Every genre needs bridge figures to keep it relevant for new generations. Trumpeter Donald Byrd played such a role for j...

Every genre needs bridge figures to keep it relevant for new generations. Trumpeter Donald Byrd played such a role for jazz in the 1970s, making infectiously funky LPs that spoke to youth raised on the counterculture and more “out” sounds. Already a legend who had played in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and with greats like Herbie Hancock and Eric Dolphy, his move into funk jazz with the Mizell Brothers and The Blackbyrds became sample-staples for the golden age of hip-hop. In the late Seventies, Byrd brought the same connecting spirit to North Carolina Central University in Durham as a groundbreaking jazz educator. There he taught students in music theory and practice, helped build a jazz curriculum, and made a funky dance record with Central students, NCCU (New Central Connection Unlimited)’s SUPERTRICK. This Black History Month, it’s a perfect time to revisit Duke professor Mark Anthony Neal’s (@bookerbbrown) account of Donald Byrd’s groundbreaking time in Durham. Image 1: Donald Byrd photograph from The NC Central yearbook, courtesy of NCCU Image 2 & 3: Front & back cover of NCCU's SUPERTRICK LP (United Artists, 1977) Alt. text: Image 1: Donald Byrd in suit and bowtie, holding trumpet, in front of a painting by Ernie Barnes; Image 2: NCCU album cover front featuring hands making shadow-puppet of various animals; Image 3: NCCU album back cover, featuring text and band photo