Arthur Blythe

[Mark Stryker]

In my long interview from a few years ago about saxophone players with Ethan Iverson, I  spoke a bit about Blythe. Lenox Avenue Breakdown and Illusions are tremendous records. In the Tradition is let down by the insanely bright and shrill sonics. Still, throw it into the mix and that's a remarkable trilogy of consecutive LPs with a unique sound and point of view. 

Anyway, a nice memory for me: 

"The first time I ever went to the Village Vanguard in the spring of 1982 I heard Arthur Blythe play with his In the Tradition band with John Hicks, Fred Hopkins and Steve McCall. I sat at the front table, close enough to reach up and touch the bell of the saxophone. Recordings simply did not capture how full and rich Arthur’s sound was. I remember Phil Woods in a blindfold test once complaining about engineers who had made Arthur sound like a kazoo, and I know what he meant. The rhythm section that night was super loose — sloppy, actually, but in a musical way and with so much personality. I also remember having a one-hitter and lighting it up at the table. In those days you could literally smoke a joint at a table in the Vanguard. I felt like I was at the center of the universe— 18 years old at the Village Vanguard, having a taste, and hearing Arthur Blythe."