RIP: Donald Byrd 1932-2013

Jazz legend Donald Byrd has passed away at the age of 80, confirmed his nephew and fellow artist Alex Bugnon.

Byrd, whose career spanned over 50 years, was a frontrunner in several music movements including hard bop, jazz fusion, R&B and later Hip-Hop through sampling of his work on classic tracks like Black Moon’s “Buck ‘Em Down (Remix)” and Main Source’s “Looking At the Front Door.”

Later in his career, Byrd lent his talents to education, teaching at higher institutions such as Columbia, Rutgers, Howard and New York University.

At press time, the cause of death has not been made public. Byrd, according to Bugnon, passed away on Monday (February 4).

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