Fortunate enough to have mind blown by seeing Jaki here in Sydney & when visiting NY. He won’t be forgotten by anyone who ever saw him. FWIW after seeing Sullivan Fortner last year, it reminded me of Jaki’s joyous spirit, prodigious technique & NOLA/stride sources.
Love love love Jaki, one of my all-time favorites. I've written a little bit about him and how some pianists could learn from him or have some unintentional or unconscious influences. Never saw him, would certainly be something like a desert island genie lamp wish for me. Just an incredible player, all around.
I studied arranging with Jaki when I was at Hartt. Then later in NY I played with his big band the Apollo Stompers, we had a regular gig at the Jazz Cultural Theater. He used to play a tenor solo in the middle of the gig....he had a unique concept on the horn. Love this rendition of him and Rahsaan on Memories of You....complete with circular breathing! Thanks Allen!
you were so lucky. Did you know Nelson Bogart the trumpet player? He was in Jaki's big band in Boston. He now lives in Connecticut. And yes, Jaki's sax playing was unique; at Bradley's he used to put his horn on top of the piano and play it occasionally. Tommy Flanagan said to me "You know, he's got a beginner's tone but he's completely original." I thought that, now and then, I could hear some Lester Young in Jaki's playing.
I didn't know Nelson. It's funny how some chord instrument players still have a hankering to play a wind instrument. There are just things you can do on a wind instrument that you can't do on piano or guitar. It's a breath thing.
Great piece, Allen. I love Jaki Byard. I first heard him on Booker Ervin records when I was a teenager and gradually built up my collection of his own beautiful and singular records. Whenever I hear him, I think, This is exactly what I want. I envy you seeing him perform. Someday here I want to write about his interpretations of contemporary pop tunes (Stevie Wonder, Bobbie Gentry, Petula Clark).
Nice article, although is he really that forgotten? Not the first name that the kids learn but hardly obscure. For anyone just getting into him I also strongly recommend the series of Live! quartet records he did with Joe Farrell, George Tucker and Alan Dawson. Some serious ideas wrapped up in some serious soul.
I hope you are correct, but I rarely see or hear his name these days. And yes, I love those Lennie's on the Turnpike (I think that's where they were made) recordings.
Thank you for this wonderful reminiscence. He is one of my all time favorite musicians, pianists, theoreticians, thinkers, and humorists. I never got to know him personally but had the great fortune to hear him play many times when I was living in NY in the late 1980s. At the time my first book on James P. Johnson had just been published and I was intrigued that this "modern" pianist who I knew little about was known to capture the entire jazz piano tradition. One time I brought my copy of "They All Played Ragtime" that included a photo of him to one of his gigs because I wanted him to sign it. I never got up the nerve to approach him. I remained a devoted fan. He was the subject of my Masters thesis at Rutgers when I was enrolled in the jazz history and research program. In doing the research, I was shocked at the dearth of scholarly attention he has received. Like James P., enormous impact and sadly little known.
Thank you so much for writing about Jaki!!! Yes, we do remember Jaki, and I say his name every day. Moving to New York in 1993, I chose Manhattan School of Music specifically to study with Jaki. For the next four years, every Monday was spent by his side. We discussed everything from growing up in Worcester, to WW2, to the Mingus years, to Sam Rivers, to his incredible intervalic concept he matured with Dolphy, to his arranging, to his politics, to his technique, and everything in between. His untimely death was difficult to process, and it still is. For me, every time I touch the piano, I am avenging his death. After passing, his faculty position at Manhattan School of Music was given to Kenny Barron. And when Barron moved on to Juilliard, MSM asked if I would fill the spot. And yes I did, as a badge of honor and responsibility. Every student had to learn many of the Jaki Byard exercises that I was given. These students include some of the greats of today, like Christian Sands, Sullivan Fortner, Sam Harris, Fabian Almazan, and many more. We hear Jaki more than we know. I was performing in Miami over the weekend and after the show an alto player rushed me to talk about Jaki Byard. When I say Jaki's name from the stage, it is often met with applause, because people know. He was the best teacher I could have ever asked for, a true artist blending traditions. Byard is responsible for so much of my approach to music history, technique, and freedom. The gratitude I have for him is immeasurable. I recently had all of my Jaki Byard music digitized by New England Conservatory, another institution Jaki spent many years at, in an effort to begin documenting his pedagogical approach. I teach at NEC because Jaki did. For me, he is my lifeblood, my north star, my heartbeat. Thank you for taking the time to give him some words. Byard for life.
thanks so much Jason; you may not remember but we met when you did a talk at Yale a few years ago (I live just down the road). Funny, I have been thinking about you because of the recent upheaval at the Kennedy Center. I knew Jaki (casually) since I was about 15 and a friend of mine was taking lessons with him. I saw him a lot when he was the Sunday pianist at Bradley's in the 1970s, and talked to him about two weeks before he died (during which conversation he finally, after years of my trying, agreed to record with me. It breaks my heart that that never happened); I really loved the man and, like you, I think about him constantly.
Fantastic analysis, memories and writing on a singular musician. Jaki’s recordings and the memories of his live performances (I saw him in contexts from solo piano on up to big band) have brought me so much joy since I first heard him on Mingus At Monterey.
Fortunate enough to have mind blown by seeing Jaki here in Sydney & when visiting NY. He won’t be forgotten by anyone who ever saw him. FWIW after seeing Sullivan Fortner last year, it reminded me of Jaki’s joyous spirit, prodigious technique & NOLA/stride sources.
"you are one of the guys who really understands"
You drill down through the layers. Thanks for the riches.
