John ‘Jaki’ Byard; Eclectic Jazz Pianist and Composer

John A. “Jaki” Byard, eclectic jazz pianist, composer and teacher who recorded with such luminaries as Charles Mingus and Rahasaan Roland Kirk, has been found shot to death. He was 76.

Byard was shot in the head Thursday in his home in Queens, N.Y., which he shared with his two daughters. The family said no shots were heard, and a police investigation is continuing.

His life and his music paralleled the evolution of jazz. Byard was known for a remarkable ability to work in any style--from boogie-woogie to free and modern jazz--and to relate to audiences of all ages as well as to his far younger students.

Born in Worcester, Mass., Byard grew up in a musical home--his mother played piano, his father played baritone horn in a marching band--and he became a fixture in the little-known but important Boston jazz scene. He studied piano and trumpet as a child, and later added saxophones, the trombone, guitar and drums.

Byard played trombone while in the Army during World War II, then returned to Boston to work with tenor saxophonist Sam Rivers in a band. He toured and recorded with alto saxophonist Earl Bostic, worked as a solo pianist and played tenor sax in Herb Pomeroy’s big band and later Maynard Ferguson’s orchestra.

In 1961, Byard recorded “Here’s Jaki,” featuring drummer Roy Haynes. Throughout that decade, he became a popular piano accompanist for major recordings by Eric Dolphy, Don Ellis, Booker Irvin, Charlie Mariano, Mingus and Kirk, among others.

Byard began his teaching career in the late 1960s, working at the New England Conservatory of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, Bennington College, the Hartford School of Music, the Brooklyn Conservatory and the University of Massachusetts.

In the 1970s, Byard organized and led his own big band, the Apollo Stompers. He continued to perform, record and compose pieces such as “Aluminum Baby,” encompassing a variety of jazz styles.

Byard’s humor came through in his compositions and delivery. During a concert in New York City in 1989, he pounded discordantly through a portion of his “Family Suite,” then turned characteristically to the audience and deadpanned: “That’s a family argument.”

Highly respected as a musician and musical educator, Byard was chosen to take Duke Ellington’s place at the piano in the Ellington Orchestra when the Duke was near death.

Byard is survived by two daughters, Diane and Denise; a son, Gerald; four grandsons and six great-grandsons.