Home » Search Center » Results: Chris Byars
Results for "Chris Byars"
Chris Byars - Lucky Strickes Again (Steeplechase, 2011)
Coming into the jazz world at the intersection of swing and bop, saxophonist Lucky Thompson was a well regarded performer in the 1950's and 60's before leaving the music business in the 1970's. One of his most well regarded albums was the Lucky Strikesalbum released on OJC in 1964. Inspired by Thompson's approach to music and ...
Chris Byars: Lucky Strikes Again
When the names of great tenor saxophonists are tossed around, the chain of succession generally runs like this: Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. All, of course, were reed titans, and Sonny still is. A half-step below this esteemed group is a second tier of greats that include Don Byas, Wardell ...
Lucky Thompson in Person
The logical followup to the piece below about Chris Byars' hero Lucky Thompson is a piece by Thompson. Here's a film from Paris in 1959 at the Blue Note. The rhythm section is Bud Powell, piano; Pierre Michelot, bass; Jimmy Gourley, guitar; Kenny Clarke, drums. The compostion is Dizzy Gillespie's and Charlie Parker's “Anthropology." The video ...
Recent Listening: Lucky Strikes Again
Chris Byars, Lucky Strikes Again (Steeplechase). This album by a gifted saxophonist, composer and arranger has several things to recommend it. It presents 10 pieces written and arranged by Lucky Thompson (1924-2005), a saxophonist whose brilliance and originality as a player and writer failed to make him as well known as equally gifted contemporaries like Miles ...
Jazz: For all, or the few?
Let's face it... Jazz as a musical force is not what was back in it's heyday. Yes, Jazz continues to evolve with it's never ending strive for innovation. Jazz radio stations remain very popular, and as I hear from Voice of America's Jazz America program every Saturday morning (Kuwait local time), the amount of new Jazz ...
Chris Byars - Bop-Ography (Steeplechase)
On the occasion of his second Steeplechase outing Chris Byars cannily continues in a musical rich vein tapped on his first. Gigi Gryce counts as a current healthy obsession of the saxophonist and three of the composers' pieces grace the program. Another of Byars abiding interests concerns the work and legacy of vibraphonist Teddy Charles, a ...
Saxophonist Chris Byars Interviewed at AAJ
As legendary jazz vibraphonists Teddy Charles describes him, “It's not easy to be Chris Byars. With an incredible array of talents brought to bear on his composition, arrangements, and cooking jazz performances, it's no wonder he's worked his way to the forefront of the myriad of jazz players overwhelming the scene." Byars has been working hard ...
Chris Byars: Studying Unsung Heroes
by Ludwig vanTrikt
[Introduction by Teddy Charles] It's not easy to be Chris Byars. With an incredible array of talents brought to bear on his composition, arrangements, and cooking jazz performances, it's no wonder he's worked his way to the forefront of the myriad of jazz players overwhelming the scene. For me, our felicitous association led to multiple gigs ...
Pictures at an Exhibition of Himalayan Art
By Chris Byars
Label: Smalls Records
Released: 2008
Track listing: The Better To See You; T
Chris Byars: Pictures at an Exhibition of Himalayan Art
by Elliott Simon
While its mission is the preservation of Himalayan art, NYC's Rubin Museum continues to produce an excellent concert series in collaboration with the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. The series has developed into a forum for artists to perform new projects in a singularly spiritual setting. Saxophonist Chris Byars has in effect written a soundtrack for ...
