''Byablue'' is one of the last albums recorded by the so-called 'American Quartet' of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist

Keith Jarrett Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also be ...

. It was recorded in October 1976 in two sessions that also helped produce the album '' Bop-Be''. Released on the Impulse label in 1977, it features performances by Jarrett,

Dewey Redman Walter Dewey Redman (May 17, 1931 – September 2, 2006) was an American saxophonist who performed free jazz as a bandleader with Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett. Redman mainly played tenor saxophone, though he occasionally also played alto s ...

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than fifty years. Haden helped to revolutionize the harmonic concept of bass playin ...

, and

Paul Motian Stephen Paul Motian (March 25, 1931 – November 22, 2011) was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, and composer of Armenian descent. He played an important role in freeing jazz drummers from strict time-keeping duties. Motian first came t ...

. Musically speaking, even though the album '' Eyes of the Heart'' made it last to the market, ''Byablue'' and '' Bop-Be'' document the swan song of Jarrett's American Quartet in several ways, but most of all the inclusion of compositions by members other than Jarrett himself deliver another taste. While that did not happen before, for what would be the quartet's final recording sessions, Jarrett requested that band members contribute with their own compositions. ''Byablue'' consisted primarily of Paul Motian's pieces, while '' Bop-Be'' included Redman and Haden's contributions.

Background: disbanding the American Quartet

As Neil Tesser details on his 1996 extensive notes found in the compilation album '' Mysteries: The Impulse Years 1975-1976'' (which contains all the tracks recorded in that period, including alternate takes) the following was the story of Jarrett's American Quartet last "marathon recording sessions" taking place from December 1975 to October 1976:

''Byablue'' and ''Bop-Be'': the last sessions

Having conversed with

, on the text found in '' Mysteries: The Impulse Years 1975-1976'' Neil Tesser transcribes a few Jarrett's reflections regarding the inclusion of musical material authored by Redman, Haden and Motian: Tesser ends up assuming that after ''Byablue'' and ''Bop-Be'', artistically and musically the group had already given its best: "Interesting as this experiment proved, it did not convince Jarrett that his most pessimistic assessments were misplaced. The music failed to kick-start the band into a higher orbit."

Reception

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

review by Richard S. Ginell stated, "The band certainly doesn't sound as if it was ready to break up; the interplay is telepathic, the musical ideas are still fresh, and there is a willingness to experiment. Highly recommended."Ginell, R
AllMusic Review
accessed September 2020

Track listing

:''All compositions by Paul Motian except as indicated'' # "Byablue" - 7:19 # "Konya" (Jarrett) - 3:21 # "Rainbow" (Margot Jarrett) - 8:32 # "Trieste" - 9:37 # "Fantasm" - 1:12 # "Yahllah" - 8:27 # "Byablue" - 3:42

Personnel

* Keith Jarrett - piano, soprano saxophone, percussion *

- tenor saxophone, musette *

- bass *

- drums, percussion Production * Esmond Edwards - producer * Tony May - recording engineer * Barney Perkins - remixing engineer * Geoff Sykes - mastering engineer * Frank Mulvey - art direction * Philip Chiang - design

References

{{Authority control Keith Jarrett albums Impulse! Records albums 1977 albums