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{{Short description|American composer and musician}}
{{BLP sources|date=May 2008}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Don Byron
| name = Don Byron
| image = Don_Byron.jpg
| image = Don_Byron.jpg
| caption = Photo by Ed Newman
| caption = Photo by Ed Newman
| image_size =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1958|11|8}}
| birth_place = [[Bronx, New York]], United States
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name = Donald Byron
| genre = [[Avant-garde jazz]] [[klezmer]]
| alias =
| occupation = Musician
| instrument = [[Clarinet]], [[bass clarinet]], [[saxophone]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1958|11|8}}
| years_active = 1980s–present
| death_date =
| origin = [[New York City|New York]], United States
| label = [[Nonesuch Records|Nonesuch]], [[Blue Note Records|Blue Note]], [[Cantaloupe Music|Cantaloupe]]
| associated_acts = [[Hankus Netsky]]
| instrument = [[Clarinet]]<br>[[Bass Clarinet]]<br>[[Saxophone]]
| genre = [[Avant-garde jazz]]<br />[[Post bop]]<br />[[M-Base]]<br />[[Klezmer]]
| occupation =
| years_active = 1980s&ndash;present
| label = [[Nonesuch Records|Nonesuch]]/[[Elektra Records]]<br>[[Blue Note Records|Blue Note]]/[[EMI|EMI Records]]
| associated_acts = [[Hankus Netsky]]<br />[[M-Base Collective]]
| website =
| current_members =
| past_members =
}}
}}
'''Donald Byron''' (born November 8, 1958) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He primarily plays [[clarinet]], but has also used [[bass clarinet]] and [[saxophone]]s.
'''Donald Byron''' (born November 8, 1958) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He primarily plays [[clarinet]] but has also played [[bass clarinet]] and saxophone in a variety of genres that includes [[free jazz]] and [[klezmer]].


==Biography==
Though rooted in jazz, Byron's music is stylistically eclectic. He has worked in many different musical genres, ranging from [[klezmer]] music and German [[lied]]er, to [[Raymond Scott]]'s "cartoon-jazz," [[hard rock]]/[[heavy metal music|metal]], and [[Rap music|rap]]. Most of Byron's albums have been [[concept album|conceptual]], devoted to works of a particular musician and/or style of music.
His mother was a pianist. His father worked as a mailman and played bass in [[calypso music|calypso]] bands.<ref name="Kelsey">{{cite web |last1=Kelsey |first1=Chris |title=Don Byron |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/don-byron-mn0000177857/biography |website=AllMusic |access-date=31 December 2018 }}</ref> Byron listened to [[Dizzy Gillespie]] and [[Miles Davis]] while growing up, but he was exposed to other styles through trips to the ballet and symphony orchestra.<ref name="AAJ">{{cite web |title =Don Byron |publisher =All About Jazz |url =http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=3807 |access-date =2010-01-17 |url-status =dead |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20100606034630/http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=3807 |archive-date =2010-06-06}}</ref> When he was a child, he had asthma, and a doctor recommended playing an instrument to improve his breathing. This was why he started playing clarinet. He grew up in the South Bronx among many Jewish neighbors who sparked an interest in [[klezmer]]. Other influences include [[Joe Henderson]], [[Artie Shaw]], [[Jimmy Hamilton]], and [[Tony Scott (musician)|Tony Scott]]. In his teens he took clarinet lessons from Joe Allard. [[George Russell (composer)|George Russell]] was one of his teachers at the [[New England Conservatory of Music]] in Boston. At the school he was a member of Klezmer Conservatory Band led by [[Hankus Netsky]]. In the 1980s he moved to New York City where he played with avant-garde jazz musicians such as [[Hamiet Bluiett]], [[Craig Harris]], and [[David Murray (saxophonist)|David Murray]].<ref name="Kelsey" />


