The genius of Don Byas finally gets its due – served up here in a massive 10CD package that's overflowing with work from some of Byas' most fruitful years as a saxophonist! Byas is one of the sometimes-overlooked giants of his generation – a player with a tone and style that's every bit as distinct as that of Ben Webster and Lester Young. Yet for some reason, Byas has a much more checkered recording history – and one that sometimes doesn't really capture his strengths when he's completely on fire. That's definitely corrected here – as the package features some key recordings by Byas as a leader – then rolls into a stunning array of tenor performances in the groups of others – some originally issued on rare 78s, others never issued until this box – making the whole thing a mindblowing look at these seminal years in Don's career! The labels for some of the tracks include King, Manor, Jam, Savoy National, and HNS – and Byas blows as a leader in a few groups, and with other leaders who Hot Lips Page, Hank D'Amico, Cozy Cole, Earl Bostic, Joe Turner, Timmie Rogers, Oscar Pettiford, and Dizzy Gillespie – a really varied lot, which demonstrates the versatility that Byas could have as a performer. The box has 193 tracks in all, and a hugely detailed set of notes – a really ear-opening listen to this great tenorist! CD

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

A quartet date with Don Byas on tenor, Bent Axen on piano, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and William Schiopffe on drums. CD

Great small group work from Don Byas – some of his most important American sides of the 40s! Other players include Rudy Williams on alto, Emmett Berry and Benny Harris on trumpet, Jimmy Jones and Clyde Hart on piano, and Slam Stewart on bass. LP, Vinyl record album

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

A gem of a session from the European expatriot scene of the postwar years – not really a tribute to Cannonball Adderley, but a rare meeting of Bud Powell and Don Byas in the studio, produced by Cannonball in Paris in 1961! The record has a tremendous amount of fire and focus – especially on the part of Powell, who could sometimes falter in a European setting – and although Byas' horn might seem a contrasting choice for Bud, he really burns with a lot of energy here – arcing, soaring, and turning with lines that show that his talents hadn't dimmed at all out of the American limelight. As always with his few productions from the time, Cannonball shows a great deal of sensitivity and patience with the players – probably a key factor of the success of the set. Also noteworthy is the rest of the group – which includes Idrees Sulieman on trumpet, Pierre Michelot on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums. Titles include "Jeannine", "Just One Of Those Things", "All The Things You Are", "I Remember Clifford", and "Jackie My Little Cat". LP, Vinyl record album

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

A gem of a session from the European expatriot scene of the postwar years – not really a tribute to Cannonball Adderley, but a rare meeting of Bud Powell and Don Byas in the studio, produced by Cannonball in Paris in 1961! The record has a tremendous amount of fire and focus – especially on the part of Powell, who could sometimes falter in a European setting – and although Byas' horn might seem a contrasting choice for Bud, he really burns with a lot of energy here – arcing, soaring, and turning with lines that show that his talents hadn't dimmed at all out of the American limelight. As always with his few productions from the time, Cannonball shows a great deal of sensitivity and patience with the players – probably a key factor of the success of the set. Also noteworthy is the rest of the group – which includes Idrees Sulieman on trumpet, Pierre Michelot on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums. Titles include "Jeannine", "Just One Of Those Things", "All The Things You Are", "I Remember Clifford", and "Jackie My Little Cat". CD

A rare meeting of these two American giants of the tenor sax – brought together at the end of the 60s in Europe, both recording late in their careers, but with a laidback and open approach that's really wonderful! The format here is quite loose – a bit like some of the late hours, swing-based sides on Prestige at the end of the 50s – with longish tracks that let both players state their solos in clean, well-recorded phrasings – with gentle support from a trio that includes Tete Montoliu on piano, Peter Trunk on bass, and Albert Tootie Heath on drums. There's a few faltering moments at times, but they also add a nice degree of humanity to the record – kind of a dimming genius that might not have been allowed on an American session by either player, but which speaks volumes here for the time and distance both players had travelled! Titles include "Caravan", "Sundae", "Blues For Dottie Mae", and "Perdido". LP, Vinyl record album

Tenorist Don Byas is one of those players who always seemed to get more recognition in Europe than the US – or if that's not entirely the case, he at least got more chances to record properly than he ever did over here! This excellent 18 track CD features tunes from 3 early 50s sessions that Byas recorded in Paris – all of them in a small group setting that really let him open up on tenor in a mellow soulful way. Most tracks are relatively short, but the quality of Byas' solos is wonderful – and the CD represents some of the finest work you could ever hope to find by him from the postwar years. Titles include "Summertime", "The Man I Love", "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", "Riviera Blues", "Somebody Loves Me", and a sublime version of "Laura". CD

Includes the songs "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone", "Mad Monk", "Billie's Bounce", "I Surrender Dear", "Red Cross","Dynamo A", "Summertime", "Stardust", "Old Man River", "Night And Day", "The Man I Love", "Georgia On My Mind", "Easy To Love", "Over The Rainbow", "Where Or When", "En Ce Temps-La", "Somebody Loves Me", "Riviera Blues (Blues A la Don)", "Laura", and "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes". CD

If you've ever needed a record to convince you of the genius of Don Byas, this is it – because the set sparkles with warmth and tone that's simply amazing – a sound that will grab you from the very first note! The focus of the album is clearly Byas' tenor – not just because that's the way the title bills it, but also because the other players really lay back, and let Don start the tune, set the tone, and keep things going strongly throughout. Most titles are ballads, blown beautifully – and titles include "Cynthia's In Love", "London Donnie", "September Song", "To Each His Own", "Living My Life For You", and "They Say It's Wonderful". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare meeting of these two American giants of the tenor sax – brought together at the end of the 60s in Europe, both recording late in their careers, but with a laidback and open approach that's really wonderful! The format here is quite loose – a bit like some of the late hours, swing-based sides on Prestige at the end of the 50s – with longish tracks that let both players state their solos in clean, well-recorded phrasings – with gentle support from a trio that includes Tete Montoliu on piano, Peter Trunk on bass, and Albert Tootie Heath on drums. There's a few faltering moments at times, but they also add a nice degree of humanity to the record – kind of a dimming genius that might not have been allowed on an American session by either player, but which speaks volumes here for the time and distance both players had travelled! Titles include "Caravan", "Sundae", "Blues For Dottie Mae", and "Perdido". CD

Late work by Webster and Byas – playing here with backing by a European rhythm section that includes Tete Montoliu on piano and Peter Trunk on bass, plus American Albert Heath on drums. The tracks are mostly long and open – with the main focus on letting the two tenor giants solo as much as possible. Tracks include "Caravan", "Sundae", "Blues For Dottie Mae", and "Perdido". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic French work from this American tenor giant – with players who include John Garnieri on piano, Eddie Safranski on bass, and JC Heard or Cozy Cole on drums – plus a bit of trumpet from either Buck Clayton or Joe Thomas! LP, Vinyl record album

A trio of Parisian sessions from Don Byas – tracks recorded in the city that gave Don his warmest welcome of the postwar years, and which provided him with wonderful players to work with! The first 6 numbers feature a quartet with Byas on tenor and Mary Lou Williams on piano – working here with Don in a surprisingly soulful, straight way – really adding a lot to the set with her own original tunes "OW", "Mary's Waltz", "NME", and "Why". The next 3 numbers feature Byas working with pianist Beryl Booker, who also sings a bit too – on a version of "I Should Care" – alongside instrumental versions of "Makin Whoopee" and "Bery Booker's Byas-ed Blues". Last up are 3 tracks by Don Byas Et Ses Rhythmes – a cool combo with the great Fats Sadi on vibes and Maurice Vander on piano – on titles that include "Jordu", "Anatole", and "Lover Come Back To Me". LP, Vinyl record album

It's no secret that Don Byas made some of his best recordings in Europe, not America – and this tasty little set is great support of that fact! The set features numbers that Byas cut in Paris at the end of the 40s – working with a mixture of American and Parisian players that includes Billy Taylor, Bernard Peiffer, Bill Coleman, Peanuts Holland, Tyree Glenn, and Hubert Rostaing. Tracks are short, and Byas' sound on the tenor is sublime – right up there with the best Ben Webster work of the time! Titles include "The Mohawk Special", "Body & Soul", "Ain't Misbehavin", "Rosetta", "I'm Beginning To See The Light", and "Working Eyes". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent overseas material from Don Byas – the sort of late life magic we love so much! That "slows" in the title is a reference to ballads – a great set of moody late night tenor from Don Byas – a rare French-only album with Hubert Rostaing on alto sax, Billy Taylor on piano, and Peanuts Holland on trumpet! LP, Vinyl record album

Don Byas on tenor sax – with Bent Exen on piano, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and William Schiopffe on drums. CD

Some of the first bop sides cut by Americans in Paris – a quartet of material from four different sessions, issued properly for the first time on CD, with great mastering, and a good set of notes in French and English! Don Byas is at the forefront of two sessions here – one with the Tyree Glenn Orchestra, the other featuring the Don Byas Ree-Boppers – and tracks on those include "Walking Around", "Red Cross", "Cement Mixer", "Mad Monk", "Billie's Bounce", and "The Hour Of Parting". Howard McGhee is next up – with 7 tracks from a rare 1948 session, and titles that include "Big Will", "Donna Lee", "Nicole", "Denise", and "Punkins". Last up are four tunes by James Moody – cut during the prime of his early bop years, in 1949, and done with a nicely modern edge. Titles include "Verso", "Recto", "Oh Well", and "Convulsions". 23 tracks in all! CD

