Jimmy Lyons
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Jimmy Lyons | |
|---|---|
 Lyons at the Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, California, 1978 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Lyons |
| Born | December 1, 1931 Jersey City, New Jersey |
| Died | May 19, 1986 (aged 54) |
| Genres | Jazz, free jazz, avant-garde jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument | Alto saxophone |
| Labels | Black Saint/Soul Note |
Jimmy Lyons (December 1, 1931 – May 19, 1986) was an alto saxophone player. He is best known for his long tenure in the Cecil Taylor Unit. Lyons was the only constant member of the band from the mid-1960s until his death in 1986. Taylor never worked with another musician as frequently. Lyons's playing, influenced by Charlie Parker, helped keep Taylor's avant-garde music tethered to the jazz tradition.[1]
Biography
He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and brought up firstly there for his first 9 years, before his mother moved the family to Harlem and then the Bronx. He obtained his first saxophone in the mid-1940s and had lessons from Buster Bailey.[2]
After high school, Lyons was drafted into the United States Army and spent 21 months on infantry duty in Korea, before spending around a year playing in army bands. On discharge, he attended New York University.[3] By the end of the 1950s he was supporting his interest in music with day jobs in the Postal Service.
In 1961 he followed Archie Shepp into the saxophone role in the Cecil Taylor Unit. His post-Parker sound and strong melodic sense[4] became a defining part of the sound of that group, from the classic 1962 Cafe Montmartre sessions onwards.[5]
During the 1970s Lyons also ran his own group with bassoonist Karen Borca and percussionist Paul Murphy, taking performance opportunities at the loft jazz movement around Studio Rivbea. His group and the Unit continued a parallel development through the 1970s and 1980s, often involving the same musicians, such as trumpeter Raphe Malik, bassist William Parker and percussionist Paul Murphy.
Lyons died from lung cancer in 1986. The recording legacy of his own group was relatively sparse, though that situation has been rectified by a 5 CD boxed set of archive recordings from 1972 to 1985, released on Ayler Records.
Discography
As leader
- 1969: Other Afternoons with Lester Bowie, Andrew Cyrille, Alan Silva
- 1980: Riffs with Karen Borca, Jay Oliver, Paul Murphy
- 1980: Jump Up with John Lindberg, Sunny Murray
- 1981: Something in Return with Andrew Cyrille
- 1982: Burnt Offering with Andrew Cyrille (Black Saint)
- 1983: Wee Sneezawee with Karen Borca, Raphe Malik, Paul Murphy, William Parker (Black Saint)
- 1985: Give It Up with Karen Borca, Paul Murphy, Jay Oliver, Enrico Rava (Black Saint)
As sideman
With Andrew Cyrille
- Nuba (Black Saint, 1979)
With Eddie Gale
- Black Rhythm Happening (Blue Note, 1969)
With Cecil Taylor
- Into the Hot
- Mixed
- Student Studies
- Akisakila
- Spring of Two Blue J's
- Dark to Themselves
- Cecil Taylor Unit
- 3 Phasis
- Live in the Black Forest
- One Too Many Salty Swift and Not Goodbye
- It Is in the Brewing Luminous
- The Eighth
- Winged Serpent
- The Great Concert of Cecil Taylor
- Conquistador!
- Unit Structures
- Nefertiti, the Beautiful One Has Come
With Jazz Composer's Orchestra
References
- ^ Kelsey, Chris. "Jimmy Lyons"
- ^ Young, Ben (2003), Jimmy, Ayler Records, pp. 4–6
- ^ Young (2003), Jimmy, pp. 9–10
- ^ Jost, Ekkehard (1975). Studies in Jazz Research: Free Jazz. Universal Edition. p. 78. ISBN 3-7024-0013-3.
- ^ Litweiler, John (1984). The Freedom Principle: Jazz after 1958. New York: Da Capo Press. pp. 208–220. ISBN 0-306-80377-1.
External links
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