| A Matter of Black and White | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | March 22, 2011 | |||
| Recorded | 1978 & 1979 Keystone Korner, San Francisco | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 55:51 | |||
| Label | HighNote HCD 7219 | |||
| Producer | Joe Fields | |||
| Jaki Byard chronology | ||||
| ||||
A Matter of Black and White is a live album of solo performances by American jazz pianist Jaki Byard recorded in 1978 and 1979 and released on the HighNote label. [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| All About Jazz |  [3] |
AllMusic reviewer Ken Dryden states, "Jaki Byard was a one-of-a-kind, a jazz musician who was immersed in the history of jazz and could easily intermingle contrasting styles, not only in the midst of a performance, but an individual tune". [2] Writing for All About Jazz, Charles Walker stated "Byard delivers a hodgepodge selection of standards and tributes, with the occasional original thrown in for good measure. But the meat of the program lies in the way he incorporates wildly disparate styles into their unfolding, all the while retaining an identifiably personal voice... a fine place to sample some of what makes him such a unique talent". [3] JazzTimes Thomas Conrad observed "any set of solo Byard is invaluable. His language, at once modern and archaic, blended stride and ragtime and abstraction and impish wit. When he played unaccompanied his imagination was set free". [4]
Stride jazz piano, often shortened to stride, is a jazz piano style that arose from ragtime players. Prominent stride pianists include James P. Johnson, Willie "the Lion" Smith, Fats Waller, Luckey Roberts, and Mary Lou Williams.
John Arthur "Jaki" Byard was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones, among several other instruments. He was known for his eclectic style, incorporating everything from ragtime and stride to free jazz.
Ray Willis Nance was an American jazz trumpeter, violinist and singer. He is best remembered for his long association with Duke Ellington and his orchestra.
James Bryant Woode was an American jazz bassist. He played and/or recorded in bands with Flip Phillips, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, Nat Pierce, Sidney Bechet, Billie Holiday, Jaki Byard, Earl Hines, Jimmy Witherspoon, Clark Terry and Miles Davis.
Far Cry is the third album by jazz musician Eric Dolphy, released in 1962 on New Jazz Featuring a quintet co-led with trumpeter Booker Little, it is one of the few recordings of their partnership. Pianist Jaki Byard, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Roy Haynes all return from earlier Dolphy albums. This was a busy time for Dolphy- he took part in Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz session and recorded this album on the same day, and had participated in the Jazz Abstractions project the previous day.
Cornell 1964 is a live album by the Charles Mingus Sextet, featuring multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy. It was recorded at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, on March 18, 1964.
Mingus at Monterey is a live album by the jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus, recorded in 1964 at the Monterey Jazz Festival and originally released on Mingus's short-lived mail-order Jazz Workshop label but subsequently released on other labels.
To Them – To Us is an album of solo piano performances by the American jazz pianist Jaki Byard recorded in 1981 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.
Phantasies is an album by the American jazz pianist Jaki Byard with the Apollo Stompers, recorded in 1984 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.
Foolin' Myself is an album of trio performances by the American jazz pianist Jaki Byard recorded in 1988 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.
Phantasies II is an album by the American jazz pianist Jaki Byard with the Apollo Stompers, recorded in 1988 and released on the Italian Soul Note label. The album follows Byard's big band tributes album Phantasies (1984).
Solo Piano is an album by pianist Jaki Byard recorded in 1969 and released on the Prestige label.
Parisian Solos is an album by American jazz pianist Jaki Byard consisting of several solo piano recordings. It was recorded in 1971 in Paris, France and was released on the Futura label.
The Late Show: An Evening with Jaki Byard is a solo performance by American jazz pianist Jaki Byard recorded in 1979 and released as a live album on the HighNote label in 2014.
Sunshine of My Soul: Live at the Keystone Korner is an album of a live solo performance by American jazz pianist Jaki Byard recorded in 1978 and released as a CD on the HighNote label in 2007.
Live at the Royal Festival Hall is an album by pianists Jaki Byard and Howard Riley.
Honi Gordon was a jazz vocalist.
Live at the Theatre Boulogne-Billancourt/Paris, Vol. 2 is an album by Mingus Dynasty, billed as Big Band Charlie Mingus.
Black Stars is the third album led by American pianist and composer Jason Moran, recorded and released in 2001 on the Blue Note label. It features Moran with his regular trio alongside veteran saxophonist Sam Rivers, who plays tenor, soprano, flute and piano.
Solo 5: Duke is a solo piano album by Franco D'Andrea. Consisting mainly of performances of early Duke Ellington compositions, the album was recorded in 2001 and released by Philology Records.