Fantastic stuff! This essential CD brings together two of Roland Kirk's best albums from the mid 60's (and two of his hardest to find on vinyl!) Rip, Rig, & Panic is mindblowing work from Roland Kirk – a record that really pushes the boundaries of his music even farther than some of his earlier, and excellent, albums for the Mercury label! Kirk's really stretching out here – finding a space in jazz that's uniquely his own – modern, yet playful – creative, yet never overindulgent – and perfectly balanced to find a whole new sound of soul for the 60s! Things never get too far outside, but Kirk's reedlines are always breaking out into fresh territory – incredible tenor parts, and also some amazing work on manzello and stritch too, both lesser-known reed instruments that Roland employs to incredible ends. Other group members fit his vibe perfectly – Jaki Byard on piano, Richard Davis on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – each stepping quickly to catch the energy of each new twist and turn in Kirk's music. Titles include the sublime "From Bechet Byas & Fats" – plus "No Tonic Pres", "Rip Rig & Panic", "Mystical Dream", "Black Diamond", and "Slippery Hippery Flippery". Beautiful Edith is a bit mellower, but no less wonderful, and the record features some great early piano work by Lonnie Liston Smith. Titles include "Blue Rol", "No Tonic Press", "Rip, Rig, & Panic", "Slipper, Hippery, Flippery", "Stompin' Grounds", and "Mystical Dreams". CD

A live large group session from Don Redman & His Orchestra featuring Don Byas, Billy Taylor, Peanuts Holland, and vocals by Inez Cavanaugh. Tracks are a mostly standards plus a few originals by Redman including "Chant of the Weeds", "Frantic Atlantic", " Dark Glasses". LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of Basie work from the year 1941 – featuring a lineup that includes Dickey Wells, Tab Smith, Buddy Tate, Don Byas, Freddie Green, and Buck Clayton. Tracks include "Down For Double", "Diggin For Dex", "Jump The Blues Away", "The Jitters", "Tuesday At Ten", "Tune Town Shuffle", "Basie Boogie", and "Fiesta In Blue". Great 50s cover, with some cool geometric cat designs! LP, Vinyl record album

The roots of bebop! During the early 40s, sets held in Harlem nightclubs, especially the famous Minton's, were seminal to the development of bebop – and you'll hear exactly what we mean on this album! The set features material recorded by Jerry Newman at Minton's and Monroe's up in Harlem – sessions that include players like Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Christian, Thelonious Monk, Hot Lips Page, Kenny Clarke, and Don Byas. The players run through a batch of material that might be called small-combo swing – but the style of the solos shows a lot of bebop, as well as a strong penchant for new ideas. Titles include "Lips Flips", "Swing to Bop", "Guy's Got To Go", "Kerouac", and "Stardust". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice collection of tracks recorded by Diz during the early 50s – mostly in Paris, with backing by players that include tenorist Don Byas and pianist Wade Legge, and occasional vocals by Joe Carroll. Titles include "This Is The Way", "Always", "Crutch", "Fais Gaffe", "Hurry Home", "Moon Nocturne", and "I Don't Know Why". LP, Vinyl record album

Part of a 4 volume set, all recorded on one night in Denmark. The set is a Norm Granz JATP transplantation to the European stage, and features the sort of group you'd imagine, with stars like Coleman Hawkins, Don Byas, Benny Carter & Roy Eldridge. Unlike the other volumes in the set, where the group stretches out and riffs over side long takes on standards, this one is more concise, with less jamming (but no less cookin') versions of "These Foolish Things", "The Nearness of You", "You Go To My Head" and 4 more. LP, Vinyl record album

A great document of an early all-star jazz concert – recorded at Town Hall by a young Bob Shad – who's clearly working here in the same live territory as producer Norman Granz! There's a great sense of variety going on here – and the record's maybe worth it alone for an excellent performance by a trio with Gene Krupa on drums and Charlie Ventura on tenor – with only piano, and no other instrumentation – a great mode for both players! The album also features work from a quintet led by pianist Teddy Wilson with Flip Phillips on tenor – on the tune "Sweet & Lovely"; a trio with Billy Taylor on piano and Stuff Smith on violin, on "Perdido"; a fantastic duet between Don Byas' tenor and Slam Stewart's bass on "I Got Rhythm"; and a Red Norvo group with Shorty Rogers on trumpet and Flip Phillips on tenor, on the tunes "The Man I Love" and "One Note Jive". LP, Vinyl record album

