More inspiration from Jazz Video Guy, (Bret Primack), remembering the late, great, jazz pianist, Jaki Byard.
John Arthur "Jaki" Byard (June 15, 1922 – February 11, 1999) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones, among several other instruments. He was known for his eclectic style, incorporating everything from ragtime and stride to free jazz.
Byard played with trumpeter Maynard Ferguson in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and was a member of bands led by bassist Charles Mingus for several years, including on several studio and concert recordings. The first of his recordings as a leader was in 1960, but, despite being praised by critics, his albums and performances did not gain him much wider attention. In his 60-year career, Byard recorded at least 35 albums as leader, and more than 50 as a sideman. Byard's influence on the music comes from his combining of musical styles during performance, and his parallel career in teaching.
From 1969 Byard was heavily involved in jazz education: he began teaching at the New England Conservatory of Music and went on to work at several other music institutions, as well as having private students. He continued performing and recording, mainly in solo and small group settings, but he also led two big bands – one made up of some of his students, and the other of professional musicians. His death, from a single gunshot while in his home, remains an unsolved mystery.
As a leader, Byard recorded a string of albums for the Prestige label during the 1960s. Some of these albums included Richard Davis on bass and Alan Dawson on drums, a trio combination described by critic Gary Giddins as "the most commanding rhythm section of the '60s, excepting the Hancock-Carter-Williams trio in Miles Davis's band", although it existed only for recordings.[22] One such album was Jaki Byard with Strings!, a sextet recording that featured Byard's composing and arranging: on "Cat's Cradle Conference Rag", each of five musicians "play five standards based on similar harmonies simultaneously". A further example of Byard's sometimes unusual approach to composition is the title track from Out Front!, which he created by thinking of fellow pianist Herbie Nichols' touch at the keyboard. Popularity with jazz critics did not translate into wider success: a Washington Post review of his final Prestige album, Solo Piano from 1969, remarked that it was by "a man who has been largely ignored outside the inner circles". Giddins also commented in the 1970s on the lack of attention that Byard had received, and stated that the pianist's recordings from 1960 to 1972 "are dazzling in scope, and for his ability to make the most of limited situations". Following his time with Prestige, Byard had more solo performances, in part because of his affection for musical partners he had become close to but who had then died.[26]
Byard also continued to play and record with other leaders. While in Europe in 1965, he joined Art Blakey's band for a series of concerts there In 1967 Byard played in a small group with drummer Elvin Jones. Between 1966 and 1969 Byard recorded three albums with the saxophonist Eric Kloss, then, in 1970, returned to Mingus' band, including for performances in Europe. Byard occasionally substituted on piano in Duke Ellington's orchestra in 1974 when the leader was unwell. In 1974–75 Byard had a residency at Bradley’s in New York. He also fronted a big band, the Apollo Stompers, which was formed in the late 1970s. There were two versions of the band: one made up of musicians in New York, and the other using students from the New England Conservatory of Music, where Byard had taught from 1969.
In 1980 Byard was the subject of a short documentary film, Anything for Jazz, which featured him playing, teaching and with his family. By the 1980s his main instrument remained the piano, and he still played both alto and tenor saxophones, but he had stopped playing the other instruments that he used to use professionally – bass, drums, guitar, trombone, and trumpet, although he still taught all of them. In the same period, he was often heard in New York playing solo, in duos, or in trios. in 1988 he played with a band founded by Mingus' widow to perform the bassist's compositions – the Mingus Big Band.Byard played and recorded with a former student of his, Ricky Ford, from 1989 to 1991 and continued to play and teach during the 1990s.
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