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Don Byas

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Don Byas was one of the most respected and recorded tenor players of the 1940’s. In that fruitful period he had few peers in the the area of prolific productivity. Byas was a masterful swing player with his own style, an advanced sense of harmony, and a confidence and adventurousness that found him hanging around the beboppers and asking to play. He held his own and did so while insistently remaining himself: he never picked up the rhythmic phrases, the lightning triplets, which are indigenous to bop. Yet Charlie Parker said of him that Byas was playing everything there was to play. Born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, in 1912, he played alto as a teenager, subbing in territorial bands like Bennie Moten's and Walter Page's Blue Devils
Ed Palermo, Planet D Nonet, Herbie Hancock & Don Byas

by Joe Dimino
In celebration of Con Chapman's freshly minted 2025 release Sax Expat, we crack open the 905th episode of Neon Jazz with the timeless tones of Don Byas, taking us back to a smoky stop in 1944. It's the perfect prologue to a show steeped in innovation, homage, and the ever-expanding universe of jazz. From there, we ...
Unearthed & Unforgettable: The Lost Tapes of Just Jazz

by Hank Hehmsoth
Rediscovering Just Jazz: A Lost Archive of Jazz Legends Returns Unearthed after more than 50 years, the Just Jazz video archives represent one of the most significant rediscoveries in jazz history. Produced by NEA Jazz Master Dan Morgenstern and originally broadcast in 1970 on WTTW Chicago, these rare recordings capture intimate, electrifying performances by some of ...
Don Byas: Sax Expat

by Richard J Salvucci
Don Byas: Sax Expat Con Chapman 233 Pages ISBN: 9781496856081 University Press of Mississippi2025 Don Byas, a tenor saxophonist, who was regarded with great respect in his day, is, unfortunately, now not much more than a name. In part, it is because he has been gone for half a ...
Gary Smulyan: Boss Baritones

by David A. Orthmann
The once-popular pairings of such incisive hard-blowing saxophonists as Johnny Griffin with Eddie “Lockjaw" Davis and Gene Ammons with Sonny Stitt constitute some of the inspiration behind the making of Boss Baritones. Incorporating material penned by Griffin, Davis, Illinois Jacquet, Don Byas and J.R. Monterose indicates a healthy respect for giants who may no longer be ...
Duke Ellington: Copenhagen 1958

by Ken Dryden
Duke Ellington left a formidable discography at his death at the age of 75 in 1974, and it has expanded greatly with the number of concerts that have been uncovered and issued since then. This CD is drawn from two 1958 concerts at KB Hallen in Copenhagen, though they are not sourced from the original, long ...
Russell Malone: Guitar Master

by R.J. DeLuke
This article was first published on All About Jazz on February 29, 2016. People make too big of a deal about being self taught. Because nobody is completely self taught," ruminates Russell Malone, one of the best loved jazz guitarists by both fans and critics. His sound is full and rich; his fingers fleet,the ...
Albert "Tootie" Heath: Class Personified

by R.J. DeLuke
This article was first published on All About Jazz on March 9, 2015. Albert Tootie" Heath is among the drummers who lived--and thrived--during what many call the golden age of jazz, the '40s, '50, early '60s. He's enjoyed the fruits of a varied and historic career, but never stayed put. Just kept working. He ...
Classic Don Byas Sessions 1944-1946

Don Byas was a shadow. Too often in the 1940s, the tenor saxophonist was thought of by fans and critics as a close clone of tenor saxophone avatar Coleman Hawkins. In truth, Byas was a distinctive player in the same league as Hawkins and other saxophone greats Lester Young and Ben Webster. His thick, biting tone ...