Notable sidemen include Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Don Byas, Tiny Grimes, Teddy Wilson, and Red Norvo – plus vocals by Sarah Vaughan. CD

Great 40s work from this Kansas City legend – recorded in New York, Chicago, and LA – with work from players who include Don Byas and Wild Bill Moore on tenor, Camille Howard and Pete Johnson on piano, Red Saunders on drums, and Riley Hampton on alto sax. 26 tracks total!! CD

Earky 40's Okeh recordings with Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Don Byas, Helen Humes and Jimmy Rushing. Tracks include "Love Jumped Out", "Stampede In G Minor", "You Lied To Me", "Wiggle Woogie", "The Jitters" and "9:20 Special". CD

Coleman's friends here include Roy Eldridge, Don Byas, Benny Carter, Lalo Schifrin, Art Davis, and Jo Jones! LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Tiny Grimes Quintet with Charlie Parker, the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Quintette, the Ike Quebec All Stars, the Erroll Garner Trio, Dexter Gordon, Don Byas, the Be Bop Boys, Serge Chaloff Sextette, Miles Davis All Stars, and more. CD

Landmark pre-bop recordings – with early small combo work from Charlie Christian, and some great Dizzy Gillespie tracks recorded with Don Byas on tenor, Thelonious Monk on piano, and Kenny Clarke on drums! CD

Excellent postwar work from Joe Turner – not as well-known as his Altantic material, but featuring great small combo backings – with players who include Pete Johnson on piano, Otis Finch and Don Byas on tenors, Riley Hampton on alto, Ellsworth Perkins and Leonard Ware on guitars, and Ellsworth Ligget on piano! LP, Vinyl record album

Esquire All-Star jazz sessions from the mid 40s – with work from Charlie Shavers, Louis Armstrong, Don Byas, Johnny Hodges, Jimmy Hamilton, Colemank Hawkins, Lucky Thompson, and many others! CD

Roy Eldridge remembers Harlem – but from the perspective of Paris, which is where these sides were recorded at the start of the 50s! The set features some very strong Eldridge sides from 1950 and 1951 – material that's way more than just some basic tracks recorded overseas, and which easily matches the strength of some of Roy's American work of the time! The first batch of tracks have Eldridge's trumpet in a cool French group with Benny Vasseur on trombone and Albert Ferreri on tenor – and other numbers are recorded by a group with Don Byas on tenor and Claude Bolling on piano – plus a few more with just Eldridge and Bolling in duet, and a few more with Roy on solo piano. Titles include two takes of the vocal number "Une Petite Laitue", plus "I'd Love Him So", "Oh Shut Up", "Black & Blue", "L'Isle Adam", "I Remember Harlem", "Improvisation", "List Blues", and "Fireworks". LP, Vinyl record album

A 60s Reprise issue of earlier material that Dizzy Gillespie cut live in Paris – not his Salle Pleyel concerts, but some great work with a variety of groups! One combo features Wade Legge on piano and Nat Peck on trombone – on cuts that include "Moon Nocturne", "Fais Gaffe", "This Is The Way", and "Always". Another features Don Byas on tenor, Hubert Fol on Alto, and Raymond Fol on piano – on the titles "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams", "I Don't Know Why", "Dizzy's Blues", and "Everything Happens To Me". And the third group features Byas on tenor and Arnold Ross on piano – on "Hurry Home" and "She's Funny That Way". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes 88 tracks recorded with Miles Davis, Lester Young, Illinois Jacquet, Max Roach, Teddy Wilson, Hank Jones, Ben Webster, Don Byas, and others! CD

Includes cuts from two 40s sessions – from 1944 with Dizzy Gillespie, Vic Coulsen, Ed Vanderveer, Leonard Lowry, Leo Parker, Don Byas, Budd Johnson, Clyde Hart, Oscar Pettiford, and Max Roach; and from 1949 with Hubert Fol, Nat Peck, Jean-Paul Mengeon, Pierr Michelot, and Kenny Clarke. LP, Vinyl record album

Featuring Harold Baker, Quentin Jackson, Jimmy Hamilton, Don Byas, Raymond Fol, Wendell Marshall, Sonny Greer, and Otto Franker. CD

A rarity from the bop era – hard-blowing tracks that run for a duration that's way longer than the standard three minutes of most 78rpm singles. Here, Gordon and Gray blow head to head in some of their famous "battle" sessions – working with players like Sonny Criss, Howard McGhee, Hampton Hawes, and Barney Kessel in a format that was very popular on the LA bop scene. Each side of the 2LP set features one long track – and titles include "Disorder At The Border", "Cherokee", "Byas A Drink", and "The Hunt". Great 70s package – with notes on all the material the material. LP, Vinyl record album