Biography of The Blackbyrds

Jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd (b.12/09/32, Detroit, MI) put together this R&B/fusion instrumental crew of students in the early '70s. The lineup was: Allan Curtis Barnes (b.1949, Detroit, MI) (reeds); Barney Perry (b.1953, Buffalo, NY) (guitar); Kevin Kraig Toney (b.1953 Detroit, MI) (keyboards); Joseph Hall, III (b.1954, Washington, D.C.) (bass); Pericles Jacobs, Jr. (b.1951, Washington, D.C.) (percussion); and Keith Killgo (b.1954, Baltimore, MD) (drums). Their albums were big hits in urban contemporary circles (City Life, Unfinished Business, and Action went gold). Donald Byrd reformed the Blackbyrds in the spring of 1994 and returned to the studio, with plans for a forthcoming release. ~ Ron Wynn