BYARD Lancaster, the American saxophonist who performed and recorded in Jamaica, died on August 23 in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania.

The New York Times reports that his sister, Mary-Ann Lancaster-Tyler, said he died from cancer at a hospice. He was 70 years old.

Born in Philadelphia, Lancaster was heavily influenced by the sounds of jazz visionary John Coltrane. He recorded his first album, It's Not up to Us, in 1968.

In the 1970s, Lancaster was a regular on the Philadelphia and New York City jazz scene, but a decade later he visited Jamaica regularly and recorded with artistes such as deejay Big Youth.

He played on Big Youth's 1984 album, A Luta Continua, which was produced by Herbie Miller and distributed by Heartbeat Records.

Lancaster was also a fixture on the Ocho Rios International Jazz Festival, founded by trumpeter Sonny Bradshaw and his wife Myrna Hague.

Byard Lancaster is survived by his sister, a brother and six children.