“On my 18th birthday, my brother bought me my first Stratocaster. I thought it was a copy, as I didn’t see the Fender logo. One day, I took the neck off and saw ‘9-58’ inside…” Blackbyrd McKnight on his mysterious Strat and the ’70s jazz-funk explosion

Dwayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight plays an S-style under the green stage lights at London's Koko, 2015.

In 1970, DeWayne “Blackbyrd” McKnight was a 16-year-old guitar wunderkind with stars in his eyes. He had the chops; all he needed was someone to notice him, which didn’t take long, as jazz legend Charles Lloyd had taken a shine to McKnight by the time he’d turned 18.

At the time, McKnight was a Strat-loving teen whose smoky tone and nose for what pedals to combine with what amps quickly made him a hot commodity on the early ’70s jazz-fusion scene. But none of it would have happened had Lloyd not given him his start.