Byard Lancaster
Encyclopedia
Byard Lancaster is a jazz
multi-instrumentalist
whose primary instrument is the alto saxophone
. He attended two colleges, one of them for music, before eventually deciding to pursue an education at the Berklee College of Music
, then moving to New York. In the city, he participated in loft jam session
s which included saxophonist Archie Shepp
and drummer Elvin Jones
. In 1965, he recorded Sunny Murray Quintet with the album's eponymous musician in New York, performed in the Parisian Actuel festival with him in 1969, and has continued to work in the drummer's groups throughout his career. By the 1970s, Lancaster had played with musicians such as McCoy Tyner
and Sun Ra
, as well as some outside of the jazz idiom, including Memphis Slim
and Johnny Copeland
. More recently, he has performed regularly with cellist David Eyges, and recorded as a leader and sideman for Creative Improvised Music Projects (CIMP) Records.
With The Odean Pope
Saxophone Choir
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
whose primary instrument is the alto saxophone
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
. He attended two colleges, one of them for music, before eventually deciding to pursue an education at the Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
, then moving to New York. In the city, he participated in loft jam session
Jam session
Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
s which included saxophonist Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist. Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and...
and drummer Elvin Jones
Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones was a jazz drummer of the post-bop era. He showed interest in drums at a young age, watching the circus bands march by his family's home in Pontiac, Michigan....
. In 1965, he recorded Sunny Murray Quintet with the album's eponymous musician in New York, performed in the Parisian Actuel festival with him in 1969, and has continued to work in the drummer's groups throughout his career. By the 1970s, Lancaster had played with musicians such as McCoy Tyner
McCoy Tyner
McCoy Tyner is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and a long solo career.-Early life:...
and Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
, as well as some outside of the jazz idiom, including Memphis Slim
Memphis Slim
Memphis Slim was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. A song he first cut in 1947, "Every Day I Have the Blues", has become a blues standard, recorded by many other...
and Johnny Copeland
Johnny Copeland
Johnny Copeland was an American Texas blues guitarist and singer.-Career:Born in Haynesville, Louisiana, United States, while Copeland was becoming interested in music, he also pursued boxing, mostly as an avocation, and it is from his days as a boxer that he got his nickname "Clyde." Also as a...
. More recently, he has performed regularly with cellist David Eyges, and recorded as a leader and sideman for Creative Improvised Music Projects (CIMP) Records.
As leader
- 1968: It's Not Up To Us
- 1971: Live at Macalester College - J. R. Mitchell/Byard Lancaster Experience, orig. issued on Lancaster's Dogtown Records, re-issued in 2008 on Porter Records
- 1977: Exodus (Philly JazzPhilly JazzPhilly Jazz was a small record label from Philadelphia. Sunny Murray's Apple Cores features Cecil McBee on bass, Frank Foster on soprano saxophone, pianist Don Pullen and guitarist Monnette Sudler. Hamiet Bluiett, Fred Hopkins, Arthur Blythe, and Oliver Lake also each appear on one track...
) - 1988: Lightnin' Strikes!
- 2001: Philadelphia Spirit in New York - Ed Crockett, J. R. Mitchell, Odean Pope, Byard Lancaster, Creative Improvised Music Projects, Music Inn Studios
- 2008: Useless Education Promo Preview (fONKSQUISh featuring Byard Lancaster)
As sideman
With Sunny MurraySunny Murray
James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray is one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming.-Biography:...
- Sunny Murray Quintet (1966)
With The Odean Pope
Odean Pope
Odean Pope is an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Pope was raised in Philadelphia, where he learned from Ray Bryant while young...
Saxophone Choir
- The PondererThe PondererThe Ponderer is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Odean Pope recorded in 1990 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 4½ stars.-Track listing:# "Overture" - 6:10...
(Soul Note, 1990)