This edition of Giants of Jazz brings you an interview with Charlie Byrd, one of the most popular jazz guitarists of all time. His natural interest in Brazilian music served him extremely well, as the first ripples of the bossa nova wave began to wash over North America 50 years ago.
A friend of Byrd’s turned him onto the sound of Brazilian music in the late 1950s and Byrd, in turn, took some of his own recently acquired Jobim albums to a listening session with Stan Getz at Getz's place in 1961. Getz was hooked, and the two men agreed to collaborate on a bossa nova project soon after that.
The term bossa nova, meaning "new style," had not yet entered the vernacular in American music, so their seminal 1962 collaboration on Verve Records was called Jazz Samba. It took record buyers no time to show their love for the music, leading to worldwide sales for Byrd and Getz as well as appearances on programs such as the enormously popular Kraft Music Hall TV show, hosted by Perry Como.
The success of Jazz Samba proved to be a mixed blessing for Byrd, who began to feud with Getz and the record label over royalties, a dispute that was ultimately resolved in Byrd’s favour in court.
Byrd found success with other aspects of his career, including a project he initiated called the Great Guitars, featuring fellow guitarists Herb Ellis and Barney Kessel.
“This great renaissance with the classical guitar has not been all slam bang like some people think it is.” — Charlie Byrd as related to Hot Air host, Bob Smith.
Byrd was also very knowledgeable and proficient in the classical guitar repertoire, as this Hot Air interview demonstrates. He pointed to the steady increase of interest in classical guitar at the time and named Christopher Parkening as one of his favourite performers.
Interviewer Bob Smith started by complimenting Byrd on his ability to adapt and transcribe music specifically for the guitar from well known classical sources.
[listen]Listen to Bob Smith's interview with Charlie Byrd from 1972, eight minutes and 27 seconds.
Interview backgrounder
This relatively brief interview was recorded during intermission at Byrd’s one-nighter in Vancouver in 1972. The location is presumed to be the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, a venue that matches the seating capacity Smith mentions in the conversation.
Byrd refers to a recording of a song called "Moliendo Café" that appears on his Columbia Records release, Onda Nueva/The New Wave.
The archive
The Bob Smith Hot Air archive is a treasure trove of approximately 50 interviews Smith recorded with some of the greatest stars of the day, from the world of jazz and beyond. Captured between 1950 and 1982, these interviews include conversations with Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Harry James, Oscar Peterson and Lena Horne, as well as Sammy Davis Jr., Bill Cosby, Harry Belafonte, Liza Minnelli and many others.
The interviewer
The cigar-smoking, erudite and opinionated Smith was an old-time broadcaster who forged friendships with an A-list of entertainers who always seemed to have time for a sit-down with Smith — and sometimes a little “taste” of something special that Smith had corked away for just such occasions. His habitual sign-off to his weekly jazz show, Hot Air, now undeniably the longest-running program on CBC Radio, was “God bless jazz fans everywhere.”
Related:
Giants of Jazz: Herbie Hancock
Giants of Jazz: Tony Bennett, part 1
Giants of Jazz: Louis Armstrong
Giants of Jazz: Oscar Peterson