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A Fireside Chat With Arthur Blythe
by AAJ Staff
At one time, Arthur Blythe was part of the Columbia machine (not unlike the Miramax machine, how else do you explain the Gangs of New York phenomenon). Then trends took precedent over music and a young Wynton over a middle-aged Blythe (so the urban legend goes). Blythe still managed to record a classic Lenox Avenue Breakdown. Blythe is a Horace Tapscott throwback, having worked with the late Tapscott early in his career. I spoke with Blythe and we talked about ...
Continue ReadingArthur Blythe: Focus
by Todd S. Jenkins
After what many considered a dry period in the early 1990s, Arthur Blythe gently began his return to alto prominence through exotic collaborations with cellist David Eyges and mallets player Gust William Tsilis. Focus presents one of his most unusual ensembles since the early '80s tuba/cello/guitar quintet. The sparse, foreign sound of this new quartet takes a moment to adjust to, but after a short distance into “Opus 1” (a Blythe original, not the old Sy Oliver chestnut) we are ...
Continue ReadingArthur Blythe: Focus
by Jon Wagner
Arthur Blythe has been busy. He has a new recording, and last month completed a stint with his quartet at the Jazz Standard. Blythe is living in his hometown San Diego again, so NYC jazz fans jumped at the rare opportunity to see him play live. The band - Blythe on alto, John Hicks on piano, Dwayne Dolphin on bass, and Cecil Brooks III on drums - was augmented by longtime Blythe collaborator Bob Stewart on tuba. Blythe's diverse repertoire ...
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