{"product_id":"sax-expat-don-byas-hardback-9781496848666","title":"Sax Expat; Don Byas (Hardback) 9781496848666","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eSax Expat\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eDon Byas\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eCon Chapman (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781496848666\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 31 March 2025\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e277 pages, 25 b\u0026amp;w illustrations\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.448 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e“Don Byas was a rare figure in jazz. This book gives us the story of a most interesting life in all necessary detail.” - Ate van Delden, author of \u003ci\u003eAdrian Rollini: The Life and Music of a Jazz Rambler\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDon Byas (1913–1972) may be lesser known than the counterparts he played with—Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Dizzy Gillespie, among others—but he was an enigma. He never stayed with a band for long, and eventually went solo partly to make more money and partly due to his inability to work with bandleaders. Often drinking to excess, alcohol fueled his sometimes-erratic behavior on and off the bandstand. He went through at least thirteen different groups in fifteen years of professional play before leaving for Europe in 1946.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Despite his fractious personality, in Europe he found peace and contentment as a family man in the Netherlands, where he lived out his days with his second wife and their four children. He learned at least seven languages during his years in Europe, and on traveling to a new country could pick up a few phrases in short order, soon speaking to the locals and even composing songs in their native tongue. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In \u003ci\u003eSax Expat: Don Byas\u003c\/i\u003e, author Con Chapman argues that Byas’s relative obscurity arises from his choice to live in Europe, where he missed out on recording opportunities and exposure in the US that would have made him renowned and wealthier. His numerous achievements, including his solo on Count Basie’s \"Harvard Blues,\" which is a model of restrained invention; his interpretation of the sentimental movie theme \"Laura\"; and his duets with bassist Slam Stewart were included in the Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz and secured Byas’s place in jazz history. This biography brings to life an amazing jazz story.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"University Press of Mississippi","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52607700992280,"sku":"9781496848666","price":60.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/sax-expat-don-byas-hardback-9781496848666","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}