Byron is a member of the [[Black Rock Coalition]]. In 2001, he performed "[[Bli Blip]]" for the [[Red Hot Organization]]'s compilation album ''[[Red Hot + Indigo]]'', a tribute to [[Duke Ellington]] which raised money for charities devoted to increasing [[AIDS]] awareness and fighting the disease. He has recorded with [[Bill Frisell]], [[Joe Henry]], [[Marc Ribot]], [[Vernon Reid]], and [[Allen Toussaint]].
==Early life==
Byron was born in [[The Bronx]], in [[New York City]]. Both parents were musicians: his mother was a pianist and his father played bass in [[calypso music|calypso]] bands. As well as listening to jazz recordings by [[Dizzy Gillespie]], [[Miles Davis]] and others, he was exposed to other styles through trips to the ballet and symphony concerts.<ref name="AAJ">{{cite web |title =Don Byron |publisher =All About Jazz |url =http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=3807 |accessdate =2010-01-17 |deadurl =yes |archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20100606034630/http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=3807 |archivedate =2010-06-06 |df = }}</ref>


He has worked as a professor at [[Metropolitan State University of Denver]] (2015), [[The University at Albany]] (2005–2009), and [[MIT]] (2007–2008), teaching composition, improvisation, music history, clarinet, and saxophone.
He studied clarinet with Joe Allard<ref name="AM">{{cite web|last=Kelsey|first=Chris| title =Don Byron |publisher=Allmusic |url ={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p6222|pure_url=yes}} | accessdate =2010-01-17}}</ref> and studied music at the [[New England Conservatory]] in [[Boston]] with [[George Russell (composer)|George Russell]].<ref name="AM" /> While in Boston, Byron performed and recorded with the [[Klezmer Conservatory Band]], founded by NEC faculty member [[Hankus Netsky]].


Byron is a practicing jazz historian, and some of his albums have been recreations (in spirit) of forgotten moments in the history of popular music. Examples are ''[[Don Byron Plays the Music of Mickey Katz| Plays the Music of Mickey Katz]]'' and ''[[Bug Music (album)| Bug Music]]''.<ref name="Yanow">{{cite web |last1=Yanow |first1=Scott |title=Bug Music |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/bug-music-mw0000078877 |website=AllMusic |access-date=31 December 2018 }}</ref>
==Musical career==


==Awards and honors==
Byron is a gifted performer on clarinet, bass clarinet and saxophone, but on many of his albums he subordinates his own playing to the exploration of a particular style. Byron is representative of a new generation of conservatory-trained jazz musicians who explore and record in a rich array of styles; his first album, ''Tuskegee Experiments'', is a stew of classical avant garde and jazz improvisation, while albums such as ''Ivey Divey'' represent a straight-ahead exploration of the traditional jazz 'tune'.
Byron won the [[Rome Prize Fellowship]] awarded by the [[American Academy in Rome]] in 2009. His Seven Etudes for solo piano, commissioned by pianist [[Lisa Moore (musician)|Lisa Moore]], made him a finalist for the [[Pulitzer Prize]] in Musical Composition in 2009. He was nominated for a [[Grammy Award]] for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo in 2005 for his bass clarinet solo on "I Want to Be Happy" from ''Ivey-Divey''.


He was a judge for the 2nd annual Independent Music Awards.<ref>[http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima_new/pastjudges.asp Independent Music Awards - Past Judges] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713024722/http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima_new/pastjudges.asp |date=July 13, 2011 }}</ref>
Byron is a practicing jazz historian, and some of his albums have been recreations (in spirit) of forgotten moments in the history of popular music. Examples are ''Plays the Music of Mickey Katz'' and ''Bug Music''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Yanow|first=Scott| title =Bug Music |publisher=Allmusic |url ={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r241517|pure_url=yes}} | accessdate =2010-01-17}}</ref> Byron has been nominated for a [[Grammy Award]] for his bass clarinet solo on "I Want to Be Happy" from ''Ivey-Divey''.


Byron was named a 2007 USA Prudential Fellow<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usafellows.org/fellows/don_byron |title=Meet the USA Fellows |publisher=Usafellows.org |access-date=2014-07-28}}</ref> and awarded a grant by [[United States Artists]], a public charity that supports and promotes the work of American artists. He also won a [[Guggenheim Fellowship]] in 2007.
Byron has worked as a professor at [[Metropolitan State University of Denver]] (2015), [[The University at Albany]] (2005-2009) and [[MIT]] (2007-2008), teaching composition, improvisation, music history, clarinet, and saxophone.

