JAM Magazine: February/March 1997 Issue: KC/DC

by Gregg Ottinger

Been To Kansas City: Charlie Byrd
What is a National Treasure? Ask Londoners for an example and they might say "The Crown Jewels." Parisians may offer "The Louvre." Washington, D.C. jazz fans will uniformly, unhesitatingly, and quite correctly respond "Charlie Byrd." A fixture in and around the nation's capital since 1950, Charlie Byrd has been a worldwide influence over the last half century as one of the major innovative forces in jazz and classical guitar.

Born in the tiny town of Chuckatuck, in the southeast corner of Virginia known as Tidewater, Charlie took up the guitar because "There was one there. My father played the guitar, and when his friends came over and they all played, it seemed like a lot of fun, so I decided to learn it, too." In Paris during World War II he met and sat in at clubs with the great gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. After the war, he became a well respected regular in the New York jazz scene, where he played with Sol Yaged, Joe Marsala, and Freddie Slack. In 1950, frustrated with the lack of opportunities for jazz players, he began to study concert guitar, including lessons with Sophocles Papas and Andres Segovia. He continued to play in jazz clubs, however, and introduced classical guitar style and techniques -- especially the use of an acoustical nylon-string guitar played without a pick or electronics -- to jazz music. He first recorded as a leader (on Savoy) in 1957, and also recorded with Woody Herman (1958-59).

"...I was very impressed with Andy Kirk's band in the 1940s. I liked that band a lot, especially Mary Lou Williams. Her arrangements sound fresh even today." -- Charlie Byrd

In 1962 Charlie Byrd made the contribution for which he is best known. The prior year he had played throughout Brazil on a tour sponsored by the U.S. State Department, which deepened his interest in Latin music.

"I heard wonderful tunes and a wonderful way of playing them, " he says. "It was both facets that I loved: the beautiful songs by Brazilian composers like Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfa, Roberto Menescali, Dorival Caymmi, and many more, and the way the Brazilians played the music."

He returned to the U.S. with a load of records and music and, in 1962, invited Stan Getz to record an album of Brazilian music with him. The result was Jazz Samba. In the words of Leonard Feather, a patriarch of jazz commentary, "The entire bossa nova craze in the United states may be said to have sprung directly from this album."

As Stan Getz had never been to Brazil at that time, I asked Charlie why he chose him to play on this album.

"My wife picked Stan Getz. She knew I was interested in making a record of Brazilian music, of course, and when we heard him at a club in D.C. she said, 'He would be the right guy.' I invited him to lunch the next day and then over to the house to listen to some records. He recognized them as wonderful tunes and he was the right choice. He was so lyrical; one of the greatest sax players in the idiom of jazz music. But yes, Jazz Samba was certainly my most successful album. And the most challenging was Onda Nueva, with Aldemaro Romero."

When asked which recording he is proudest of, he replies "The next one I make, whatever it might be."

Charlie Byrd's innovations and contributions did not stop with the melding of classical and jazz guitar, or with the samba and bossa nova. In 1974 he teamed up with Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis for the first of the Great Guitars recordings. The Washington Guitar Quartet followed in 1992.

Charlie Byrd has played in Kansas City many times, including at the annual Jazz Festival. ("My brother lived in Independence for almost twenty years.") He is also a great fan of Kansas City musicians and Kansas City-style jazz.

"I made an album in the late 1950s called Going To Kansas City. It had Buck Clayton, Dickie Wells, John Bunch and Tommy Gwaltney. We played Jay McShann charts and Andy Kirk charts and Basie charts. (The album has not been re-issued on CD. -- Ed.) When I was in New York in the late 1940s I played a few times with Charlie Parker. And at the Howard Theater here in D.C. In New York, we both used to stop in at the Modern School of Music on Broadway for jam sessions. I also jammed with Ben Webster in those days; I loved his playing. I was also a great admirer of Lester Young. He's one of my favorite players of all time and a great influence on music. I also played with Jo Jones a few times. He was a good talker and story teller. And I was very impressed with Andy Kirk's band in the 1940s. I liked that band a lot, especially Mary Lou Williams. Her arrangements sound fresh even today. Yes, that Andy Kirk band was hot as a firecracker. They were something else."

