For a time in the late 70s and early 80s, it seemed as if jazzs avant-garde was on the verge of a popular breakthrough in the person and music of Arthur Blythe. Blythe was signed by Columbia Records; the labels hype-heavy promotion of the saxophonist almost made him a star. It didnt work; Blythe was too out for the masses. Columbia realized that it had made a mistake by expecting too much of the public, and threw its promotional weight behind a more malleable, less threatening young prince by the name of Wynton Marsalis. And the rest is history.