Blackbyrd McKnight calls his musical style which is a fusion of jazz, funk and rock “Progressive Funk-Rock”.
Blackbyrd was grooved in the cradle by his father’s broad collection of jazz recordings as an infant, brainwashed by Jimi Hendrix in his teens, entered the University of Funk in his twenties, has never stopped evolving and rocking people ever since. In the early stages of his career, Blackbyrd mainly worked with Jazz musicians, such as Charles Lloyd, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock & the Headhunters, and more. He then directed his path towards funk when he joined the P-Funk Camp in 1978 and funked people up for 30 years. He was the musical director of George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic from 1980 to 2008. Other than working with P-Funk artists such as George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell and Brides of Dr. Funkenstein, Blackbyrd has also worked with Miles Davis, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ron Wood & Bernard Fowler of the Rolling Stones, Bill Laswell, HR of Bad Brains, Macy Gray, Fishbone and Wyzard of Mothers Finest, SociaLybrium and TM Stevens to name but a few.
Blackbyrd is now working as a solo artist, and expecting many more projects in the near future.
<Discography> Charles Lloyd: “Morning Sunrise” (1973) “Geeta” (1973) Sonny Rollins: “Nucleus” (1975) Herbie Hancock: “Man-child” (1975) “Flood – Live in Japan 75” The Headhunters: “Survival of the Fittest” (1975) “Straight from the Gate” (1978)
Alphonso Johnson: “Moonshadows”(1976) Bennie Maupin: “Slow traffic to the right" (1977) Parliament:: “Gloryhallastoopid” (1979) Funkadelic: “Uncle Jam Wants You” (1979) “Electric Spanking of War Babies” (1981) Brides of Funkenstein: “Never Buy Texas From A Cowboy” (1979)
George Clinton: “You Shouldn’t-Nuff Bit Fish” (1983) “Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends” (1985) “R&B Skeletons In The Closet” (1985) “The Cinderella Theory” (1989) “Hey Man… Smell My Finger” (1993) P-Funk All-stars: “Urban Dancsfloor Guerillas” (1983) George Clinton & The P-Funk All-stars: “Go For Yer Funk” (1992) “A Fifth of Funk” (1993) “T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M.” (1996) Parliament – Funkadelic: “Dope Dogs” (1994)
George Clinton Presents Our Gang Funky (1989)
P-Funk Guitar Army: “Tributes To Jimi Hendrix” (1994)
Jimmy G. And The Tackheads: “The Federation of Tackheads” (1985)
Warren Zevon: “Sentimental Hygiene” (1986)
Incorporated Thang Band: “Lifestyles of The Roach And Famous” (1987)
Marc Anthony Thompson: “Watts & Paris” (1989)
Lady Smith Black Manbazo: “Two Worlds One Heart” (1990)
Toshinobu Kubota: “Such a Funky Thang” (1990)
Mr. Fiddler : “With Respect” (1990)
Axiom Funk: “Funkcronomicon” (1995)
A Tribute To John Lennon: “Working Class Hero” (1995)
Macy Gray: “On How Life Is” (1999)
George Clinton Presents the P-Funk All-Stars: “How Late Do U Have 2BB4UR Absent?”(2005)
Bootsy Collins: Christmas Is 4 Ever (2006)
George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love: Legends of The Fall (2008)
Melvin Gibbs: Ancients Speak (2009)
SociaLybirium: For You, For Us, For All (2009)
Blackbyrd McKnight: 'Bout Funkin' Time (2009)