Bill Reichenbach never wanted to do anything except play the drums. When he was 5, he took apart a banjo and started beating out a rhythm on the soundbox.
Through the years, he built a solid reputation as a steady rhythmic anchor at Washington nightclubs and for touring big bands. He was never well known beyond the jazz circuit, but for one golden moment, he unexpectedly found himself at the launch of a new national phenomenon.
In 1961, Washington guitarist Charlie Byrd went on a State Department-sponsored tour of South America, where he and his band -- which did yet not include Reichenbach -- heard a gently infectious music that had come to prominence with the 1959 Brazilian film “Black Orpheus."
“When they got to Brazil and heard the new sound of the bossa nova, Charlie was really taken with it," Joe Byrd, Charlie Byrd's brother and longtime musical collaborator, recalled last week. “It was very lyrical and had all the components he liked."
Charlie Byrd decided to introduce the bossa nova into his repertoire, which was already an eclectic mix of blues, bebop and Bach. The sultry sounds that wafted north from Brazil didn't take root first in New York or Los Angeles or Miami. Instead, they landed in Washington.
Byrd began to hold rehearsals for a recording and asked Reichenbach to join the project as a drummer and percussionist. The other musicians included Byrd's brother (then known as Gene Byrd) on guitar and bass, Keter Betts on bass, Buddy Deppenschmidt on drums and saxophone superstar Stan Getz.
Through the years, he built a solid reputation as a steady rhythmic anchor at Washington nightclubs and for touring big bands. He was never well known beyond the jazz circuit, but for one golden moment, he unexpectedly found himself at the launch of a new national phenomenon.
In 1961, Washington guitarist Charlie Byrd went on a State Department-sponsored tour of South America, where he and his band -- which did yet not include Reichenbach -- heard a gently infectious music that had come to prominence with the 1959 Brazilian film “Black Orpheus."
“When they got to Brazil and heard the new sound of the bossa nova, Charlie was really taken with it," Joe Byrd, Charlie Byrd's brother and longtime musical collaborator, recalled last week. “It was very lyrical and had all the components he liked."
Charlie Byrd decided to introduce the bossa nova into his repertoire, which was already an eclectic mix of blues, bebop and Bach. The sultry sounds that wafted north from Brazil didn't take root first in New York or Los Angeles or Miami. Instead, they landed in Washington.
Byrd began to hold rehearsals for a recording and asked Reichenbach to join the project as a drummer and percussionist. The other musicians included Byrd's brother (then known as Gene Byrd) on guitar and bass, Keter Betts on bass, Buddy Deppenschmidt on drums and saxophone superstar Stan Getz.
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