Jaki Byard

Jaki Byard - Here's Jaki (1961) {Prestige–New Jazz OJCCD-1874-2 rel 1995}
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© 1961, 1995 Prestige-New Jazz Records / Fantasy | OJCCD-1874-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Piano

With 24-year-old, metro Detroit bassist Ron Carter and fellow Bostonian, veteran drummer Roy Haynes, pianist Byard has formed a partnership on this recording that effectively grasps modern jazz. This is no standard trio; they're a collective who romps through these seven selections with a surprise or more a minute. It's mainly due to Byard's refusal to sit still. Penning five of these not-so-easy pieces, Byard digs into a 5/4 modal calypso, rippling off minor incursions or stair-step delicate lines for the long jam "Cinco y Quatro."

Jaki Byard - Solo/Strings (2000) {Prestige PRCD-24246-2 rec 1968-1969}
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© 1968-69, 2000 Prestige Records / Fantasy | PRCD-24246-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Piano

Few jazz pianists could honestly claim to be more eclectic than the late Jaki Byard. Depending on the mood he was in, the Bostonian could acknowledge anyone from Dave Brubeck to James P. Johnson to Cecil Taylor. Byard wasn't afraid to take chances, and his open-mindedness served him well. The pianist's eclectic nature is impossible to miss on Solo/Strings, which is the 2000 reissue of his Prestige dates Jaki Byard with Strings (1968) and Solo Piano (1969) on a single 78-minute CD (minus, unfortunately, "Hello, Young Lovers" from Solo Piano). While Solo Piano is exactly that – an album of unaccompanied solo piano – Jaki Byard With Strings is somewhat misleading.

This album mostly features pianist Jaki Byard (who plays alto on "A-Toodle-oo, Toodle-oo") with a quartet comprised of trumpeter Jimmy Owens, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Billy Higgins in 1967. With a repertoire stretching from "I Fall In Love Too Easily" and the boppish "Second Balcony Jump" to "GEB Piano Roll" and even "Alexander's Ragtime Band," the music serves as a perfect outlet for Jaki Byard's eclectic talents ~ AllMusic

Jaki Byard - The Jaki Byard Experience (1968) {Prestige OJCCD-1913-2 rel 1998}
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© 1968, 1998 Prestige Records / Fantasy | OJCCD-1913-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Stride / Piano

An amazing (and often forgotten!) quartet session that brings together the enigmatic pianist Jaki Byard and the mind-blowing multi-reed player Roland Kirk! Kirk and Byard had played together previously – most notably on some of Kirk's Mercury recordings – and they fit together perfectly in this mad session of off-kilter jazz that takes off beautifully from the very first note! Rhythm is by the crack team of Alan Dawson on drums and Richard Davis on bass – a pair who can open up creatively when needed, but also return the record to a soulful swing when it's getting too far out.

Pianist Jaki Byard and the wondrous Roland Kirk (here switching between tenor, clarinet, and manzello) were two of the few jazz musicians who could play in literally every jazz style, from New Orleans to bop and free form. If only they had recorded a history-of-jazz album. Fortunately, they did meet up on a few occasions, including this brilliant quartet session with bassist Richard Davis and drummer Alan Dawson. They romp on Bud Powell's "Parisian Thoroughfare," Thelonious Monk's "Evidence," "Shine on Me," and "Teach Me Tonight." ~ AllMusic