Byron is a member of the [[Black Rock Coalition]]. He has recorded with [[Allen Toussaint]], [[Marc Ribot]], [[Vernon Reid]], [[Bill Frisell]], [[Joe Henry]], and others.

Byron was a judge for the 2nd annual [[Independent Music Awards]] to support independent artists' careers.<ref>[http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima_new/pastjudges.asp Independent Music Awards - Past Judges] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713000000/http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima_new/pastjudges.asp |date=July 13, 2011 }}</ref>

In 2001, Byron performed "Bli Blip" for the [[Red Hot Organization]]'s compilation album ''[[Red Hot + Indigo]]'', a tribute to [[Duke Ellington]], which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing [[AIDS]] awareness and fighting the disease.

Byron was named a 2007 USA Prudential Fellow<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usafellows.org/fellows/don_byron |title=Meet the USA Fellows - United States Artists - Great Art Forms Here |publisher=Usafellows.org |date= |accessdate=2014-07-28}}</ref> and awarded a US$50,000 grant by [[United States Artists]], a public charity that supports and promotes the work of American artists. He also won a [[Guggenheim Fellowship]] in 2007.

Byron won the [[Rome Prize Fellowship]] awarded by the [[American Academy in Rome]] in 2009, and his [[Seven Etudes for solo piano]], commissioned by pianist [[Lisa Moore (musician)|Lisa Moore]], made him a finalist for the [[Pulitzer Prize]] in Musical Composition in 2009.

Byron plays a mouthpiece by [[Fred Rast]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rast|first1=Fred|title=Biography|url=http://www.rastmusic.com/about-fred-rast-rastmusic-saxophone-clarinet/|website=Rast Music}}</ref>


==Discography==
==Discography==

===As leader===
===As leader===
* ''[[Tuskegee Experiments]]'' (Nonesuch, 1992)
* ''[[Tuskegee Experiments (album)|Tuskegee Experiments]]'' ([[Nonesuch Records|Nonesuch]], 1992)
* ''[[Don Byron Plays the Music of Mickey Katz]]'' (Nonesuch, 1993)
* ''[[Don Byron Plays the Music of Mickey Katz]]'' (Nonesuch, 1993)
* ''[[Music for Six Musicians]]'' (Nonesuch, 1995)
* ''Music for Six Musicians'' (Nonesuch, 1995)
* Don Byron Quintet: ''No-Vibe Zone: Live at the Knitting Factory'' (Knitting Factory Works, 1996)
* ''No-Vibe Zone: Live at the Knitting Factory'' ([[Knitting Factory]], 1996)
* ''[[Bug Music]]'' (Nonesuch, 1996)
* ''[[Bug Music (album)|Bug Music]]'' (Nonesuch, 1996)
* Don Byron & Existential Dred: ''Nu Blaxploitation'' (Blue Note, 1998)
* ''[[Nu Blaxploitation]]'' ([[Blue Note Records|Blue Note]], 1998)
* ''[[Romance with the Unseen]]'' (Blue Note, 1999)
* ''Romance with the Unseen'' (Blue Note, 1999)
* ''A Fine Line: Arias and Lieder'' (Blue Note, 2000)
* ''A Fine Line: Arias and Lieder'' (Blue Note, 2000)
* ''You Are #6: More Music for Six Musicians'' (Blue Note, 2001)
* ''You Are #6: More Music for Six Musicians'' (Blue Note, 2001)
* ''Ivey-Divey'' (Blue Note, 2004)
* ''Ivey-Divey'' (Blue Note, 2004)
* ''Do the Boomerang - The Music of [[Junior Walker]]" (Blue Note, 2006)
* ''Do the Boomerang – The Music of Junior Walker'' (Blue Note, 2006)
* ''Love, Peace, and Soul'' ([[Savoy Records|Savoy]], 2011)<ref name="AM discog">{{cite web |title=Don Byron {{!}} Album Discography |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/don-byron-mn0000177857/discography |website=AllMusic |access-date=31 December 2018 |language=en-us}}</ref>
* ''Love, Peace, and Soul'' (Savoy, 2011)
* with Aruán Ortiz – ''Random Dances and (A)Tonalities'' ([[Intakt Records|Intakt]], 2018)


