Artist's albums
Midnight at Minton's (Original 1941 Recordings)
1999 · album
Those Barcelona Days
1998 · album
Tenor Giant
1996 · album
Savoy Jam Party: The Savoy Sessions
1995 · album
Tenor God
2021 · album
From Swing to Bop
2021 · album
Afternoon In Muzik
2020 · album
Don's Song
2020 · EP
Laura
2016 · album
Ben Webster Meets Don Byas
2014 · album
Pierre Braslavsky - Don Byas, Jeunesse du jazz
2014 · album
Round About Midnight
2011 · album
In Paris
2010 · album
Don Byas
2009 · album
Amoureusement Vôtre
2007 · album
american swinging in paris
2003 · album
A Tribute To Cannonball
1961 · album
Similar artists
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
Artist
Fats Navarro
Artist
Serge Chaloff
Artist
Zoot Sims
Artist
Sonny Stitt
Artist
Paul Gonsalves
Artist
Bud Shank
Artist
Gene Ammons
Artist
Ben Webster
Artist
Oscar Pettiford
Artist
Howard McGhee
Artist
James Moody
Artist
Benny Carter
Artist
Sonny Criss
Artist
Kenny Drew
Artist
Lucky Thompson
Artist
Illinois Jacquet
Artist
Gerry Mulligan Quartet
Artist
Benny Golson
Artist
Johnny Hodges
Artist
Biography
One of the greatest of all tenor players, Don Byas' decision to move permanently to Europe in 1946 resulted in him being vastly underrated in jazz history books. His knowledge of chords rivalled Coleman Hawkins, and, due to their similarity in tones, Byas can be considered an extension of the elder tenor. He played with many top swing bands, including those of Lionel Hampton (1935), Buck Clayton (1936), Don Redman, Lucky Millinder, Andy Kirk (1939-1940), and most importantly Count Basie (1941-1943). An advanced swing stylist, Byas' playing looked toward bop. He jammed at Minton's Playhouse in the early '40s, appeared on 52nd Street with Dizzy Gillespie, and performed a pair of stunning duets with bassist Slam Stewart at a 1944 Town Hall concert. After recording extensively during 1945-1946 (often as a leader), Byas went to Europe with Don Redman's band, and (with the exception of a 1970 appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival) never came back to the U.S. He lived in France, the Netherlands, and Denmark; often appeared at festivals; and worked steadily. Whenever American players were touring, they would ask for Byas, who had opportunities to perform with Duke Ellington, Bud Powell, Kenny Clarke, Dizzy Gillespie, Jazz at the Philharmonic (including a recorded tenor battle with Hawkins and Stan Getz), Art Blakey, and (on a 1968 recording) Ben Webster. Byas also recorded often in the 1950s, but was largely forgotten in the U.S. by the time of his death. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi