Jaki Byard
Piano Solo on
Cyclic Episode

About

Jaki Byard's piano solo is the third and final solo on "Cyclic Episode" from Sam Rivers's 1964 Blue Note debut Fuchsia Swing Song, following Rivers's nine-chorus tenor saxophone and Ron Carter's five-chorus bass. He takes four choruses of the 16-bar form at 218 BPM in B-flat minor, bringing his stylistically eclectic approach to the dark modal framework. Byard's piano closes the solo section with the same versatility and invention he displays throughout the album, moving between various pianistic traditions while maintaining the piece's brooding, minor-key atmosphere.

Jaki Byard was 41 to 42 years old at the time.