Jaki Byard
By Nick Castro
Jaki Byard was one of the most original jazz pianist of his time. He was tragically and mysteriously shot in the face in 1999 in his home in Queens, NY and killed. He was born in 1922 in Worchester, MA. He grew up with music filling his home through the radio and through his father's trumpet and trombone playing and his mother's piano. Byard's grandmother used to play piano for silent films. Young Byard also took piano lessons from early on though, through the encouragement of his father, would also experiment with saxophone and trumpet as well, both of which he become competent enough to play professionally. Other instruments Byard would learn are bass, vibraphone, trombone and drums. By age 15 Byard was... Read More
- City Of Origin:
- Worchester, Massachusetts, United States
- Genre:
- Jazz, Bop, Post Bop, Classic Jazz, Stride
- Birthdate:
- 06/15/1922
- Death date:
- 02/11/1999
