40 Year Itch : Doin' it in the Park

The Blackbyrds :Rock Creek Life

[Purchase]

The Blackbyrds, formed by Howard University students under the tutelage of jazz great Donald Byrd, celebrate a Washington D.C, icon not so well known to people outside the nation's capital. "Rock Creek Park" would be sampled by De La Soul (for "Ghetto Thang"), Eric B and Rakim, Ice Cube, Massive Attack, ODB and Coolio, 2Pac, NWA and Ultramagnetic MCs, among others. I may have discovered this funky jazz classic by reading one of George Pelecanos's great noir thrillers. His DC based investigators, Derek Strange and Terry Quinn, are always listening to the best music from the same era I celebrate here.

40 Year Itch: Humming to the Music

The Blackbyrds : Walking in Rhythm

[Purchase]

Inescapable 1975 hit from Howard University students studying under crossover jazz great Donald Byrd. The guys in the band managed to maintain a B average even as they played on the Dinah Shore Show and appeared in the film Cornbread, Earl and Me.