Don Byron

[Aggie87]

I haven't seen much discussion about Don Byron around here, or at the BNBB. I'd like to hear some opinions about him and his music. Which of his releases are recommended?

I'm eyeing Romance with the Unseen, which is on sale at zweitausendeins at the moment, along with his other BN releases. This one caught my eye mainly due to the presence of Bill Frisell. Is this a good one to start with?

[jlhoots]

I think that would be a good one.

Also try Tuskegee Experiments if you can find it.

[J Larsen]

I find a lot of his music to be a little "light" for my tastes. I sort of like Bug Music, but that's his throwback New Orleans jazz album, so if you're looking for something modern it doesn't quite fit the bill. One album I recommend avoiding is "A Fine Line". I don't know how others feel about this album, but it sounds a little too close to smooth jazz for my tastes.

[shrugs]

Check him out on Bobby Previte's Weather Clear, Track Fast.

[Green Dolphin]

For me any release with Byron is worth checking out-he associates with a good bunch of players.Can't say I play A Fine Line a whole lot nor Nu Blaxploitation but yeah go for Tuskegee(a great debut!)and Romance...Music For 6 Musicians is also worth checking out as is the latest You Are#6(strong Latin edge to these two)Notice from the Jazzmatazz site he's on at least one of Ralph Alessi's two new ones-am tracking them down at present.Bug Music and the Mickey Katz record are also 2 to wait on...until you get hooked...he's not one to be pigeonholed anyway.

[maren]

I'll second the recommendations for ROMANCE WITH THE UNSEEN, both MUSIC FOR 6 MUSICIANS albums, TUSKEGEE EXPERIMENTS -- I myself really dig NU BLAXPLOITATION and the Mickey Katz but they may be a bit tangential to you Aggie --

Just heard Don play in NYC last Wednesday, part of the JVC Jazz Festival, in a line-up called "Legends of the Clarinet" with Buddy De Franco and Tony Scott -- WOW -- don't know if you can find him blowing like THAT on anything recorded to date -- but catch him live these days if you get the chance!

[relyles]

In addition to the titles already mentioned, the two Ralph Peterson Fo'tet recordings with Byron, Presents the Fo'Tet andOrnettology are both very good. In addition to great playing by Byron, the discs also feature the criminally underrecorded Bryan Carrott on vibes. Byron also has some good spots on a couple of Uri Caine JMT releases, Sphere Music and Toys

[Aggie87]

Thanks for all of the replies! I went ahead and picked up Romance with the Unseen, and have it in my "on-deck" pile. Will probably go back and pick up You are #6 next (along with Jason Moran's Facing Left which zweitausendeins has, and I've never actually seen anywhere else).

I already have Caine's Toys; thanks for the reminder on that one. I'm gonna have to go back and have a re-listen to that one, with emphasis on Byron's contributions.

Edited June 25, 2003 by Aggie87

[Rooster_Ties]

If I had one recommendation for Don Byron, it would be for him to take up the alto clarinet.

Last year I heard Byron's "6 MUSICIANS" group, and I thought his sound would have cut through the group much better if he had played an 'Eb' alto clarinet all night, instead of his standard 'Bb' clarinet. (At first I thought a bass clarinet would be been better, but really - it would have been a little too low to cut through. The whole band was way over-amplified in a theater that only holds about 800 - with perfect acoustics for other unamplified groups, like string quartets, solo piano, and such.)

But amplification problems aside, I think hearing Byron on alto (clarinet) would give him an even more distinctive sound, and it would be pitched a little closer to the saxophone range that I like better than the standard 'Bb', which is a little to close to the soprano sax range for my taste.

( Similarly, I love Greg Osby's playing on clarinet (standard 'Bb' model), and he (Osby) really seems to favor the lower register of the clarinet - so I’d love to hear Osby on alto clarinet sometime too - playing it's lower register. Joe Lovano is the only guy I know who plays the alto clarinet on any kind of regular basis. I wish more people would take up the alto, as you can probably tell from this post. )

[relyles]

I am a fan of Byron's music, but after a recent investigation of many clarinet players I do understand some people's complaint that Byron plays on the high end of the clarinet too much. It would be nice to hear him play more often on the lower range of the stick, which does tend to get a warmer sound.

Edited June 25, 2003 by relyles

[Rooster_Ties]

.....I do understand some people's complaint that Byron plays on the high end of the clarinet too much.  It would be nice to hear him play more often on the lower range of the stick, which does tend to get a warmer sound.

Exactly what I was talking about. That night I heard him, he played way, way in his high register, too damn much in my opinion. I think I liked what he was playing, but shit - that's a frequency range I'm not at all used to listening to that damn much.

And that's one of the reasons I like Osby's lower-register clarinet work so much.

Shit, I think Byron was playing half the night in the altissimo range (meaning those notes where you leave open the hole/note/key normally covered by the index finger of your left hand).

( I used to play clarinet, between the ages of 11 and about 14. Gave it up when I realized my embouchure was all screwed up (I learned the wrong way), and I lost interest. I didn't so much 'tongue' notes, and much as I 'gummed' them - if that's any indication. )

Edited June 25, 2003 by Rooster_Ties