Charlie Byrd was a jazz guitarist, who, unusually, played finger-style using a classical guitar. He became especially associated with Latin music, especially the bossa nova, through his collaborations with Stan Getz in the early 1960s. Born in Virginia in 1925, he learnt guitar from his father as a child, and saw combat duty in Europe during WWII, after which he studied at Manhattan’s Harnett National Music School and later with Andres Segovia in Italy – he cited Django Reinhardt as his greatest influence.  

His first recording was a private session with Charlie Parker’s Tentette in 1952, but after performing through the mid-50s in Washington DC he made his official recording debut on Savoy in 1957. He then made a series of albums for the Offbeat label, part of Washington Records, based in the capital, which over time were licensed or sold to Riverside and re-issued by them. 

This 34-track 2-CD collection comprises most of the titles from a selection of the Offbeat albums “Jazz At The Showboat Vol. 2” (reissued as “Byrd In The Wind”), “Jazz at The Showboat Vol, 3” (re-issued as“Mr, Guitar”), “At The Village Vanguard”, and “Blues Sonata”.  It features performances with Charlie Schneer (piano), Keter Betts (bass), Bertell Knox (drums) and others. 

He was a skilled, distinctive and much admired jazz guitarist and this is an enlightening and absorbing insight into his early career.

CD 1
1. SWING '59 Charlie Byrd (Charlie Byrd) 
2. YOU'D BE SO NICE TO COME HOME TO Charlie Byrd (Cole Porter) 
3. SHOWBOAT SHUFFLE Charlie Byrd (Duke Ellington) 
4. LOVE LETTERS Charlie Byrd (Edward Heyman, Victor Young) 
5. CROSS YOUR HEART Charlie Byrd (Buddy DeSylva, Lewis Gensler) 
6. KETER'S DIRTY BLUES Charlie Byrd (Charlie Byrd, Keter Betts) 
7. YOU'RE A SWEETHEART Charlie Byrd (Harold Adamson, Jimmy McHugh) 
8. STARS FELL ON ALABAMA Charlie Byrd (Mitchell Parish, Frank Perkins) 
9. A LONG WAY FROM ST. LOUIS Charlie Byrd (John Benson Brooks, Bob Russell) 
10. WAIT TILL YOU SEE HER Charlie Byrd (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) 
11. GEORGIA Charlie Byrd (Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell) 
12. COPACABANA Charlie Byrd (João de Barro, Alberto Ribeiro) 
From the album “Jazz at the Showboat Vol. 2” (Offbeat OJ3005), re-issued on Riverside as “ Byrd In The Wind”        
13. BLUES FOR FELIX Charlie Byrd (Charlie Byrd) 
14. GYPSY IN MY SOUL Charlie Byrd (Clay Boland, Moe Jaffe) 
15. IN A MELLOTONE Charlie Byrd (Duke Ellington) 
16. PRELUDE TO A KISS Charlie Byrd (Duke Ellington, Irving Gordon, Irving Mills) 
17. TRAVELLIN' ON Charlie Byrd (Charlie Byrd) 
18. PLAY FIDDLE PLAY Charlie Byrd (Emery Deutsch, Arthur Altman, Reginald Connelly, Jack Lawrence) 
19. FUNKY FLAMENCO Charlie Byrd (Charlie Byrd) 
20. MY ONE AND ONLY Charlie Byrd (George Gershwin) 
21. MAM I'LL BE HOME SOME DAY Charlie Byrd (Charlie Byrd) 
22. HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEEN GOING ON Charlie Byrd (George Gershwin) 
23. WHO CARES Charlie Byrd (George Gershwin)
From the album “Jazz at the Showboat Vol. 3” (Offbeat OJ3006), re-issued on Riverside as “Mr. Guitar”    

CD 2
1. LAY THE LILY LOW Charlie Byrd (Charlie Byrd) 
From the album “Jazz at the Showboat Vol. 3” (Offbeat OJ3006), re-issued on Riverside as “Mr. Guitar”    
2. JUST SQUEEZE ME (BUT DON'T TEASE ME) Charlie Byrd (Duke Ellington, Lee Gaines) 
3. WHY WAS I BORN? Charlie Byrd (Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern) 
From the album “At The Village Vanguard” (Offbeat OJ3008), re-issued on Riverside under the same title
4. YOU STEPPED OUT OF A DREAM Charlie Byrd (Nacio Herb Brown, Gus Kahn) 
5. THE BLUES SONATA: POLONAISE POUR PIETRO Charlie Byrd (Charlie Byrd) 
6. THE BLUES SONATA: BALLAD IN B MINOR Charlie Byrd (Charlie Byrd) 
7. THE BLUES SONATA: SCHERZO FOR AN OLD SHOE Charlie Byrd (Charlie Byrd) 
8. ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND Charlie Byrd (Irving Berlin) 
9. JORDU Charlie Byrd (Duke Jordan) 
10. THAT OLE DEVIL CALLED LOVE Charlie Byrd (Doris Fisher, Allan Roberts) 
11. ZING! WENT THE STRINGS OF MY HEART Charlie Byrd (James Hanley)
From the album “Blues Sonata” (Offbeat OJ3009), re-issued on Riverside under the same title