====As composer====
===As composer===
* String Quartet No. 2; ''Four Thoughts on Marvin Gay'', III, [[Ethel (string quartet)|ETHEL]]: ''Light'' (Cantaloupe, 2006)
* [[Bang on a Can]] All Stars & Don Byron: ''A Ballad for Many'' ([[Cantaloupe Music|Cantaloupe]], 2006)
* [[Bang on a Can]] All Stars & Don Byron: ''A Ballad for Many'' (Cantaloupe, 2006)
* [[Lisa Moore (musician)|Lisa Moore]]: Seven (Cantaloupe, 2009)
* String Quartet No. 2; ''Four Thoughts on Marvin Gaye'', III, [[Ethel (string quartet)|ETHEL]]: ''Light'' (Cantaloupe, 2006)
*[[Lisa Moore (musician)|Lisa Moore]]: Seven (Cantaloupe, 2009)
* String Quartet No. 2; ''Four Thoughts on Marvin Gaye'', I-IV, [[Ethel (string quartet)|ETHEL]]: ''Heavy'' (Innova, 2012)
* String Quartet No. 2; ''Four Thoughts on Marvin Gaye'', I–IV, ETHEL: ''Heavy'' (Innova, 2012)


===As sideman===
===As sideman===
'''With [[Uri Caine]]'''
* ''[[Sphere Music]]'' (JMT, 1993)
* ''[[Toys (Uri Caine album)|Toys]]'' (JMT, 1995)
* ''[[Urlicht / Primal Light]]'' (Winter & Winter, 1997)
* ''[[The Sidewalks of New York: Tin Pan Alley]]'' (Winter & Winter, 1999)
* ''[[The Goldberg Variations (Uri Caine album)|The Goldberg Variations]]'' (Winter & Winter, 2000)
* ''[[Gustav Mahler: Dark Flame]]'' (Winter & Winter, 2003)

'''With [[Marilyn Crispell]]'''
* ''[[Stellar Pulsations / Three Composers|Stellar Pulsations]]'' (Leo, 1994)
* ''[[Live in San Francisco (Marilyn Crispell album)|Live in San Francisco]]'' (Music & Arts, 1995)

'''With [[Bill Frisell]]'''
* ''[[Have a Little Faith (Bill Frisell album)|Have a Little Faith]]'' (Elektra Nonesuch, 1993)
* ''[[This Land (Bill Frisell album)|This Land]]'' (Nonesuch, 1994)
* ''[[The Sweetest Punch]]: The New Songs of Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach Arranged by Bill Frisell'' (Decca, 1999)

'''With [[Craig Harris]]'''
* ''[[Shelter (Craig Harris album)|Shelter]]'' (JMT, 1987)
* ''[[Blackout in the Square Root of Soul]]'' (JMT, 1988)
* ''Souls Within the Veil'' (Aquastra Music, 2005)

'''With [[David Murray (saxophonist)|David Murray]]'''
* ''David Murray Big Band conducted by Lawrence "Butch" Morris'' (DIW/Columbia, 1991)
* ''[[South of the Border (David Murray album)|South of the Border]]'' (DIW/Columbia, 1993)

'''With [[Neufeld-Occhipinti Jazz Orchestra]]'''
* ''You Are Here'' (Auracle, 1998)
* ''Highwire'' (True North, 2002)

'''With [[Ralph Peterson Jr.]]'''
* ''Presents the Fo'tet'' (Somethin' Else/Blue Note, 1990)
* ''Ornettology'' (Somethin' Else/Blue Note, 1992)
* ''The Fo'Tet Augmented'' (Criss Cross,2004)
'''With [[Bobby Previte]]'''
* ''[[Weather Clear, Track Fast]]'' (Enja, 1991)
* ''[[Hue and Cry (album)|Hue and Cry]]'' (Enja, 1993)

