Donald Byrd was well-versed in the art of reinvention. The trumpeter/bandleader began his career as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers while still pursuing his master's degree at the Manhattan School of Music. Upon graduating from both institutions, Byrd played with John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, and a host of jazz's finest leaders. By 1958, he was leading his own quintet. But in the years to come, the sound of music would shift radically. Byrd would change with it. His
Back in February, we reported on Blue Note Records' Tone Poet Reissue Series, a new initiative by label president Don Was and audiophile jazz expert Joe Harley that presents detailed vinyl reissues of Blue Note classics and overlooked titles from the label's 80-year history. Each title is an all-analog affair, mastered from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray and pressed onto 180-gram vinyl at RTI, then housed in deluxe gatefold packaging. The first titles - Wayne Shorter's Etcetera and
Trumpeter/bandleader Donald Byrd began his career as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers while still pursuing his master's degree at the Manhattan School of Music. Upon graduating from both institutions, Byrd played with John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, and a host of jazz's finest leaders. By 1958, he was leading his own quintet. Twenty years later, however, much had changed for Byrd and the sound of jazz. After a nearly twenty-year association with the venerable Blue Note