Trumpeter Donald Byrd's DC period lasted just a few years in the mid-1970s, but during that time he served as a music professor at Howard University, recorded four incredible albums as a bandleader, and somehow earned a law degree at the same time.
Byrd not only soaked up the vibes of the local jazz and funk scenes in that brief time, but also left an indelible mark on those scenes. Beyond mentoring the group of Howard music students who would become known around the world as The Blackbyrds, Byrd's fusion of jazz, funk, and disco most certainly helped prep the soil for DC's "official" music, Go-Go.
Byrd not only soaked up the vibes of the local jazz and funk scenes in that brief time, but also left an indelible mark on those scenes. Beyond mentoring the group of Howard music students who would become known around the world as The Blackbyrds, Byrd's fusion of jazz, funk, and disco most certainly helped prep the soil for DC's "official" music, Go-Go.
