Lyricist, booking manager, saxophonist. Malaku Emanuel Bayen, Jr. born July 17, 1932 in Washington, D.C.; died June 3, 1994 in Washington, D.C.
Bayen was a royal prince, the son of the nephew (and personal physician) of Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie. His father had been sent by the emperor to study medicine at Howard University, where he met his future wife, Dorothy Hadley of Evanston, Illinois. They were married in 1931. The family lived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 1935 to 1936, briefly in London (1936), and then in New York City at various locations including the Rex Hotel from 1936 until his father’s death in 1940. Bayen and his mother moved to Washington, which had been their official residence in the United States.
He was graduated from Dunbar High School and attended Howard University. He served in the U.S. Navy in the Korean War. He later studied communications at McGill University and film at New York University. He worked as a film editor and in the 1980s taught film production at Howard University.
In the 1950s Bayen lived in New York City. He was managing Charlie Parker just before the saxophonist’s death in 1955 and was the subject of a dedication, the composition “Chips” by pianist Elmo Hope, recorded for Blue Note in 1954.
He returned to Washington in the 1960s and was involved with the New Thing Art and Architecture Center.
Bayen’s most lasting contributions to jazz have been his lyrics. “Mendacity” and “In The Red” were first recorded by Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach in 1961. He collaborated with saxophonist Buck Hill on “Someone Like That In Your Life,” which was recorded by both Hill in 1990 and earlier by Shirley Horn in 1981.
It was Bayen who inadvertently introduced John Coltrane to the soprano saxophone when he left his instrument in Coltrane’s car in 1960. In 1961 he wrote the liner notes to the first album by the JFK Quintet.
In the mid-1980s, Bayen worked as booking manager for Woodie’s Hilltop Pub, bringing local legends and national names to the club.
He died of a heart attack.
Chips was my good friend and mentor
my name is Melkamu Zerihun Asrat an Ethiopian historian and writer residing in Addis Ababa, i am very much interested on the life history of Melaku Beyan Junior or Chips,if any body has anything about this Ethiopian fellow pls contact me my email is ,melk.hendeke@gmail.com
Hello, my name is Diane Simpkins. I met Chips in the Pyramid Book store on Georgia Ave. some time in the early 80’s. We talked about Jazz and John Coltrane. He informed me that the he was the owner of the saxophone that Coltrane found in the car. I say all of this because my husband, Cuthbert “Tuffy” Simpkins, MD wrote about that saxophone that Chip’s left in the car in his biography of Coltrane, “Coltrane, a Biography”. Chips and Tuffy began a relationship filled with good times and Jazz. And I should add Chips always called me “Princess Di”. He was a good and talented man.
I loved Chips. He and I were very close and he added sparkle and joy to the lives of my wife and me. He was kind, generous and highly intelligent. He had a remarkable talent for words which makes sense because of his work as a lyricist. I remeber he came by my house on emy birthday with the biggest birthday cake I have ever seen. Itwas one layer but covered a lot of area. He called my wife Diane Princess Di.
I was also his surgeon. I operated on him when he had life threatening lower GI hemorrhage. We got him through the surgery and soem time in the ICU. After that he did very well. He had hypertension. Hypetension is not my specialty. So I got him the best blood pressure Dr. I knew. But he never went to her. Now I understand that he really wouldn’t go to anyone else but me. I don’t think he went to anyone. I wish I had taken care of him. We miss him terribly and we say a prayer for him every day at dinner.
Thank you for the nice story about Chip.
I went to school at The Ohio State University in the late ‘70’s.
At that time we had a good number of Ethiopians in Columbus Ohio.
We knew about Dr Bayen and the two other fellows who came with him to Ohio State from Muskingham College.
We were all proud of his accomplishments but none of us knew anything about a son borne to him.
God rest his soul.
Again, thank you for letting us know a little something about the offspring of one of our under appreciated heroes.
I knew Chips very well and became a lifelong friend until the end. No question of his making an historic contribution to the music. Bill Hasson