The debut recording from one of jazz music's most revered pianists!"Byard is absolutely brilliant... highly recommended." - All MusicOriginally recorded in 1960, briefly released in Japan in the early '70s, it wasn't until 1988 that Jaki Byard's solo debut, Blues For Smoke, was widely released. Even then it was more of a secret handshake among fans than the catalog cornerstone it should have always been. Now, Candid has finally created the definitive edition of this lost masterpiece for all to experience.Byard backed generations of jazz icons, including Charles Mingus, Art Blakey, Roland Kirk, and Quincy Jones. As a bandleader and soloist, he went on to build his own catalog of iconic recordings across three decades while establishing himself as an educator and mentor to the next generation of artists, most notably, Grayson Hugh, Fred Hersch, and Jason Moran. Blues For Smoke is where it all began.Recorded as a solo-piano showcase for Byard's incredible gifts as a player, composer, and jazz historian, the exquisitely engineered session is given new life by Bernie Grundman's sensitive remastering. With this release, Candid is hoping to make Jaki Byard's very first album the rosetta-stone of jazz piano it was intended to be.

Tracklist:

Excerpts From European Episode - Journey / Hollis Stomp / Milan To Lyon
Aluminum Baby
Pete And Thomas (Tribute To The Ticklers)
Spanish Tinge No. 1
Flight Of The Fly
Blues For Smoke
Jaki's Blues Next
Diane's Melody
One Two Five

UPC: 708857335121
Label: Candid
Release Date: 3.14.25
Format: CD

Jaki Byard - Blues For Smoke (CD)