'''With [[Reggie Workman]]'''
* ''[[Images (Reggie Workman album)|Images]]'' (Music & Arts, 1990)
* ''[[Altered Spaces]]'' (Leo, 1993)

'''With others'''
* [[Ralph Alessi]]: ''This Against That'' (RKM Music, 2002)
* [[Daniel Barenboim]]: ''A Tribute to Ellington'' (Teldec, 1999)
* [[Hamiet Bluiett]]: ''The Clarinet Family'' (Black Saint, 1987)
* [[Hamiet Bluiett]]: ''The Clarinet Family'' (Black Saint, 1987)
* [[Craig S. Harris|Craig Harris]]: ''[[Shelter (Craig Harris album)|Shelter]]'' (JMT, 1987)
* [[Anthony Braxton]]: ''[[4 (Ensemble) Compositions 1992]]'' (Black Saint, 1993)
* Craig Harris Tailgater's Tales: ''[[Blackout in the Square Root of Soul]]'' (JMT, 1988)
* [[Living Colour]]: ''[[Time's Up (Living Colour album)|Time's Up]]'' (Epic, 1990)
* [[Mandy Patinkin]]: ''Dress Casual'' (CBS, 1990)
* [[Ralph Peterson, Jr.|Ralph Peterson]]: ''Presents The Fo'tet'' (Somethin' Else/Blue Note, 1990)
* [[Marc Ribot]]: ''[[Rootless Cosmopolitans]]'' (Antilles, 1990)
* [[Third Person (band)|Third Person]] ([[Tom Cora]] and [[Samm Bennett]]): ''The Bends'' (Knitting Factory Works, 1990)
* [[Reggie Workman]]: ''Images'' (Music & Arts, 1990)
* [[Gerry Hemingway]] Quintet: ''Special Detail'' (hatArt, 1991)
* Alan Lowe: ''At the Point of Impact'' (Fairhaven, 1991)
* [[David Murray (saxophonist)|David Murray]]: ''[[David Murray Big Band]] conducted by [[Butch Morris|Lawrence "Butch" Morris]]'' (DIW/Columbia, 1991)
* [[Bobby Previte]]: ''[[Weather Clear, Track Fast]]'' (Enja, 1991)
* [[Steve Coleman]]: ''[[Drop Kick (album)|Drop Kick]]'' (Novus, 1992)
* [[Steve Coleman]]: ''[[Drop Kick (album)|Drop Kick]]'' (Novus, 1992)
* Geduldig und Thimann: ''A Haymish Groove'' (Extraplatte, 1992)
* [[Hoppy Kamiyama]]: ''Welcome to Forbidden Paradise'' (Toshiba-EMI, 1992)
* Ralph Peterson: ''Ornettology'' (Somethin' Else/Blue Note, 1992)
* [[Hal Willner]] (producer): ''Weird Nightmare: Meditations on [[Charles Mingus|Mingus]]'' (Columbia, 1992)
*[[Uri Caine]]: ''[[Sphere Music]]'' (JMT, 1993)
*[[Anthony Braxton]]: ''[[4 (Ensemble) Compositions 1992]]'' (Black Saint, 1993)
* [[Bill Frisell]]: ''[[Have a Little Faith (Bill Frisell album)|Have a Little Faith]]'' (Elektra Nonesuch, 1993)
* David Murray: ''[[South of the Border (David Murray album)|South of the Border]]'' (DIW/Columbia, 1993)
* Bobby Previte's Weather Clear, Track Fast: ''[[Hue and Cry (album)|Hue and Cry]]'' (Enja, 1993)
* Reggie Workman: ''Altered Spaces'' (Leo, 1993)
* [[Cassandra Wilson]]: ''[[Blue Light 'til Dawn]]'' (Blue Note, 1993)
* [[Marilyn Crispell]]: ''Stellar Pulsations'' (Leo, 1994)
* Bill Frisell: ''[[This Land (album)|This Land]]'' (Nonesuch, 1994)
* [[Leroy Jenkins (jazz musician)|Leroy Jenkins]]: ''Themes & Improvisations on the Blues'' (CRI, 1994)
* Uri Caine: ''[[Toys (Uri Caine album)|Toys]]'' (JMT, 1995)
* Marilyn Crispell: ''Live in San Francisco'' (Music&Arts, 1995)
* Jerome Harris: ''Hidden in Plain View'' (New World/Countercurrents, 1995)
* The Seedy Arkhestra (Chris Dowd): ''Puzzle'' (Profile, 1996)
* [[Douglas Ewart]] & Inventions Clarinet Choir: ''Angles of Entrance'' (Aarawak, 1996)
