The year 1957 was a bountiful one for Gigi Gryce. The alto saxophonist teamed with trumpeter Donald Byrd and formed the Jazz Lab, a group that allowed Gryce to record and perform his compositions and those by other artists with a singular feel that was outside of the jazz styles common then. From February to September 1957, Gryce and Byrd recorded Jazz Lab albums for five different labels—Columbia, Riverside, Verve, Jubilee and RCA. Despite the many attempts to gain traction for their new sound, the Gryce-Byrd experiment was short-lived.
Gryce, like Tadd Dameron, Quincy Jones, Benny Golson and Horace Silver, was a prolific, sexy writer and arranger with a distinctly arch, romantic sound that capitalized on sophisticated melodies and lush harmonies. His many jazz standards include Nica's Tempo, Blue Concepts, Minority, Wake Up!, Capri, Smoke Signal, Social Call, Satellite and An Evening in Casablanca, among others.
The Jazz Lab had less to do with experimentation in the avant-garde and was more concerned with amassing a large library of works and arrangements by a range of artists that fit its new jazz vibe and vision. As you listen to the Jazz Lab's recordings, you realize that their approach was unlike any other jazz style at the time.
The Jazz Lab didn't employ the bombast or unison horns of hard bop, the dryness of cool or nonchalance of West Coast jazz. Instead, the group had a pretty feel without being commercial. Melodies were lyrical, while background instruments functioned as sections of a band, supporting themes with complex harmony figures. As Gryce said back then, "We want to reflect all of the language of jazz and get into everybody's heart. And we're trying to develop another quality within ourselves."
In addition to Gryce's writing and arranging, he was a beautifully honest alto saxophonist with a determined urgency who favored the upper register. He was remarkable. In 1957, Byrd hadn't begun to record yet as a leader for Blue Note. That would follow in 1958 with Byrd's Off to the Races. Interestingly, his move to the label effectively ended the Jazz Lab collaboration. For eight brief months, Gryce and Byrd were on to something special.
Albums recorded by Gryce and Byrd's Jazz Lab:
- Jazz Lab (Columbia)
- Gigi Gryce and the Jazz Lab Quintet (Riverside)
- At Newport (Verve)
- New Formulas from the Jazz Lab (RCA)
- Jazz Lab (Jubilee)
- Modern Jazz Perspective (Columbia)
Gigi Gryce died in 1983; Donald Byrd died in 2013.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find the Complete Jazz Lab Studio Sessions Vol. 1 here, Vol. 2 here and Vol. 3 here. Or at Fresh Sound for less here, here and here.
Jazz Lab (Columbia) and At Newport (Verve) are at Spotify.
JazzWax clips: Here's Smoke Signal...
Here's Capri...
And here's Geraldine...
