Lucky Thompson must have listened to allot of Byas.

 

Absolutely. Another amazing player you just don’t hear anyone talking about. It’s disappointing that younger players today get so caught up in today’s players, (social media can account for a lot of this ), while some of these old greats go unnoticed. You don’t have to be influenced stylistically, but there’s ALOT to grab from these players.
Lots of players out there from yesteryear, that aren’t talked about much at all, in my opinion, They are RARELY brought up in conversation. Red Prysock, Sil Austin, Chu Berry, Willis Jackson, Arnett Cobb, and the list just goes on and on.
Again, not to belittle today’s players, but I feel like the old guys came from a time where it felt like they HAD to be this good to survive. And please, not to leave out Slam Stewart’s playing!……Unbelievable!

 

Lol... I'm literally just learning some of his lines on this Thelonious Monk rhythm changes tune as we speak. He was incredible and you're right, nobody has ever bettered him.

His solo here starts around 2:15 and he plays 4 beautifully intricate choruses.

I also learnt his famous I Got Rhythm solo a few years ago (during covid) which was a real challenge.

 

Love Don Byas. First thing I ever heard by him was that live recording, just him and Slam Stewart doing “I Got Rhythm”. Love his tone, one of the best tenor tones ever.

 

I don't think candle is holding is the goal here. It is just good music that comes from the gut and not overly planned like what we hear today, for luck of a better term, everything has been Bekley-ized, North Texas-ized, if you get my drift.

Slam Stewart has some mad jazz bowing skills, bowed jazz solos are rare and burning hard bop bowed bass solos are rare, plus his thumb position runs are crazy mad. And his intonation is tighter than a ballerina shoe. Sorry I also play bass and can't leave that part of equation in that piece unrecognized. I am sure it inspired Don to play a certain as well.

Yeah but I agree, not enough Don Byas love. He certainly has one from me

 

I don't think he was as gifted melodically as the Big Six guys or just not so inclined that way as his earliest recordings are very melodic.

 

Big Six guys ? Coleman Hawking, Lester Young, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon and...? Michael Brecker?

Love Don Byas though. I heard an interview from Melissa Aldana where she discussed with Sonny about him, how good he was: Melissa Aldana & Sonny Rollins

 

My friend Scott Hamilton is always talked about with Ben Webster in the same sentence…..but the influence of Don is undeniable.

 

Do you consider him a transitional figure from swing to bebop (modern jazz). For me the I Got Rhythm duet seems so.

 

I would say yes; about as technically proficient (maybe more) as any swing artist would be expected to be pre-war; if he were a few years younger probably would have just become a straight ahead Bebopper. But, like Coleman Hawkins he was comfortable with Bop but it didn’t cause his style to change radically.

 

Here's a playlist to get you started with Don's repertoire:

 

Don't forget his lovely version of this ballad:

 

New Don Byas bio out recently, just started a thread in Books:

Don Byas: Sax Expat (Con Chapman)

 

My father in law told me a story about when he was stationed in Germany during the Cold War he went and heard Byas and talked to him and the a few weeks later was at a club in Cleveland ohio and he was playing there! They both laughed when he said he was following him . My father in law wasn’t really a jazz fan but did like his playing and told me he was a cool guy . He was a brilliant player.

 

You can add french tenor Guy Laffitte in the Byas inspired tenors.
he also played Dolnet « Bel air » During the fifties before have played Selmer tenor.

 

 

I listen to Don Byas almost every single day and have for years. He was a master. He was way ahead of his time harmonicly and technically, forget about it. One of the greats. I hardly ever listen to the modern guys, where do you think they got their s**t from? Why not listen to the guys who invented this music, the originators.
Thankfully Don was fairly prolific in his recordings and these recordings keep giving us listening treasures for years to come.

 

He actually did change his style noticeably in the 1960s, which sometimes caused an odd tension in his playing as he wrestled with the rhythm. He wanted to get credit, as he told someone, for the modern styles. He still sounded great but not always, to my ears, completely comfortable.

 

The players who get taught today are those whose contributions are tangible, teachable, and fashionable.

If Byas doesn't rate all 3 of these, the youngsters won't be exposed to him.

 

He had a snake shaped octave key. That alone should be enough to be remembered. Wonderful player.

 

I got hip to “Byas” from the Jon Hendricks’ lyrics that were written & sung for the tune “In Walked Bud,” off Monk’s album “Underground.” I was a freshman at college & one of the local musicians filling out the college jazz band I’d just joined gave me some recordings to check out, Underground being one of them (the album cover really caught my eye so I spun that one first). Those lyrics also hipped me to Oscar Pettiford, “OP” 😊
Lyrics to “In Walked Bud”