Jaki Byard
Piano Solo on
Ellipsis

About

Jaki Byard's piano solo is the second of three solos on "Ellipsis" from Sam Rivers's 1964 Blue Note debut Fuchsia Swing Song, following Rivers's six-chorus tenor saxophone. He takes four choruses of the 32-bar AABA form at 257 BPM in B-flat, the contrafact's "I Got Rhythm" changes providing a foundation for his characteristically eclectic improvisation. The tempo has pushed up from Rivers's solo, and Byard responds with the full range of his pianistic vocabulary, from stride-influenced passages to more abstract explorations. He is followed by Tony Williams on drums.

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