* [[Douglas Ewart]] & Inventions Clarinet Choir: ''Angles of Entrance'' (Aarawak, 1996)
* Kansas City Band: ''Kansas City Soundtrack'' (Verve, 1996)
* [[Tom Pierson]]: ''Planet of Tears'' (Auteur, 1996; originally 1990?)
* President's Breakfast: ''Bar-B-Q Dali'' (Disc Lexia, 1996)
* [[Vernon Reid]] & Masque: ''Mistaken Identity'' (Sony, 1996)
* [[Suzanne Vega]]: ''[[Nine Objects of Desire]]'' (A&M, 1996)
* Uri Caine/[[Gustav Mahler]]: ''[[Primal Light / Urlicht]]'' (Winter & Winter, 1997)
* Kansas City Band: ''K. C. After Dark'' (Verve, 1997)
* Titilayo: ''Beware the Short Hair Girl'' (Blue Pantry, 1997)
* [[D. D. Jackson]]: ''Paired Down, Vol. 2'' (Just In Time, 1998)
* [[D. D. Jackson]]: ''Paired Down, Vol. 2'' (Just In Time, 1998)
* Hector Martignon: ''The Foreign Affair'' (Candid, 1998)
* [[Edsel Gomez]]: ''Cubist Music'' (Tba, 2002)
* [[Jerome Harris]]: ''Hidden in Plain View'' (New World/Countercurrents, 1995)
* [[Neufeld-Occhipinti Jazz Orchestra]] (NOJO): ''You Are Here'' (Auracle, 1998)
* [[Gerry Hemingway]]: ''Special Detail'' (hatArt, 1991)
* [[Daniel Barenboim]] and Guests: ''A Tribute to [[Duke Ellington|Ellington]]'' (Teldec, 1999)
* Uri Caine: ''[[The Sidewalks of New York: Tin Pan Alley]]'' (Winter & Winter, 1999)
* Bill Frisell: ''[[The Sweetest Punch]]: The New Songs of [[Elvis Costello]] and [[Burt Bacharach]] Arranged by Bill Frisell'' (Decca, 1999)
*Uri Caine: ''[[The Goldberg Variations (Uri Caine album)|The Goldberg Variations]]'' (Winter & Winter, 2000)
* Michael Occhipinti: ''Creation Dream – The Songs of [[Bruce Cockburn]]'' (True North, 2000)
* [[Lalo Schifrin]]: ''Esperanto'' (Act, 2000)
* [[Ralph Alessi]]: ''This Against That'' (RKM Music, 2002)
* Edsel Gomez: ''Cubist Music'' (Tba, 2002)
* Neufeld-Occhipinti Jazz Orchestra (NOJO): ''Highwire'' (True North, 2002)
* Uri Caine: ''[[Gustav Mahler: Dark Flame]]'' (Winter & Winter, 2003)
* [[Joe Henry]]: ''[[Fuse (Joe Henry album)|Fuse]]'' (Anti-, 2003)
* [[Joe Henry]]: ''[[Fuse (Joe Henry album)|Fuse]]'' (Anti-, 2003)
* [[Leroy Jenkins (jazz musician)|Leroy Jenkins]]: ''[[Themes & Improvisations on the Blues]]'' (CRI, 1994)
* Craig Harris: ''Souls Within the Veil'' (Aquastra Music, 2005)
* [[Allen Toussaint]]; ''The Bright Mississippi'' (Nonesuch, 2009)
* [[Hoppy Kamiyama]]: ''Welcome to Forbidden Paradise'' (Toshiba-EMI, 1992)
* [[Living Colour]]: ''[[Time's Up (Living Colour album)|Time's Up]]'' (Epic, 1990)
* [[Hector Martignon]]: ''The Foreign Affair'' (Candid, 1998)
* [[Mandy Patinkin]]: ''Dress Casual'' (CBS, 1990)
* [[Tom Pierson]]: ''Planet of Tears'' (Auteur, 1996)
* [[Vernon Reid]]: ''[[Mistaken Identity (Vernon Reid album)|Mistaken Identity]]'' (Sony, 1996)
* [[Marc Ribot]]: ''[[Rootless Cosmopolitans]]'' (Antilles, 1990)
* [[Lalo Schifrin]]: ''Esperanto'' (Act, 2000)
* [[Third Person (band)|Third Person]]: ''The Bends'' (Knitting Factory, 1990)
* [[Allen Toussaint]]; ''[[The Bright Mississippi]]'' (Nonesuch, 2009)
* [[Suzanne Vega]]: ''[[Nine Objects of Desire]]'' (A&M, 1996)
* [[Hal Willner]]: ''Weird Nightmare: Meditations on Mingus'' (Columbia, 1992)
* [[Cassandra Wilson]]: ''[[Blue Light 'til Dawn]]'' (Blue Note, 1993)


