Jaki Byard - Blues For Smoke - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Two CDs. First of all previously unreleased Larry Young recordings in nearly 40 years. This set is endorsed by the estate of Larry Young. Extensive liner notes with essays and interviews by John McLaughlin, Dr. Lonnie Smith, John Medeski, Bill Laswell, Nathan Davis, Andre Francis, producer Zev Feldman, Larry Young III and Woody Shaw III. Includes rare and previously unreleased photos from Francis Wolff, Jean-Pierre Leloir.

Jaki Byard always personified the past, present and future of jazz, wherever or whenever one might have been fortunate enough to experience his challenging ideas. An icon in the history of jazz, Jaki was Art Tatum, Earl Hines, Bud Powell, Ran Blake, Cecil Taylor and Bill Evans, all in one. Yet, like these fellow icons, he was his own uncompromising, unique, living entity. He isn't a household name, but most likely his low profile is the result of an irresistible need to constantly reinvent himself, the sure sign of the consummate artist.

His playing was rich, masterful and above all, versatile, covering everything from stride and ragtime to bebop and free jazz. Pianist, saxophonist, composer, arranger, and teacher Jaki Byard had a career that followed the music and along the way he became a master of every style of jazz. Nowhere was his imagination quite as unbridled as it was in solo performance and HighNote Records is pleased to this second volume of Jaki Byard live at the famed Keystone Korner.