Donald Byrd the legendary jazz musician  has died.According to family members Donald Byrd died last week an Monday a the age of 80,MSN Entertainment reports

The family has not yet disclosed the cause of his death.

A statement from his nephew reads: “Let’s remember Donald as a one of a kind pioneer of the trumpet, of the many styles of music he took on, of music education. In sum, Donald was an avid, eternal student of music, until his death.”

Donald Byrd Dead

Byrd launched his career with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in the 1950s and performed alongside the likes of John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk and Herbie Hancock.

His Blue Note Records album “Black Byrd” became a bestseller for the iconic company and led to the trumpeter forming a group called The Blackbyrds in the 1970s.

By UP