Clarinet Master Don Byron and two festivals are on tap
8th October 2018 · 0 Comments
By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer
“He’s a wizard,” Allen Toussaint once said of clarinet-ist/saxophonist Don Byron following the 2009 release of the pianist’s recording, Bright Mississippi, which featured Byron’s horn. “He’s innately foreign in a wonderful way.”
Don Bryon, 59, might not be a household name in New Orleans though he’s renowned around the world as both a leader and a sideman. In fact his upcoming gigs at UNO’s Jazz at the Sandbar series on Wednesday, October 10, and at Snug Harbor (with drummer Jamison Ross, pianist Larry Sieberth and bassist Jasen Weaver) on Thursday, October 11, will amazingly stand as only the second time this brilliant musician has ever performed in New Orleans.
“That was one of the only record dates I’ve ever done when I wore a jacket,” Byron offers explaining that he did so out of respect for Toussaint and all the music he created. “To me, he really had such a broad range of things that he knew how to do and knew about intimately. He was just an amazing player. I felt very inspired by him.”
Raised in the Bronx, a borough of New York City, Byron, who is of West Indian descent, grew up in a musical family. His mother played piano and his father played bass with a calypso band led by noted clarinetist and composer Fats Green. Byron was once quoted saying that, as a kid watching Green, he understood that the clarinet wasn’t a “corny” instrument as some people perceived it to be. In New Orleans, of course, the clarinet has long garnered respect.
Byron’s uncle played clarinet and though most of his relatives studied piano or violin, due to a childhood asthma condition, he was urged to play a wind instrument. “My uncle had a pretty good wooden clarinet that he gave me – that was a good start,” Byron says.
Don Byron is often described as eclectic though it’s an adjective the very versatile artist doesn’t really dig in regard to his music. You can’t really fault those who depict him that way as he began his journey playing classically, performs klezmer music, is heralded as an avant garde and straight-ahead jazz musician, recorded the music of saxophonist Jr. Walker on his 2006 album Do the Boomerang and paid tribute to gospel legends Thomas A. Dorsey and Rosetta Tharpe on 2011’s Love, Peace and Soul.
“The clarinet just puts you in a vibe where you have to have relationships with different kinds of music,” Byron explains. “I think it’s an international instrument that has a lot of world music implications in a lot of different cultures.”
“I’m not trying to flip people out or act like a crazy person,” says Byron particularly in reference to playing klezmer, traditional Jewish folk music. “When I do it, it’s supposed to be that I’m out of my mind or out of my lane. It’s just part of music and I can play it very well. When people look at Black musicians they’re usually looking in an opposite direction like you only do one thing and it’s usually a Black thing and if you try do something else, then your authenticity is questioned. Klezmer is clarinet music.”
“New Orleans is different,” Byron acknowledges. “All of the work on clarinet in New York was Dixieland – white swing. It was a very segregated activity. From my perspective I was just trying to keep up with people who played other instruments like (saxophonists) Wayne Shorter or Joe Henderson. The way I saw it, it was very wide open what could be accomplished on this instrument. There wasn’t a lot out there. I heard Alvin Batiste on a Cannonball (Adderley) album and there was (modern jazz clarinetist) John Carter.”
Byron will be performing with students from the University of New Orleans Jazz Studies department on Wednesday night with admission a low $5. He credits his studying with the brilliant George Russell and Joe Allarb at the New England Conservatory of Music as contributing to his accomplishments while understanding that “education” comes in many forms.
“Anybody who really plays this music had some important lessons from somebody,” Byron proclaims. “I took two lessons from {saxophonist} Oliver Lake and I still remember them. One of the guys that used to say my lips were too big {to play classical clarinet}, I learned some shit from him while he was dissing me and anybody who looked like me.”
It’s a great pleasure to welcome Don Byron to New Orleans where the clarinet is a part of this city’s family. He also promises to play “plenty of saxophone” and anticipates toting his bass clarinet too. Expect him to call out some jazz standards and since Byron’s says he’s been in a “Brazilian phase” and studying the work of Pixinguinha, that flavor will enter his sets as well.
“I play a nice clarinet,” Bryon says as simple as that. “It will be a nice time.”
The Choice Is Yours – Do Whatcha Wanna
Two great, free festivals – the Gentilly Fest and the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival – jump this weekend and both start Friday evening, October 12, and run through Sunday, October 14, 2018.
It’s no fair trying to compare these wonderfully different events as each boasts its own individual personality. The Gentilly Fest, held at the spacious Ponchartrain Park Playground, 5701 Press Drive, could certainly be considered more of a community event and includes a Kid’s Village that adds to the enjoyment of the whole family. New Orleans groups fill the schedule including some artists, like the great electric violinist Michael Ward (Friday, 8:50 p.m.), who rarely play locally though always come out for the occasion. A big plus is the inclusion of the gospel tent featuring favorites like the Watson Memorial Choir and the Zion Harmonizers.
Tantalizing aromas of sizzling meats and seafood fill the air at the Blues & BBQ Festival that is presented in a more urban setting at Lafayette Square in the CBD. Uniquely, it features two stages that face each other – one next to St. Charles Ave. and the other on the Camp Street side. As the music ends on one stage, another band immediately kicks in across the way. No waiting for set changes here.
Nationally renowned artists, local favs and several more obscure blues musicians share the inventive schedule. Saturday’s line-up includes the celebrated Jimmie Vaughan (7 p.m.) and New Orleans own, the soulful Mem Shannon (1 p.m.). The combination of 93-year-old pianist and vocalist Henry Gray and guitarist Li’l Buck Senegal with the surprising addition of the zydeco world’s Grammy-winning accordionist and vocalist Terrance Simien (4:30 p.m.) beckons as a don’t-miss show.
Complete information for both festivals is available online. Deciding, however, is all up to you. Do whatcha wanna…
This article originally published in the October 8, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
