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

Byrd played fingerstyle on a .


Early life
Charlie Byrd was born in 1925 in Suffolk, Virginia, and grew up in the borough of Chuckatuck. His father, a and guitarist, taught him how to play the acoustic at age 10. Byrd had three brothers, Oscar, Jack, and Gene "Joe" Byrd, who was an player. In 1942, Byrd entered the Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI, now better known as ) 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 at the Harnett National Music School in , New York City. During this time, he began playing a . 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 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 guitarist , whom he saw perform in Paris.


Career
In 1957, Byrd met double bassist 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 's band and toured Europe for three weeks as part of a State Department-sponsored goodwill tour. The other members of the band were , Bill Harris, , 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 , 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 at the Showboat Lounge. Byrd invited Getz back to his home to listen to some 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.

(2025). 9780879307295, Backbeat Books. .
(1999). 9780195121018, Oxford University Press. .

Getz convinced at 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 , Bill Reichenbach and Buddy Deppenschmidt. Reichenbach and Deppenschmidt were drummers, and the combination made it easier to achieve 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 Church because of the building's excellent acoustics.

was released in April 1962, and by September it had entered the Billboard album chart. By March of the following year the album had moved to number one. The term "bossa nova" was not used until later. The album remained on the charts for seventy weeks, and Getz soon beat in a poll. One of the album's most popular tunes was a Jobim hit, titled "".

Following the success of Jazz Samba, Byrd signed with Riverside Records, which reissued six of his albums recorded for the small Offbeat label, a subsidiary of Washington Records. Offbeat Records catalog accessed October 31, 2012

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.Theater program from the production The solo dancer for the concert was Jocelyn Anker Moss.

In 1963, Byrd toured Europe with and .

(2025). 9780879306564, Backbeat Books. .
Between 1964 and 1965, he appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival with Episcopal priest , accompanying prayers from his book Are You Running With Me Jesus? with guitar.
(2025). 9780664223731, Westminster John Knox Press.
In 1967, Byrd brought a lawsuit against Stan Getz and , 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 titled Tambú, the only recording the two would make together.

(2025). 087930619X, Backbeat Books. . 087930619X
That same year, Byrd joined guitarists and and formed the Great Guitars group, which also included drummer Johnny Rae.
(1996). 9780803242500, University of Nebraska Press.
Byrd collaborated with Venezuelan pianist and composer 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 and . 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.

A pastime for Byrd was , as he owned a boat called "I'm Hip".


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


Awards
  • 1999 – by the government of as a Knight of the Rio Branco
  • 1997 – deemed a "Maryland Art Treasure" by the Community Arts Alliance of


Discography

As leader
Co-led with
Originally issued as Jazz at the Showboat, Vol. 3 (Offbeat)
Originally issued as Jazz at the Showboat (Offbeat)
Originally issued as Charlie's Choice (Offbeat)
Originally issued on Offbeat
Originally issued on Offbeat
Originally issued on Offbeat
Co-led with
Charlie Byrd & Woody Herman
Co-led with
Co-led with
Co-led with , Herb Ellis
Co-led with Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis
Co-led with Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis
Co-led with
Co-led with
Co-led with Laurindo Almeida
Co-led with Annapolis Brass Quintet
Co-led with Laurindo Almeida, Carlos Barbosa-Lima
with Ken Peplowski
1995
Co-led with Herb Ellis,


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

With and 's Kansas City 9

  • Goin' to Kansas City (Riverside, 1960)

With

  • The Artistry of Helen Merrill (Mainstream, 1965)

With

  • Garbage and Other Songs of Our Times (Collector, 1971)

With

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

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