Salute to Charlie Byrd
Chuck Redd and Ensemble, with Nate Najar
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The 2011 Festival will feature a tribute to the late Charlie Byrd, who thrilled mid-Atlantic audiences for decades with his jazz and classical guitar. Byrd was famous for his introduction of Brazilian Bossa Nova music to the United States. In 1962 he collaborated with Stan Getz to record the famous album, Jazz Samba, which included the major hit “Desafinado”. Following his work with Stan Getz, Byrd continued to tour and perform until he passed away in 1999 at the age of 74. In 1997 he was deemed a "Maryland Art Treasure" by the Community Arts Alliance of Maryland and in 1999 he was knighted by the government of Brazil as a Knight of the Rio Branco. Festival artistic director Monty Alexander, who had accompanied Byrd on numerous occasions over the years, chose to hold a Tribute at this year’s Festival as homage to his past association with the legendary guitarist and to honor Byrd’s many accomplishments in jazz.
The Tribute will feature vibraphonist and drummer Chuck Redd, who joined the Charlie Byrd Trio in 1980 at the age of 21. The same year, he joined the Great Guitars (Barney Kessel, Charlie Byrd and Herb Ellis). To his credit are thirteen extensive European tours and five tours of Japan. He was the featured vibraphonist for the Mel Torme Quintet from 1991-1996 and was a member of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra for 15 years. He served as the Artist-In-Residence at the Smithsonian Jazz Café in Washington DC for 2004-2008. He is currently on the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Music.
The Tribute will also feature American jazz guitarist Nate Najar. Najar, who was heavily influenced by Charlie Byrd, is one of the few guitarists to play jazz on the classical guitar. He has performed at international jazz festivals as well as alongside jazz greats including Clark Terry, Ken Peplowski and Ray Kennedy. In 2008, Nate was invited to perform in a Kennedy Center event celebrating Charlie Byrd and other DC area jazz notables.
