Pianist
Jaki Byard and the wondrous
Roland Kirk (here switching between tenor, clarinet, and manzello) were two of the few jazz musicians who could play in literally every jazz style, from New Orleans to bop and free form. If only they had recorded a history-of-jazz album. Fortunately, they did meet up on a few occasions, including this brilliant quartet session with bassist
Richard Davis and drummer
Alan Dawson. They romp on
Bud Powell's "Parisian Thoroughfare,"
Thelonious Monk's "Evidence," "Shine on Me," and "Teach Me Tonight."
Byard duets with
Davis on his own "Hazy Eve," but best of all is the pianist's duet with
Kirk on "Memories of You." This set was also reissued as half of the
Roland Kirk two-LP set
Pre-Rahsaan. ~ Scott Yanow