The Blackbyrds--Walking in Rhythm (1975)

     Trumpet player Donald Byrd had spent well over 20 years playing in bands. The jazz leader had a undergraduate degree from Wayne State , and then a master's degree from Manhattan School of Music. From that point on he played in various groups, and as a sideman for many of the best in the business; Coltrane, Monk, Rollins, Herbie Hancock, and Art Blakley.
      He also loved to teach, and it was during his stint at Howard University that he came up with the idea of putting together his own group, made up of the best students in his class. They were signed to Fantasy records in 1973 and just two years later hit gold with the single, "Walking in Rhythm". They stayed together as a band until 1980, and has not only been an influence on a generation of jazz-funk bands, but an early generation of hip hop artists as their music has been heavily sampled. Byrd continues to teach, most recently as an artist-in-residence at the University of Delaware.