Gigi Gryce & Donald Byrd - Four Classic Albums (Jazz Lab (1) / Jazz Lab (2) / Jazz Lab Quintet / Modern Jazz Perspectives) (2026 Digitally Remastered) (2026)

For our latest Classic Albums release AVID Jazz welcome back an old friend and with much excitement welcome a new friend to the AVID Jazz catalogue. The old friend, Donald Byrd (AMSC1422 & 1133), or as he was known back then on some of these albums, Don Byrd, and the new friend, arranger, composer, alto saxophonist and flautist, Gigi Gryce. Together these two fine musicians formed the perhaps under-rated and oft overlooked group called Jazz Lab & The Jazz Lab Quintet as featured on all four of our fine selections. To quote Gigi from the liner notes to Jazz Lab 2:- "A point I'm eager to emphasize," Gigi continues, "is that the title, Jazz Lab, isn't meant to connote that we're entirely experimental in direction. We try to explore all aspects of modern jazz-standards, originals, blues, hard swing, anything that can be filled and transmuted with jazz feeling. Even our experimentations are quite practical; they're not exercises for their own sake. They have to communicate feeling." Joining Gigi Gryce and Don Byrd for the project are such fine jazz musicians as Sahib Shihab, Jimmy Cleveland, Tommy Flanagan, Wendell Marshall, Art Taylor, Wynton Kelly and vocalist Jackie Paris. For the Jazz Lab Quintet album the band consists of Gigi Gryce, Don Byrd, Wade Legge (piano), Wendell Marshall (bass) and Art Taylor (drums). While on the Jazz Lab (2) album piano and bass are provided by two legendary jazzmen, Hank Jones on piano and Paul Chambers on bass. Terrific stuff!