Love love love Jaki, one of my all-time favorites. I've written a little bit about him and how some pianists could learn from him or have some unintentional or unconscious influences. Never saw him, would certainly be something like a desert island genie lamp wish for me. Just an incredible player, all around.
There is a Danish pianist - Jeppe Zeeberg - who is the only who I have ever seen capture the spirit of Jaki's playing.
All too rare. I’ll have to look back at notes to see who I was thinking of.
Thanks for the write-up. I became aware of Jaki while listening to his work with Mingus. Any records you’d recommend as an intro to his playing?
there is an album reissue of something he did called Solo/Strings that has some of his Prestige solo work; and also anything of him playing solo -
I’ll check it out. Thanks!
I studied arranging with Jaki when I was at Hartt. Then later in NY I played with his big band the Apollo Stompers, we had a regular gig at the Jazz Cultural Theater. He used to play a tenor solo in the middle of the gig....he had a unique concept on the horn. Love this rendition of him and Rahsaan on Memories of You....complete with circular breathing! Thanks Allen!
you were so lucky. Did you know Nelson Bogart the trumpet player? He was in Jaki's big band in Boston. He now lives in Connecticut. And yes, Jaki's sax playing was unique; at Bradley's he used to put his horn on top of the piano and play it occasionally. Tommy Flanagan said to me "You know, he's got a beginner's tone but he's completely original." I thought that, now and then, I could hear some Lester Young in Jaki's playing.
I didn't know Nelson. It's funny how some chord instrument players still have a hankering to play a wind instrument. There are just things you can do on a wind instrument that you can't do on piano or guitar. It's a breath thing.
Great piece, Allen. I love Jaki Byard. I first heard him on Booker Ervin records when I was a teenager and gradually built up my collection of his own beautiful and singular records. Whenever I hear him, I think, This is exactly what I want. I envy you seeing him perform. Someday here I want to write about his interpretations of contemporary pop tunes (Stevie Wonder, Bobbie Gentry, Petula Clark).
Funny, I remember hearing his versions of In the Land of Make Believe, I Know a Place (which he recorded solo) and Ode to Billie Jo.
Jaki’s Ode To Billie Joe blows me away every time I hear it
Nice article, although is he really that forgotten? Not the first name that the kids learn but hardly obscure. For anyone just getting into him I also strongly recommend the series of Live! quartet records he did with Joe Farrell, George Tucker and Alan Dawson. Some serious ideas wrapped up in some serious soul.
I hope you are correct, but I rarely see or hear his name these days. And yes, I love those Lennie's on the Turnpike (I think that's where they were made) recordings.
Thank you for this wonderful reminiscence. He is one of my all time favorite musicians, pianists, theoreticians, thinkers, and humorists. I never got to know him personally but had the great fortune to hear him play many times when I was living in NY in the late 1980s. At the time my first book on James P. Johnson had just been published and I was intrigued that this "modern" pianist who I knew little about was known to capture the entire jazz piano tradition. One time I brought my copy of "They All Played Ragtime" that included a photo of him to one of his gigs because I wanted him to sign it. I never got up the nerve to approach him. I remained a devoted fan. He was the subject of my Masters thesis at Rutgers when I was enrolled in the jazz history and research program. In doing the research, I was shocked at the dearth of scholarly attention he has received. Like James P., enormous impact and sadly little known.
Jason Moran's comments hit the mark so well.
Thank you so much for writing about Jaki!!! Yes, we do remember Jaki, and I say his name every day. Moving to New York in 1993, I chose Manhattan School of Music specifically to study with Jaki. For the next four years, every Monday was spent by his side. We discussed everything from growing up in Worcester, to WW2, to the Mingus years, to Sam Rivers, to his incredible intervalic concept he matured with Dolphy, to his arranging, to his politics, to his technique, and everything in between. His untimely death was difficult to process, and it still is. For me, every time I touch the piano, I am avenging his death. After passing, his faculty position at Manhattan School of Music was given to Kenny Barron. And when Barron moved on to Juilliard, MSM asked if I would fill the spot. And yes I did, as a badge of honor and responsibility. Every student had to learn many of the Jaki Byard exercises that I was given. These students include some of the greats of today, like Christian Sands, Sullivan Fortner, Sam Harris, Fabian Almazan, and many more. We hear Jaki more than we know. I was performing in Miami over the weekend and after the show an alto player rushed me to talk about Jaki Byard. When I say Jaki's name from the stage, it is often met with applause, because people know. He was the best teacher I could have ever asked for, a true artist blending traditions. Byard is responsible for so much of my approach to music history, technique, and freedom. The gratitude I have for him is immeasurable. I recently had all of my Jaki Byard music digitized by New England Conservatory, another institution Jaki spent many years at, in an effort to begin documenting his pedagogical approach. I teach at NEC because Jaki did. For me, he is my lifeblood, my north star, my heartbeat. Thank you for taking the time to give him some words. Byard for life.
thanks so much Jason; you may not remember but we met when you did a talk at Yale a few years ago (I live just down the road). Funny, I have been thinking about you because of the recent upheaval at the Kennedy Center. I knew Jaki (casually) since I was about 15 and a friend of mine was taking lessons with him. I saw him a lot when he was the Sunday pianist at Bradley's in the 1970s, and talked to him about two weeks before he died (during which conversation he finally, after years of my trying, agreed to record with me. It breaks my heart that that never happened); I really loved the man and, like you, I think about him constantly.
Fantastic analysis, memories and writing on a singular musician. Jaki’s recordings and the memories of his live performances (I saw him in contexts from solo piano on up to big band) have brought me so much joy since I first heard him on Mingus At Monterey.