By Tanya Batson, Staff Reporter 
Byard 'Philly Sax' Lancaster mastering the saxaphone. - File
THE NAME Byard 'Philly Sax' Lancaster is one that has become almost synonymous with jazz in local circles. This is despite the fact that Byard Lancaster is not Jamaican. Nonetheless, Jamaica has become almost a second home to Lancaster.
Byard, has been self-dubbed 'Philly Sax' but it is a name that no one questions, once they see him master the saxophone. He explains that he adopted the name to promote Philadelphia-born jazz. "The greatest Sax player in the world was John Coltrane," he explained, "but he was from North Carolina, but I was born in Philadelphia," he continued to illustrate why it is he is 'Philly Sax'. Lancaster also notes that he has earned the title because of his 'vision' in helping to organise and promote Philadelphia's music.
Lancaster first came to Jamaica as a replacement for another artiste in 1983. On this first visit he stayed and taught music for a year. He has been back on an annual basis ever since. His reason for returning is simple. "From the first 30 minutes at the airport, I fell in love with Jamaica." This is a rather unusual state of affairs, but then no one would, or should, describe Byard Lancaster as your average man.
However, it would seem that his love for our fair isle had been kindled in his blood. Lancaster reveals that he later learned that his grandfather had been Jamaican. However, while his initial passion had been kindled by the fact that he was a long distance-citizen, it certainly has not waned, and he has created a working relationship with many prominent Jamaican musicians.
By his second year in Jamaica, he began working with Sonny Bradshaw, a relationship which continues until now, as shown by the fact that Lancaster remains on the Jamaica Ocho Rios Jazz Festival. He has recorded with Sly and Robbie, Big Yute, Carlene Davis and Gem Myers.
His life's career, though he has played with and is one of the greats of jazz, has not all been smooth sailing. Lancaster notes that he owes much to his brother and sister who have supported all his endeavours. However, he explains that drugs cost him dearly. 'Drugs' meaning more that narcotics et. al. While he admits that he had problems with excessive drinking and smoking marijuana, he also lists misunderstandings and his music as some of the harmful drugs. Though he has not stopped loving his music, at the time, he had believed that music was all there was, which led him to selfish behaviour.
This dedication to his music cost him a marriage, which was able to survive only three years. Nonetheless, his music did not get in the way of his procreating activities. He has had seven children with five different mothers.
Lancaster notes that though he has been coming back to Jamaica for so many years, he has not been inspired to go to the other islands. His reason is that they do not 'create' music. Coming from a man who states, "I was born to come to this planet to play music," this statement might not seem strange, in any sense. Lancaster began playing instruments when he was 4 years old. He notes that in his 60 years of life, hardly a day has gone by without his playing his saxophone. "If you counted up all the days of all the years, it would only add up to two years that I haven't played my horn," he says.
Despite this, Lancaster notes that it is only recently he has begun to play his own music. Throughout his career, he has engaged in teaching, composing and producing. Nonetheless, he says "I've just begun to play my music in the last five years. I was influenced by everybody's music John Coltrane, Harry Belafonte, Bee-bop." he explains. "Now I know the music that is in my heart. I'm gonna create my sound."
Lancaster goes on to explain that each person has their unique sound. "We all hear a melody," he says. "Most people don't investigate it. We have access to world music; we need to investigate it. It's extremely important to respect the creation of all races," he goes on to explain.
Lancaster notes that some of the music we claim to dislike is simply because we have not properly investigated the form. This philosophy has been very important to the creation of his own sound. "Most of the time we don't like other music because we haven't been exposed. My music is a combination of black American expressions, El Technique, African Vibrations and Asian aesthetics," he affirms.
His music however is more than a fusion and reinterpretation of different sounds. Lancaster notes that his music is aimed at inspiring the community. This is illustrated in his newest project Carib Jazz. The aim of this project is to promote jazz locally by bringing down Philadelphian musicians who perform in a show as well as give a lecture.
Involved in this idea is Lancaster's belief that there is not sufficient respect for Black expression. He makes a statement, which should prove quite valuable to the music industry. He notes that to have people "deejaying and rapping on every street corner is a very valuable thing. "We have to learn to respect it and package it just like the Arabs respect oil," he argued.
