Don Byron

Don Byron (born November 8, 1958) is a composer, jazz clarinet, bass clarinet and saxophone player. While he is considered a jazz musician, he is stylistically very adventurous, having recorded klezmer music, German lieder, cartoon music, a Jimi Hendrix song, and a track with rapper Biz Markie.

Byron was born in the Bronx, in New York City, and was raised by his parents who were themselves musicians, his mother a pianist, his father a bass player for calypso bands. His parents raised him listening to all kinds of music, taking him on trips to the ballet and the symphony, and also exposing him to jazz music such as Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis records.

Byron studied music at the New England Conservatory in Boston. He is a gifted performer on clarinet and (occasionally) saxophone, but on many of his albums subordinates his own playing to the exploration of a particular style. Byron is one of jazz's greatest practicing historians, and some of his most successful albums (such as Plays the Music of Mickey Katz, Bug Music, and Ivey-Divey) have been recreations (in spirit) of forgotten moments in the history of popular music. Byron has been nominated for a Grammy award for his bass clarinet solo on "I Want to Be Happy" from Ivey-Divey.

Byron is a member of The Black Rock Coalition. He has recorded with Uri Caine, Vernon Reid, Bill Frisell, Joe Henry, and others.