Jaki Byard
piano, multi-instrumentalist
Pianist and multi-instrumentalist, born in 1922, whom Barry held up as a fine stride player from the generation before his own, and whose big band played every month at Barry’s Jazz Cultural Theater.
- mentions
- 7
- recordings
- 5
- Barry speaking
- 4
What Barry says
Barry uses Jaki Byard to explain how his generation differed. Byard, born in 1922, was a teenager in the 1930s and so learned stride, Art Tatum and Earl Hines. Barry, born in 1929, became a teenager in the 1940s, the time of Bud Powell and Charlie Parker.
The last train to Monk: an interview17:52Interview: Detroit, Bud Powell and the shuffle10:10On Bill Evans and other pianists3:23Barry Harris on WKCR-FM ¶120Ted Panken, For Barry Harris’ 82nd Birthday ¶8
Byard could stride very well, Barry says, like Art Tatum. Barry’s own generation heard Al Haig, Bud Powell and George Shearing instead, so he admits they are not the best of stride pianists.
Interview: Detroit, Bud Powell and the shuffle10:10Barry Harris on WKCR-FM ¶120Barry Harris on WKCR-FM ¶122Ted Panken, For Barry Harris’ 82nd Birthday ¶8
Jaki Byard’s big band played at the Jazz Cultural Theater about once a month, along with acts such as Sun Ra. Talking on the radio after the place lost its space, Barry thought of Byard’s band, which he guessed had not played since.
Interview: Bird, Hawkins, Monk and New York0:311:06Barry Harris on WKCR-FM ¶141
Barry went to Byard’s memorial service and noticed how much of his music was being played on the radio. Thinking about Byard led Barry to what set their two generations of pianists apart.
In his own words
Jaki Byard could stride so good… See, Jaki Byard was born in 1922 and I was born in 1929.
So him being a teenager in the ’30s, he learned more about the Stride stuff…
So while someone like Jaki Byard, who became a teenager in the ’30s, learned more about the Stride, Art Tatum and Earl Hines, we heard Al Haig, Bud Powell and George Shearing
Jaki Byard’s big band used to play there every month. Sun Ra played there. It was really a nice little place.
[Jaki Byard’s] Band. I guess they haven’t performed since our place because they used to perform every once a month.
Every mention
7 moments in the recordings, 4 of them Barry speaking. Each says who is talking.
Interview: Bird, Hawkins, Monk and New York
- 0:31
Byard’s band played monthly at the Jazz Cultural Theater and, Barry guesses, hasn’t played since
The last train to Monk: an interview
- 17:52
Byard was a teenager in the 1930s, Barry in the 1940s: different eras of piano
Interview: Detroit, Bud Powell and the shuffle
On Bill Evans and other pianists
- 3:23
Garbled caption: Byard a 1930s teenager who could stride; Barry came up in the 1940s
Ep. 20 | Charles McPherson: Meeting Charlie Parker, Studying with Barry Harris, and the Art of Bebop
- 0:32
Someone else
Podcast host lists Byard among the players Charles McPherson has performed and recorded with
In the interviews and notes
After Byard’s memorial service, Barry reflects that Byard, born seven years before him, was a teenager in the 1930s and absorbed stride and Art Tatum, while Barry’s 1940s generation heard Al Haig, Bud Powell and George Shearing and so are not real stride players.
In the DownBeat feature, Barry calls bebop a revelation and a renaissance for his generation, and again contrasts it with Byard’s, which learned from stride, Art Tatum and Earl Hines.
The Jazz Cultural Theater ran for five years with classes and weekend shows, including tap and shake dancers. Byard’s big band was a monthly fixture, and Sun Ra also played there.
Producer Don Schlitten recorded both Barry and Byard. He says each suited different projects, that he saw both as neglected talents who needed his help, and that Byard got even less attention in the press than Barry.
Ted Panken (interviewer); Tommy Flanagan, Tommy Flanagan ¶172Ted Panken (interviewer); Tommy Flanagan, Tommy Flanagan ¶173Ted Panken (interviewer); Tommy Flanagan, Tommy Flanagan ¶177
Method ideas nearby
Ideas of the method taught in the classes where they come up, with how many mentions fall in each.