Search - Jaki Byard :: The Jaki Byard Experience

Continuity in Diversity

G B | Connecticut | 04/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jaki Byard was a guy who loved the entire jazz tradition, past present and future, and freely used to it in his playing. But regardless of whether he was going out on an avant-garde limb or rollicking with some stride piano, he sounded like Jaki Byard and nobody else. This album (probably named in order to piggyback on the success of that other Experience) showcases Byard's sprawling imagination, and I guess to a few it might feel a little too schizophrenic. However, I never get that feeling; instead, I hear music that never marks off any part of the musical field as "out of bounds" as long as the outcome is a good one. Roland Kirk was the saxophone counterpart to Byard, and the Byard-Davis-Dawson rhythm section was easily among the best of the 60s (they can also be heard playing with Booker Ervin, Eric Kloss, and others). At some level, you could probably call this a tribute album to Byard's piano predecessors, but it's a tribute that has a lot more to do with Byard than with Powell, Garner or Monk."Parisian Thoroughfare" (originally by Bud Powell) stands out first -- the wild, avant-garde opening by Kirk's unison reeds (sounds like rush hour on the thoroughfare!), then a series of intense but more straight-ahead solos by Kirk and Byard. "Evidence" is shorter but has the same fiery approach. "Shine on Me" is an upbeat, gospelly tune with Kirk contributing clarinet. Eubie Blake's "Memories of You" is a lovely duet for Byard and Kirk with an old-time feel (though Byard's solo throws in some subtle modern touches). Throughout the album there's a wry sense of humor, and it's hard not to break into a smile at least once (probably more) while listening. This is a wonderful, essential recording. In the liner notes to a different album, Keith Jarrett writes, "Although I'm often considered eclectic, I don't think I fit this category because I see various ways of expression as part of the same flow; the same attempt. I don't see it as different 'things'..." I'm sure Jaki Byard would say the same thing about The Jaki Byard Experience."

Daring and very chill at the same time

Edward M. Green | Ann Arbor, MI | 09/30/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Sometimes people have trouble accepting radical shifts in music. This is one of those albums you have to listen alone. There are constant shifts into all of jazz's forms...you'll go from ragtime into avant garde all in a mellow laid-back 60's soulful mood... It invokes all of the same vibes as a jazz version of a similar Experience in that era. Roland Kirk just knows that sometimes one horn ain't enough, and one key change ain't bad either. This is not dinner party music, but kinda envokes a lot of emotion in an introverted way."