Byard played with bands from the Boston area, including for two years with violinist Ray Perry, who encouraged Byard to add tenor saxophone to his array of instruments. He then joined Earl Bostic's band as pianist in 1947 and they toured for around a year. Byard then formed a bebop band with Joe Gordon and Sam Rivers in Boston, before touring for a year with a stage show band. Back once more in Boston, he had a regular job for three years with Charlie Mariano in a club in nearby Lynn. They recorded together in 1953. Byard was a member of Herb Pomeroy's band as a tenor saxophonist from 1952 to 1955, and recorded with him in 1957. Byard also played solo piano in Boston in the early to mid-1950s and freelanced in that area later in the same decade. He joined Maynard Ferguson in 1959, and stayed until 1962. As one of Ferguson's players and arrangers, Byard found that his own preference for experimentation in time signatures, harmony and freer improvisation was restricted by the preferences of other band members.