Arthur Blythe; saxophonist mixed sultry and strident . By Giovanni
Russonello New York Times . NEW YORK - Arthur Blythe, whose brawny alto
saxophone sound and independent spirit made him a standard-bearer of
the New York jazz avant-garde in the late 1970s, died on Monday at a
retirement home in Lancaster, Calif. He was 76. The cause was
complications of Parkinson's disease, said his wife, Queen Bey Blythe.
When Mr. Blythe arrived in New York from California in the mid-1970s,
he was already well into his 30s, with a trenchant, vibrato-thickened
saxophone style and a reputation that preceded him. "It was pretty much
undisputed that Arthur Blythe was the best alto saxophonist out there
on the West Coast," tenor saxophonist David Murray said in a phone
interview. Mr. Blythe quickly became a leader of the newly ascendant
loft jazz scene, centered on musician-run venues in Lower Manhattan.
Within three years, he had a deal with Columbia Records, making him a
spokesman for jazz's Afrocentric vanguard at a moment when the music's
future was far from certain. His first two albums with the label, both
released in 1979, bespoke the breadth of his vision. On "In the
Tradition," he performed compositions by Duke Ellington, Fats Waller,
and John Coltrane accompanied by a standard rhythm section of piano,
string bass, and drums. "Lenox Avenue Breakdown" featured tuba,
electric bass, flute, and assorted percussion and consisted of four
giddy, hot-footing originals that opened up into extended
improvisations. In 1982, the critic Francis Davis wrote that Mr. Blythe
"may well prove to be the magic figure of reconciliation, the force for
consensus, that modern jazz has been looking for in vain since the
death of John Coltrane in 1967. That was not to be. Within a few years,
a young crop of neo-traditional musicians had seized what spotlight
remained for jazz. Mr. Blythe left New York at the end of the 1990s,
and his playing career tapered off. "I would love for everyone to
accept my music, and I would love to make money, but only by keeping my
music on the cutting edge," he said in a 2000 interview with the San
Diego Union-Tribune. A native of Los Angeles, Arthur Murray Blythe
moved with his mother to San Diego when he was 4. At 9, inspired by the
rhythm-and-blues and swing records she often played, he asked her for a
trombone. She gave him an alto saxophone instead. He studied with
Kirkland Bradford, who had played with the Jimmie Lunceford big band,
and developed a trilling style reminiscent of postwar saxophone stars
such as Earl Bostic. Mr. Blythe worked in R&B bands throughout his
teens, learning to cut through the volume of electric guitars while
maintaining a romantic lyricism. That mixture of sultry and strident
came to define his style. When he was 19. he moved back to Los Angeles,
where he met the pianist and bandleader Horace Tapscott and became
affiliated with the Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension,
Tapscott's Pan-African alliance of innovators. In 1974, frustrated with
the Los Angeles jazz scene's limitations, Mr. Blythe left for New York,
determined to make his mark. He arrived with a nickname that reflected
his self-affirmation and his uncompromising spirit: Black Arthur. He
was known in Los Angeles for his racial pride and his willingness to
speak boldly on behalf of other black people, despite an otherwise
understated demeanor. Murray recalled him standing up fearlessly to
police officers who had hassled him. Mr. Blythe embraced the nickname,
even calling himself Black Arthur Blythe on the cover of a 1978 album,
"Bush Baby. When not playing with a straight-ahead quartet, he favored
chunky, percussive backdrops that offset his tuneful improvising.
