Don Byron Quartet

ABOUT THE ENSEMBLE

Don Byron Quartet features Don’s compositions, standards, Classical composition and his interpretations of Hank Williams and the Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Violin.

His band may include: George Colligan, Ed Simon, Kris Davis, Aruan Ortiz, Bruce Cox, Gene Lake, Cameron Brown, or Drew Gress

Don Byron is a singular voice in an astounding range of musical contexts, exploring widely divergent traditions while continually striving for what he calls “a sound above genre.” As clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, arranger, and social critic, he redefines every genre of music he plays, be it classical, salsa, hip-hop, funk, klezmer, rhythm & blues, gospel, or any jazz style from swing and bop to cutting-edge downtown improvisation. Since the early 1990s, Byron has been consistently voted best clarinetist by leading international music magazines. Acclaimed as much for his restless creativity as for his unsurpassed virtuosity as a player, he has presented a multitude of projects at major music festivals around the world. Among the numerous bands he has fronted are Bug Music, Music for Six Musicians, a klezmer ensemble, and the R&B band dedicated to Junior Walker’s music. He currently leads three bands: a quartet, the Ivey-Divey Trio, and the New Gospel Quintet. His countless collaborations with other artists range from the Duke Ellington Orchestra to Daniel Barenboim and from Salif Keita to Allen Toussaint. He has composed and arranged music for chamber ensembles, dance, and film, including soundtracks for the documentaries “Strange Fruit” and “Red-Tailed Angels,” and he has acted in films directed by Robert Altman and Paul Auster. As artistic director and artist-in-residence, Byron has produced distinguished concert series for the Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and at New York’s Symphony Space. Also a gifted teacher, he has led residencies at many universities, including Harvard and Columbia. He was a visiting Professor at MIT in 2007/08 and at SUNY Albany from 2005-09, teaching theory, saxophone, improvisation, and composition. Don Byron’s discography comprises a dozen albums for mostly Blue Note and Nonesuch Records.