BYARD, JOHN ARTHUR, JR.

BYARD, JOHN ARTHUR, JR. (JAKI). Jazz keyboardist (15 June 1922 in Worcester, Massachusetts). He came from a musical family: his grandmother played theater piano for silent movies, his father played baritone horn in a marching band, and his mother played piano. He began piano study when he was seven years old. He obtained his musical education in the public schools of Worcester, Massachusetts, and later studied at the Schillinger School of Music. During his high-school years he played trumpet with...