John Fordham 

Don Byas: Don Byas at Nalen with Jan Johansson – review

These patchy live recordings of decades-old jazz are a neat snapshot of a neglected master of the tenor sax, writes John Fordham
  
  


Don Byas was a tenor-sax genius whose name never appeared in lights as bright as those of Lester Young, Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins or Sonny Rollins. Patchy live recordings of decades-old jazz by non-stars rarely qualify for this slot, but these tracks from Stockholm's Nalen club in 1962 are special cases: for his inventiveness, his importance as a 1930s-swing player who got the point of 40s bebop, and for the piano-playing of the shortlived Swedish player Jan Johansson. Four Nalen tracks, including a fast There'll Never Be Another You and I Remember Clifford catch Byas's evocative vibrato and sweeping power. A better Swedish Radio recording does justice to Johansson's silvery touch, Byas's spontaneity and bassist Georg Riedel's agility on I'll Remember April. Two duo tracks from New York 16 years earlier, featuring Byas with bassist Slam Stewart, complete a neat snapshot of a neglected master.

 

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