Arthur Blythe Basic Blythe LP 1st Pressing with bonus promo 7" 45 Illusions
Arthur Blythe Basic Blythe LP 1st Pressing with bonus promo 7" 45 Illusions (the 7" only released as promo ) John Hicks piano is on fire
Altoist Arthur Blythe's final Columbia album is a varied set that includes the two-part "Autumn In New York," "Ruby My Dear," "Heart To Heart" and three Blythe originals including a remake of "Lennox Avenue Breakdown." Blythe's quartet (with pianist , bassist and drummer ) is excellent.There's a couple of stunning and inventive tunes on this album. Arthur Blythe has a distinctive style- a warm and very distinctive tone coupled with lyrical and surprising melodic twists- all underpinned with a profound soulful and emotive cargo. Listen to "Faceless woman", and "Autumn in New York"- they never fail to send me into a swoon- a deep appreciation of what music can deliver. Arthur Murray Blythe (May 7, 1940 – March 27, 2017) was an American alto saxophonist and composer. He was described by critic Chris Kelsey as displaying "one of the most easily recognizable alto sax sounds in jazz, big and round, with a fast, wide and an aggressive, precise manner of phrasing" and furthermore as straddling the avant garde and traditionalist jazz, often with bands featuring unusual instrumentation.
After moving to New York in the mid-1970s, Blythe worked as a security guard before being offered a place as for (1975–77). He subsequently played with ' Orchestra (1976–78), (1978), (1979) and (also 1979) Blythe's group – , and – played and the in 1979.
In 1977, Blythe appeared on the LP Rhythmatism, a recording led by drummer . Reviewing in (1981), highlighted Blythe's "forceful" alto-saxophone playing and said, "like so many of the new players Blythe isn't limited to modern methods by his —he favors fluent, straight-ahead , but also demonstrates why he belongs on a tune for ."
Blythe began to record as a leader in 1977 for the label and then for from 1978 to 1987. 's tuba was a regular feature of these albums, often taking the place of the more traditional string bass. Albums such as and (both on the label) demonstrated Blythe's maturity as well as his ability to play in both free and traditional contexts with a fully-developed personal style. Blythe played on many pivotal albums of the 1980s, among them Jack DeJohnette's on and his own recordings Basic Blyth an excellent example. Blythe was a member of the all-star jazz group and joined the after the departure of . Beginning in 2000 he made recordings on which included (2003) with John Hicks (piano), Bob Stewart (tuba), and
