Byard Lancaster

A respected but somewhat underground figure in the world of avant-garde jazz, flutist and alto saxophonist Byard Lancaster followed in the giant footsteps of John Coltrane and helped nudge free jazz forward in the ‘60s and ‘70s, while also striving to bring disparate genres together. Born in Philadelphia in 1942, Lancaster studied music at the Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory before he entered the New York jazz scene in the mid ‘60s. He recorded with free jazz pioneers Sunny Murray and Bill Dixon before delivering his own music on his 1968 debut It’s Not Up to Us. The album featured a free jazz take on “Over the Rainbow” and mostly adhered to the style, but its menacing closing track, the chaotically heavy, nine-minute “Satan,” could just as well have been a Hawkwind song. Subsequent collaborators included McCoy Tyner, Memphis Slim, and the Sun Ra Arkestra, which filled the time in between his eight albums released in the 1970s. Lancaster also ventured beyond America and jazz, exploring new sounds in Jamaica with reggae deejay Big Youth, and in Nigeria with the legendary Fela Kuti. His travels encouraged him to explore the connections between jazz and other forms of music from around the world, a passion he maintained for the rest of his life. He also mentored young musicians back home in Philadelphia, including longtime Roots keyboardist Kamal Gray. He also butted heads with his hometown, as the local transit department took issue with Lancaster’s habit of rehearsing in subway stations, which he did out of appreciation for their unique acoustics. After multiple arrests, he sued the city and was awarded a settlement. He continued to record into the late 2000s, but died of pancreatic cancer in 2012.

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