Friends Gather To Remember Jazz Bassist Joe Byrd

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Jazz bassist Joe Byrd is being remembered by friends for his quiet support of others, including his guitar-playing brother, the late Charlie Byrd.

The Capital newspaper of Annapolis reports Joe Byrd died nearly three weeks ago at age 78 following a car crash.

Friends gathered Saturday at Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis to hear music and reminisce about a man who played on many famed recordings but did not gain fame in his own right.

For decades, he played bass along his guitar-playing brother in the Charlie Byrd Trio. He played on "Jazz Samba," a mainstream hit record in 1962 featuring Charlie Byrd and Stan Getz that popularized the Brazilian bossa nova sound in America.

Joe Byrd had lived in Annapolis since 1977. Charlie Byrd died in 1999.

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