==References==
==References==
Line 135: Line 128:


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.donbyron.com/ Official site]
*{{NewMusicBox|id=interview-with-don-byron|title=Interview with Don Byron|composer=Don Byron|author=[[Frank J. Oteri]]|conducted=December 18, 1999|published=January 1, 2000}}
*{{NewMusicBox|id=interview-with-don-byron|title=Interview with Don Byron|composer=Don Byron|author=[[Frank J. Oteri]]|conducted=December 18, 1999|published=January 1, 2000}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051022101449/http://artofthestates.org/cgi-bin/performer.pl?perf=437 Art of the States: Don Byron]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051022101449/http://artofthestates.org/cgi-bin/performer.pl?perf=437 Art of the States: Don Byron]
*[http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/02/03/newyork.qa/ CNN interview with Don Byron]
*[http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/02/03/newyork.qa/ CNN interview with Don Byron]
*[http://www.unitedstatesartists.org United States Artists], arts advocacy organization


{{Clarinet}}
{{PulitzerPrize Music Finalists 2001–2010}}
{{PulitzerPrize Music Finalists 2001–2010}}


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[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Post-bop clarinetists]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:M-Base clarinetists]]
[[Category:21st-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century clarinetists]]
[[Category:21st-century clarinetists]]
[[Category:American jazz bass clarinetists]]
[[Category:American jazz clarinetists]]
[[Category:American jazz clarinetists]]
[[Category:American jazz composers]]
[[Category:American jazz composers]]
[[Category:Klezmer musicians]]
[[Category:Avant-garde jazz clarinetists]]
[[Category:Nonesuch Records artists]]
[[Category:Blue Note Records artists]]
[[Category:Blue Note Records artists]]
[[Category:Entertainers from the Bronx]]
[[Category:Jazz musicians from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Klezmer musicians]]
[[Category:Jazz clarinetists]]
[[Category:American male jazz composers]]
[[Category:Musicians from the Bronx]]
[[Category:New England Conservatory alumni]]
[[Category:New England Conservatory alumni]]
[[Category:Guggenheim Fellows]]
[[Category:Post-bop clarinetists]]
[[Category:Avant-garde jazz clarinetists]]
[[Category:Nonesuch Records artists]]
[[Category:American jazz bass clarinetists]]
[[Category:Rome Prize winners]]

Latest revision as of 15:15, 15 June 2023

Don Byron
Photo by Ed Newman
Photo by Ed Newman
Background information
Born (1958-11-08) November 8, 1958 (age 65)
Bronx, New York, United States
GenresAvant-garde jazz klezmer
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone
Years active1980s–present
LabelsNonesuch, Blue Note, Cantaloupe

Donald Byron (born November 8, 1958) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He primarily plays clarinet but has also played bass clarinet and saxophone in a variety of genres that includes free jazz and klezmer.

