Don Byas Essentials
Playlist - 20 Songs
Whether playing with Dizzy Gillespie (“52nd Street Theme”) or Slam Stewart (“I Got Rhythm”), tenor saxophonist Don Byas could dominate a track with his bumblebee-quick solos and oaky timbre. Born in Oklahoma in 1912 and raised as a student of classical music, Byas spent the ‘30s and ‘40s as a session player in L.A. and New York and went on to play liquid-smooth lines (“Harvard Blues”) and lightning-hot runs with the swing and bebop greats, including Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Bud Powell. He thrived in the fertile expat jazz community in Europe post-WWII and made many of his finest solo recordings there, such as “Anthropology.”
Featured Artists
Don Byas Essentials features Don Byas, Don Byas Quartet, Count Basie and His Orchestra and more