Jaki Byard
The late Jaki Byard was, arguably, the most versatile pianist in jazz, though he also played trombone and was an excellent tenor saxophonist. Born in 1922, he grew up during the golden era, and while younger than Duke Ellington, he embraced, as had his predecessor, all of the changes the music went through, from its origins in New Orleans through the free improvisation era. Byard would, in a single solo concert, reveal his truly awesome mastery of the aforementioned styles, as well as R&B, stride, swing, funk, blues, honky tonk, and the extreme arpeggios of Art Tatum. But Byard's style was completely his own, developed from his early days playing with Earl Bostic in the late '40s and early '50s. After leaving Bostic, he played with Herb Pomeroy and Maynard Ferguson until he won a spot in the legendary Charles Mingus band of 1962-1964 along with Eric Dolphy. He also recorded with Dolphy and Booker Ervin, as well as Charlie Mariano and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. One of his notable achievements was as the pianist in the Mingus band that tore apart concert halls all over Europe in 1964. Between 1961 and 1972, he issued a string of his own dates for Prestige (Hi-Fly, Here's Jaki, and Out Front! among them) and other labels; they embody his finest work, with a rhythm section that included Richard Davis and Alan Dawson, though he never made a bad record. Byard became an educator in the early '70s (after another collaboration with Mingus in 1970), teaching at Harvard, the Hartt School of Music, and the New England Conservatory, and he recorded and performed intermittently the world over until his death from a gunshot wound in 1999.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
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The Last From Lennie's
Jaki Byard, Jaki Byard Quartet, Joe Farrell
Jazz - Released by Fantasy Records on 11 Nov 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Matter of Black and White (Live at the Keystone Korner)
Bebop - Released by HighNote Records on 11 Mar 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Jaki Byard Experience
Jazz - Released by Original Jazz Classics on 17 Sep 1968
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Magic of 2 (Live at Keystone Korner) (Live)
Jazz - Released by Resonance Records on 9 Apr 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Parisian Solos
Jazz - Released by Futura Marge - Atypeek Music on 1 Jan 1971
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sunshine in My Soul (Live at the keystone korner)
Bebop - Released by HighNote Records on 20 Feb 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Late Show: An Evening with Jaki Byard (Live at the Keystone Korner, Vol. 3)
Bebop - Released by HighNote Records on 17 Jun 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Maybeck Recital Series, Vol. 17
Jazz - Released by Concord Jazz on 8 Sep 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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R&B
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Slam Productions on 29 Dec 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Hi-Fly + Here's Jaki
Jazz - Released by Jazz & Groove on 21 Feb 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
How Time Passes / New Ideas / In Concert at Jazz Jamboree '62
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on 6 Apr 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Excerpts from Yamecraw
Jazz - Released by Swanley on 13 Oct 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo