Oklahoma and Los Angeles Byas was born in
Muskogee, Oklahoma, United States. Both of Byas' parents were musicians. His mother played the piano, and his father, the clarinet. Byas began his musical education in the European classical tradition, learning to play violin, clarinet and alto saxophone, which he played until the end of the 1920s. Byas switched to the tenor saxophone after he moved to the West Coast, He worked in
Lionel Hampton's band at the Paradise Club in 1935, In September 1940, he had an eight bar solo on "Practice Makes Perfect", recorded by
Billie Holiday. He participated in sessions with the pianist
Pete Johnson, trumpeter
Hot Lips Page, and singer
Big Joe Turner. In 1941, at
Minton's Playhouse he played with
Charlie Christian,
Thelonious Monk and
Kenny Clarke in after hours sessions. In early 1941, after a short stay with
Paul Bascomb, he had his big break when
Count Basie chose him to succeed the post of
Lester Young in his big band. He played in small bands in New York clubs, including the
Coleman Hawkins orchestra (1944), and he associated with beboppers such as
Dizzy Gillespie,
Charlie Parker,
George Wallington,
Oscar Pettiford and
Max Roach at the
Onyx Club from early 1944. On January 4, 1945, Byas recorded with
Clyde Hart, singer
Rubberlegs Williams, Gillespie, Parker,
Trummy Young, and on January 9, 1945, Gillespie, Byas and Young recorded "Be Bop", "
Salt Peanuts", and "
Good Bait" for Manor. On June 9, Byas and
Slam Stewart played a live duet at
The Town Hall. Byas led a small group for several sessions for Savoy during 1945–46. He was second-place winner in tenor sax of the
Esquire All-American Awards in January 1946, and in February, he recorded again with Gillespie on "
52nd Street Theme" and "
Night in Tunisia". Despite his bebop associations, Byas remained deeply rooted in the sounds of swing.
Paris In September 1946, Byas began his exile in Europe to tour with
Don Redman's big band in Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, and Germany. They were the first civilian jazz big band to tour the continent after the war. After playing in Belgium and Spain, he finally settled in Paris. Pianist
Tete Montoliu sneaked into the Copacabana Club in Barcelona to hear Byas. Byas collaborated again with Andy Kirk and recorded together on
Vogue in 1953. Byas also recorded with
Mary Lou Williams in 1953 and
Beryl Booker in 1954.
Netherlands Byas moved to the Netherlands in the early 1950s; in 1955, he married Johanna "Jopie" Eksteen. He worked extensively in Europe, often with touring American musicians. He also recorded with
fado singer
Amália Rodrigues during his time in Europe. Byas did not visit the U.S. until 1970, appearing at the
Newport Jazz Festival. He died in Amsterdam in 1972 from lung cancer at the age of 59. Byas' last Dolnet tenor saxophone (purchased from his widow) is on display at Rutgers University's
Institute of Jazz Studies. His first custom Dolnet Bel Air tenor sax is owned and played by
James Carter. ==Discography==