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VIDEO: Don Byas Playing With Thad & Mel In NYC


JSngry

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I want to see the whole thing. Seriously. Where is it?

On a related note, why does it take me seven+ years to find this on YouTube? Maybe the best latter-day Byas I've heard?

Hello, my name is Don Byas, and, oh, you don't know the name? Well, fuck you.

It's like that.

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I want to see the whole thing. Seriously. Where is it?

On a related note, why does it take me seven+ years to find this on YouTube? Maybe the best latter-day Byas I've heard

 

This is a part of 'DON BYAS COME HOME'. Once made for a Dutch TV programme by Nick van den Boezem (about 1970). This is the only thing I know about it...... A pity there is no more material left.  Don was such a great saxophonist !!! The only thing.....I've seen this YouTube before :)
 
 This video shows Byas at home in Amsterdam, at the Village Vanguard in New York City, performing with The Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Band (inc: Thad Jones, Les Soloff, trumpet; Cliff Heather, bass trombone; Jerome Richardson, Jerry Dodgion, Eddie Daniels, Billy Harper, Pepper Adams, reeds; Roland Hanna, piano; Mel Lewis, drums.), also in a quartet with Roland Hanna, piano; Wilbur Ware, acoustic double bass; Jo Jones, drums; and at the Newport Jazz Festival with Mike Longo, George Davis, Larry Rockwell, David Lee.
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Byas really looks healthy and happy on that. I love it to see him relaxin with a fishing-rod. I don´t know how many jazz musicians/jazz Lovers  like to go fishing, but it seems to be a good combination, since I also have done it that way since I remember........, listening/playing jazz, and catchin the trout, pike etc. etc. ....., I even think that certain music brings luck for certain species of fish. If I listen to Dexter, I´ll catch trout or grayling. If I listen to Mingus, I´ll catch carp or bream......., Max Roach......and it will always be a pike,  that´s it. (I don´t listen to the music WHILE fishing, but in the car on the way to the rivers, so it depends on the musician I listen to, which mood I´m in and how that vibrations will lead me to the fish).

I love Don Byas ! . I think the first stuff I heard was that Black Lion LP "Anthropology". I was astonished that he played all the bop stuff, Anthropology, Night In Tunisia, Billies Bounce and all that, since he seemed to be at least 10 years older than most of the "Bop Fathers". I love his Savoy sides from the mid forties.

It´s strange he didn´t record much from the mid fifties to the early sixties. The only mid fifties stuff I found was "Byas and the Girls". He seemed to get more publicity in the 60´s. He seemed to love to perform with Bud, because on at least 3 occasions he recorded with him (Paris 1961, Denmark 1962 also featuring Brew Moore, and Koblenz 1963 Americans in Europe............

I also remember I read, that his "homecoming" was a disappointment for him. Gigs where scarce, since he had been to Long away from the Scene, and 1970,71 was not the best times for acoustic jazz in Clubs.

I´m not sure but I read he also did a short tour with Blakey even to Japan, is that right.

And he died shortly after his US-sojurn, right ?

 

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there was a fascinating performance televised on New York's public tv when Byas came over to play for George Wein - I remember watching this at something like age 14 or 15 and just being mesmerized. I have never seen that performance anywhere else; I hope it is preserved somewhere.

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I remember that Statement of Stan Tracey too. I think it was in the Ronnie Scott book.

If I remember well, Lucky Thompson was even worse. He said to Mr. Tracey "if you must play crap, play it slow !".

Don Byas, well on that Black Lion LP with a danish rhythm section he seems comfortable with Bent Axen, NHOP and William Schiopffe.

The Don Byas - Lucky Thompson stories remind me of the trumpet Player Joe Newman. He played sometimes in my hometown Vienna and nobody wanted to play with him. He couldn´d be pleased. It was strange. There are greater stars, who really had a very kind attitude towards the local musicians.

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I´m not sure but I read he also did a short tour with Blakey even to Japan, is that right.

And he died shortly after his US-sojurn, right ?

 

Yes, that's right. He toured with Art Blakey to Japan, in 1969. The next year followed a failed comeback in New York,  because he was tired, very tired. After about 2 years Byas passed away.....

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I´m not sure but I read he also did a short tour with Blakey even to Japan, is that right.

And he died shortly after his US-sojurn, right ?

 

Yes, that's right. He toured with Art Blakey to Japan, in 1969. The next year followed a failed comeback in New York,  because he was tired, very tired. After about 2 years Byas passed away.....

Yeah I always wondered how it might have sounded. Anyway it seems to be quite untypical for Blakey to get old masters for his Messengers. He always got Young Players and it was even hard to book band alumnies for Special Events. Like on his 70th birthday in Leverkusen, when they wanted to surprise him with Jackie McLean, Curtis Fuller, Freddie Hubbard etc., and he said he would Play only with his Young band.

So Don Byas might have been an unusual, but interesting choice. Anyway, Byas was one of the greatest Tenor saxophonists ever, period. He could Play with anyone....

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