Don Byas beyond the Mosaic set

[mikeweil]

Now that the Mosaic set of Don Byas sessions is announced, I looked what else might be of interest.

I just ordered a copy of a compilation of his Vogue sessions, https://www.discogs.com/release/14897775-Don-Byas-Lover-Man/image/SW1hZ2U6NDQ4OTQ5NDY=::

When looked it uo in the Lord Disco, I found considerable overlap with another Vogue reissue I already have, https://www.discogs.com/release/5587403-Don-Byas-Featuring-Mary-Lou-Williams-Trio-Beryl-Booker-Trio-Don-Byas/image/SW1hZ2U6MTE4ODE5MTk=:

I almost regretted the order of the former CD, but whem I compared the discographical data of the latter CD with ihe data in the Lord Disco, I found out that Lord got this reissue totally wrong and the overlap is minimal. 

We had a similar discussion abot one Trummy Young session that's not in the Mosaic, and contrary to the data in Lord, probably was never issued. My warning is: Never trust the data in Lord without consulting a second source! There a a lot of errors or inexact data. This is not to diminish his effots, but the sheer amount of data makes such errors inevitable. Specialist discographies on labels or single srtists will always be more accurate, and Lord will be the first to admit this. Just be careful when you post info, alway state your sources,a nd try to be as accurate as possible. Discographical research can be a pian in certain body parts, but it is wotrth it and helps the collectors community.

So in  the end I can recommend these two Vogue CDs. 

Another great one is this from late in his career:

What else can you recommend, besides the sessions missing from the Mosaic that are discussed already in the respective thread?

Edited November 4, 2023 by mikeweil

[Niko]

Also ordered that Lover Man CD recently.... surprisingly, despite the ugly cover, it's by far the most reasonable way to acquire some prime Don Byas sessions, including some w Martial Solal... Somehow the later Vogue Reissue series forgot most of this music... I bought quite a bit of Byas in the past few months but the rest will be in the Mosaic...

Edited November 4, 2023 by Niko

[JSngry]

This one is essential imo:

 

[ejp626]

I've that second Vogue compilation that Mike listed for a while, though it's been a while since I listened to it.  I should probably correct that.

I never had the first one (Lover Man), and I may try to order one (depending on shipping rates to Canada 😢).   

[Pim]

This is the only Byas in my collection but I frequently revisit it:

https://www.discogs.com/release/4790053-Don-Byas-Ambiances-Et-Slows

A compliation on Barclay from his years in France.

[jlhoots]

Don Byas Meets The Jacobs Brothers: Groovin' High (Live In Haarlem 1964) - NJA 1603

[Chuck Nessa]

[JSngry]

44 minutes ago, Chuck Nessa said:

[colinmce]

These are Vogue recordings so there is probably mostly overlap with the OP, but I have this one & it’s excellent:

https://www.discogs.com/release/15801844-Don-Byas-Tenderly

 

 

[JSngry]

Also from Mintons, and top shelf:

[Big Beat Steve]

15 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

+1

I have it on the original Onyx (ORI 208) LP.

The French recordings by Don Byas from the 50s are fairly ballad-heavy which may not be to everyone's taste at every moment but they have their merits overall.

Another one that falls straight between the U.S. (+ European trip by Don Redman in 1946) period and his years in France is the below one which I find very interesting:

https://www.discogs.com/master/919653-Don-Byas-1947-Those-Barcelona-Days

The CD has additonal tracks by the George Johnson expat band but according to Bruyninckx these do not feature Don Byas.

[Niko]

I've played "Those Barcelona Days" quite a bit a few weeks ago... historically super interesting, musically about half the Byas tracks are ok and the others not so much... those George Johnson tracks on the CD are the highlight imho, much better than the Byas ones because they show a great working band playing their working repertoire... and Johnson is a fine alto player who's not overdocumented... (I wrote a bit more about this here in German, in contrast to what I write there, the tenor soloist on the Johnson tracks is clearly one Jimmy Adams [from Philadelphia according to Downbeat, that's all I know])

[Big Beat Steve]

Interesting, Niko. 👍
I have the vinyl release of this and became aware of the George Johnson part only now during my Discogs search. Time to find a copy of the CD too, then? (An added reason would be that I also own the Jazz En Barcelona 1920-1965 book and CD set)

[Niko]

I'd be tempted to say yes but maybe you can stream a few tracks first...

it's interesting for the jazz reception in Europe (did you see the letter from the Johnson band's manager I posted over there?), for understanding the swing to bop transition... and it's just a nice group to listen to imho.... (and to connect back to Byas, Johnson is also one of the candidates for the alto solos in the Rosenkrantz archive... which seem to be all assigned to Kirtland Bradford in the Mosaic discography... but I think there's more than one alto player from what I heard)

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I've always been a fan of this one...

I really need to get my hands on that date that Bias did with Mary Lou Williams.

[mikeweil]

2 hours ago, bresna said:

I've always been a fan of this one...

I really need to get my hands on that date that Bias did with Mary Lou Williams.

Hard to understand why MPS in Germany never reissued this on CD. The Japanese CD goes for rather high prices, or I would have got me one. I must be careful about my spendings ....

[Kevin Bresnahan]

45 minutes ago, mikeweil said:

Hard to understand why MPS in Germany never reissued this on CD. The Japanese CD goes for rather high prices, or I would have got me one. I must be careful about my spendings ....

The artwork I posted is from the German MPS CD from 1986. Unfortunately, the only copy on discogs looks to be from a seller who doesn't ship internationally. There's a few for sale on ebay.com.

[mikeweil]

1 hour ago, bresna said:

The artwork I posted is from the German MPS CD from 1986. Unfortunately, the only copy on discogs looks to be from a seller who doesn't ship internationally. There's a few for sale on ebay.com.

Oh, I overlooked that one - thanks for posting this. No idea why I didn't buy it when it was released. Will try to find a copy.

[JSngry]

That MPS date is a bit late in the game for both of them... 

[Chuck Nessa]

3 minutes ago, JSngry said:

That MPS date is a bit late in the game for both of them... 

My understanding is there was alcohol induced "imprecision".

[EKE BBB]

1 hour ago, Chuck Nessa said:

My understanding is there was alcohol induced "imprecision".

True. And far too much competitiveness on Byas side. Still, a nice date.

[AllenLowe]

my feeling is that Webster at this point was all breath.

 

[mikeweil]

Now I remember: Maybe I heard something like this imprecision etc. in the music when I had a listen to the CD reissue that left me underwhelmed and made put it back in the bin at the shop. Okay, my money will be saved for the Mosaic.

Edited November 6, 2023 by mikeweil

[AllenLowe]

I honestly think this session is a major disappointment, though not a major surprise.

[Brad]

On 11/4/2023 at 1:25 PM, Chuck Nessa said:

This is a good one. So are the one in the jazz in Paris series.

https://www.discogs.com/release/734090-Don-Byas-En-Ce-Temps-Là

https://www.discogs.com/release/22037230-Don-Byas-Laura