Although now over 70, Charlie Byrd's playing and ideas are still strong and innovative. His latest CD, Du Hot Club De Concord, is a tribute to Django Reinhardt, and includes Johnny Frigo on violin, Hendrik Meurkens on harmonica, Frank Vignola on rhythm guitar, and Michael Moore on bass. Byrd also recently returned from a tour of India.

"I love Indian music, but don't expect a sitar album from me. I owned one once, studied with Ravi Shankar and practiced until my fingers bled. But that was because I wanted to familiarize myself with the instrument. No way I would record on it. That would require reinventing myself and it would take several lifetimes."

Charlie is currently considering two new projects.

"The record company [Concord] would like me to do another Brazilian album. I am talking to [guitarist) Oscar Castro-Neves about working with me on that. And I would like to do an album with my current trio (Joe Byrd on bass and Chuck Redd on vibes)."

Charlie Byrd seems to become more versatile and creative with each new recording, no doubt because he loves what he does.

"I've never found anything in the whole world more worth doing than playing the guitar."

Zimbrick To Purdue
Jazz listeners in the Kansas City and Lawrence areas may remember disc jockey John Zimbrick, whose show "Jazz In The Afternoon" aired on KANU-FM from 1970 to 1984. In recent years John has been living and working in the Washington, D.C. area, where he hosts "Jazz Cornucopia" on a local NPR affiliate, WPFW-FM. He will soon be leaving our nation's capital, however, for Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where he has accepted the position of Professor of Radiation Biophysics at the School of Health Sciences. Professor Zimbrick reports that he has been in touch with the Purdue station, WBAA-FM, about hosting a jazz show. We will miss John and his music in the D.C. area, but wish him the very best at Purdue.

RETURN TO FEBRUARY/MARCH 1997 MAIN INDEX

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© Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.






	Search our site:		by Gregg Ottinger Been To Kansas City: Charlie Byrd What is a National Treasure? Ask Londoners for an example and they might say "The Crown Jewels." Parisians may offer "The Louvre." Washington, D.C. jazz fans will uniformly, unhesitatingly, and quite correctly respond "Charlie Byrd." A fixture in and around the nation's capital since 1950, Charlie Byrd has been a worldwide influence over the last half century as one of the major innovative forces in jazz and classical guitar. Born in the tiny town of Chuckatuck, in the southeast corner of Virginia known as Tidewater, Charlie took up the guitar because "There was one there. My father played the guitar, and when his friends came over and they all played, it seemed like a lot of fun, so I decided to learn it, too." In Paris during World War II he met and sat in at clubs with the great gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. After the war, he became a well respected regular in the New York jazz scene, where he played with Sol Yaged, Joe Marsala, and Freddie Slack. In 1950, frustrated with the lack of opportunities for jazz players, he began to study concert guitar, including lessons with Sophocles Papas and Andres Segovia. He continued to play in jazz clubs, however, and introduced classical guitar style and techniques -- especially the use of an acoustical nylon-string guitar played without a pick or electronics -- to jazz music. He first recorded as a leader (on Savoy) in 1957, and also recorded with Woody Herman (1958-59). "...I was very impressed with Andy Kirk's band in the 1940s. I liked that band a lot, especially Mary Lou Williams. Her arrangements sound fresh even today." -- Charlie Byrd In 1962 Charlie Byrd made the contribution for which he is best known. The prior year he had played throughout Brazil on a tour sponsored by the U.S. State Department, which deepened his interest in Latin music. "I heard wonderful tunes and a wonderful way of playing them, " he says. "It was both facets that I loved: the beautiful songs by Brazilian composers like Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfa, Roberto Menescali, Dorival Caymmi, and many more, and the way the Brazilians played the music." He returned to the U.S. with a load of records and music and, in 1962, invited Stan Getz to record an album of Brazilian music with him. The result was Jazz Samba. In the words of Leonard Feather, a patriarch of jazz commentary, "The entire bossa nova craze in the United states may be said to have sprung directly from this album." As Stan Getz had never been to Brazil at that time, I asked Charlie why he chose him to play on this album. "My wife picked Stan Getz. She knew I was interested in making a record of Brazilian music, of course, and when we heard him at a club in D.C. she said, 'He would be the right guy.' I invited him to lunch the next day and then over to the house to listen to some records. He recognized them as wonderful tunes and he was the right choice. He was so lyrical; one of the greatest sax players in the idiom of jazz music. But yes, Jazz Samba was certainly my most successful album. And the most challenging was Onda Nueva, with Aldemaro Romero." When asked which recording he is proudest of, he replies "The next one I make, whatever it might be." Charlie Byrd's innovations and contributions did not stop with the melding of classical and jazz guitar, or with the samba and bossa nova. In 1974 he teamed up with Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis for the first of the Great Guitars recordings. The Washington Guitar Quartet followed in 1992. Charlie Byrd has played in Kansas City many times, including at the annual Jazz Festival. ("My brother lived in Independence for almost twenty years.") He is also a great fan of Kansas City musicians and Kansas City-style jazz. "I made an album in the late 1950s called Going To Kansas City. It had Buck Clayton, Dickie Wells, John Bunch and Tommy Gwaltney. We played Jay McShann charts and Andy Kirk charts and Basie charts. (The album has not been re-issued on CD. -- Ed.) When I was in New York in the late 1940s I played a few times with Charlie Parker. And at the Howard Theater here in D.C. In New York, we both used to stop in at the Modern School of Music on Broadway for jam sessions. I also jammed with Ben Webster in those days; I loved his playing. I was also a great admirer of Lester Young. He's one of my favorite players of all time and a great influence on music. I also played with Jo Jones a few times. He was a good talker and story teller. And I was very impressed with Andy Kirk's band in the 1940s. I liked that band a lot, especially Mary Lou Williams. Her arrangements sound fresh even today. Yes, that Andy Kirk band was hot as a firecracker. They were something else." Although now over 70, Charlie Byrd's playing and ideas are still strong and innovative. His latest CD, Du Hot Club De Concord, is a tribute to Django Reinhardt, and includes Johnny Frigo on violin, Hendrik Meurkens on harmonica, Frank Vignola on rhythm guitar, and Michael Moore on bass. Byrd also recently returned from a tour of India. "I love Indian music, but don't expect a sitar album from me. I owned one once, studied with Ravi Shankar and practiced until my fingers bled. But that was because I wanted to familiarize myself with the instrument. No way I would record on it. That would require reinventing myself and it would take several lifetimes." Charlie is currently considering two new projects. "The record company [Concord] would like me to do another Brazilian album. I am talking to [guitarist) Oscar Castro-Neves about working with me on that. And I would like to do an album with my current trio (Joe Byrd on bass and Chuck Redd on vibes)." Charlie Byrd seems to become more versatile and creative with each new recording, no doubt because he loves what he does. "I've never found anything in the whole world more worth doing than playing the guitar." Zimbrick To Purdue Jazz listeners in the Kansas City and Lawrence areas may remember disc jockey John Zimbrick, whose show "Jazz In The Afternoon" aired on KANU-FM from 1970 to 1984. In recent years John has been living and working in the Washington, D.C. area, where he hosts "Jazz Cornucopia" on a local NPR affiliate, WPFW-FM. He will soon be leaving our nation's capital, however, for Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where he has accepted the position of Professor of Radiation Biophysics at the School of Health Sciences. Professor Zimbrick reports that he has been in touch with the Purdue station, WBAA-FM, about hosting a jazz show. We will miss John and his music in the D.C. area, but wish him the very best at Purdue. RETURN TO FEBRUARY/MARCH 1997 MAIN INDEX ------------------------------------------------------------------------ © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.