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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZBYRON, Don(b 8 November 1958, NYC) Clarinet, baritone sax, composer. His father was a mailman, mother worked for the phone company; they insisted that he listen to all kinds of music. Classically trained, he also played Latin and jazz before studying at Boston's New England Conservatory of Music: he played Scott Joplin with Gunther Schuller, played in the Duke Ellington ghost band and joined Hankus Netsky's Klezmer Conservatory Band 1980-6, enchanted by the wildness in the music. He formed a Mickey Katz-inspired group '90, and toured with Katz's son, actor Joel Grey. (Katz d 1985; a clarinettist and former arranger for Spike Jones who played musical parodies full of Yiddish jokes such as 'Bagle Call Rag', 'How Much Is That Pickle In The Window'; also an instrumental album Music For Weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, and Brisses.) Byron's collaborators in the late 1980s and early '90s included Hamiet Bluiett, Anthony Braxton, Steve Coleman and Bill Frisell. His own highly acclaimed debut was Tuskegee Experiment '91 on Elektra Nonesuch, followed by Plays The Music of Mickey Katz '92, Music For Six Musicians '94 and Bug Music '96, all on on Nonesuch, and No-Vibe Zone on Knitting Factory '96, often with Uri Caine on piano. His playing of klezmer was heard by some as a novelty; he pointed out that it is not unusual for a Jewish musician to play the music of African-Americans, so the converse should be treated with respect. He edged away from klezmer for a decade and was chagrined that he continued to be identified with it; he gigged with rock guitarist Vernon Reid in London '96, and plays on some of Caine's albums. (Caine is another eclectic musician, playing Bach, Mahler and Wagner on some of his albums; see his entry.) The sextet on Music For Six Musicians became his primary band, initially inspired by the Afro-Cuban music he heard growing up in the Bronx, but playing more and more of his own music. Bug Music arose from Byron's disappointment with the Swing Era arrangements for Robert Altman's Kansas City movie (1996); the album was so successful that it led to tours of England and New Zealand, and he continues to meet students who grew up on it. He said to Martin Johnson of the Wall Street Journal, 'Maybe their parents put it on to shut them up.' Playing the clarinet, unfashionable in jazz since the Swing Era, has probably made it easier for Byron to broaden the palette of jazz in the 21st century, but he has been playing tenor sax as well in his ensembles since about 2003, inspired by Lester Young, one of the great innovators of the last century. Ivey Divey 2004 on Blue Note reflected that influence; another album was Do The Boomerang: The Music of Junior Walker 2006, also on Blue Note. His 50th birthday was marked by a series of concerts in Manhattan featuring all of his ensembles, including the new Don Byron Quartet. He teaches his students what he learned from his parents: you have to appreciate and have the skill to play all kinds of music.
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