Jaki Byard is a favorite and here he plays live with his band at the legendary jazz club Lennie’s on the Turnpike. A couple of other live titles with this band from the same club were released as well on Prestige, and this the second volume. This live performance is quite special as it features master drummer Alan Dawson on the vibes on one tune and tenor player Joe Farrell on drums (he also plays the flute) .Very unusal and very cool. We also have the great George Tucker on double bass. He has a couple of wonderful solos.
I think this a interesting example of Jaki Byard live, where he can really use his ecletic style to great effect. Byard mixed a lot of different styles into his playing. On ”Bass-ment Blues” for example it feels like you just walked into a saloon in the old west. The music is special. Not your average live jazz date. It contains so many different styles and aspects that it’s difficult to write down what I’m experiencing. It’s vintage Jaki Byard, full stop.
The sound of this live recording is ok, but not great. If it had been Van Gelder recording this it probably would have been another experience. No matter, it’s a special band captured live during a brief moment in time, which I find really interesting.