Sax Expat: Don Byas by Con Chapman
'Sax Expat: Don Byas' by Con Chapman
Saxophonist Don Byas played behind jazz greats Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton and Count Basie and subbed for many other prominent musicians. He began recording in 1938, logging studio time and earning respected from his peers. Nurtured by swing, Byas was on hand in New York for the birth of bebop and played on hit records yet was eclipsed by other musicians with bigger reputations. Con Chapman hopes to redress the omission in an efficiently written biography that takes in the complicated situation for jazz artists in the era when jazz was popular music and the long aftermath when Byas played to appreciative European audiences. Chapman does good work, illustrating the main current of Byas’ life without bogging down in unnecessary details.
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