Biography[edit]

His mother was a pianist. His father worked as a mailman and played bass in calypso bands.[1] Byron listened to Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis while growing up, but he was exposed to other styles through trips to the ballet and symphony orchestra.[2] When he was a child, he had asthma, and a doctor recommended playing an instrument to improve his breathing. This was why he started playing clarinet. He grew up in the South Bronx among many Jewish neighbors who sparked an interest in klezmer. Other influences include Joe Henderson, Artie Shaw, Jimmy Hamilton, and Tony Scott. In his teens he took clarinet lessons from Joe Allard. George Russell was one of his teachers at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. At the school he was a member of Klezmer Conservatory Band led by Hankus Netsky. In the 1980s he moved to New York City where he played with avant-garde jazz musicians such as Hamiet Bluiett, Craig Harris, and David Murray.[1]

Byron is a member of the Black Rock Coalition. In 2001, he performed "Bli Blip" for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot + Indigo, a tribute to Duke Ellington which raised money for charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. He has recorded with Bill Frisell, Joe Henry, Marc Ribot, Vernon Reid, and Allen Toussaint.

He has worked as a professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver (2015), The University at Albany (2005–2009), and MIT (2007–2008), teaching composition, improvisation, music history, clarinet, and saxophone.

Byron is a practicing jazz historian, and some of his albums have been recreations (in spirit) of forgotten moments in the history of popular music. Examples are Plays the Music of Mickey Katz and Bug Music.[3]

Awards and honors[edit]

Byron won the Rome Prize Fellowship awarded by the American Academy in Rome in 2009. His Seven Etudes for solo piano, commissioned by pianist Lisa Moore, made him a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Musical Composition in 2009. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo in 2005 for his bass clarinet solo on "I Want to Be Happy" from Ivey-Divey.

He was a judge for the 2nd annual Independent Music Awards.[4]

Byron was named a 2007 USA Prudential Fellow[5] and awarded a grant by United States Artists, a public charity that supports and promotes the work of American artists. He also won a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2007.

Discography[edit]

As leader[edit]

As composer[edit]

  • Bang on a Can All Stars & Don Byron: A Ballad for Many (Cantaloupe, 2006)
  • Lisa Moore: Seven (Cantaloupe, 2009)
  • String Quartet No. 2; Four Thoughts on Marvin Gaye, III, ETHEL: Light (Cantaloupe, 2006)
  • String Quartet No. 2; Four Thoughts on Marvin Gaye, I–IV, ETHEL: Heavy (Innova, 2012)

As sideman[edit]

With Uri Caine

With Marilyn Crispell

With Bill Frisell

With Craig Harris

With David Murray

  • David Murray Big Band conducted by Lawrence "Butch" Morris (DIW/Columbia, 1991)
  • South of the Border (DIW/Columbia, 1993)

With Neufeld-Occhipinti Jazz Orchestra

  • You Are Here (Auracle, 1998)
  • Highwire (True North, 2002)

With Ralph Peterson Jr.

  • Presents the Fo'tet (Somethin' Else/Blue Note, 1990)
  • Ornettology (Somethin' Else/Blue Note, 1992)
  • The Fo'Tet Augmented (Criss Cross,2004)

With Bobby Previte

With Reggie Workman

With others

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Kelsey, Chris. "Don Byron". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Don Byron". All About Jazz. Archived from the original on 2010-06-06. Retrieved 2010-01-17.
  3. ^ Yanow, Scott. "Bug Music". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  4. ^ Independent Music Awards - Past Judges Archived July 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Meet the USA Fellows". Usafellows.org. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  6. ^ "Don Byron | Album Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 December 2018.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don_Byron&oldid=1160295690"