumTone Tantrum is an album by American jazz pianist Gene Harris recorded in 1977 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Jason Ankeny awarded the album 3½ stars stating "Gene Harris never veered closer to mainstream jazz-funk than Tone Tantrum -- a slick, propulsive... - 1978 Sonny Rollins - Don't Stop the Carnival
- 1993 GuruGuru (rapper)Keith Edward Elam , better known by his stage name Guru, was an American emcee and member of the hip-hop duo Gang Starr, along with DJ Premier. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts...
- Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 is a jazz rap album by alternative hip hop artist Guru, released on May 18, 1993 on Chrysalis Records. This album is one of the first albums to combine a live jazz band with hip hop production and rapping. It is the first such project to feature established rappers... - 1995 GuruGuru (rapper)Keith Edward Elam , better known by his stage name Guru, was an American emcee and member of the hip-hop duo Gang Starr, along with DJ Premier. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts...
- Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality