Oltre al clarinetto soprano, suona anche il clarinetto basso ed i sassofoni.

Pur essendo un musicista jazz, la musica di Don Byron spazia in differenti generi musicali tra i quali klezmer, lieder tedeschi, hard rock/metal, rap.

Biografia Byron è nato nel Bronx, a New York da genitori entrambi musicisti, madre pianista e il padre suonava il basso in gruppi di musica Calypso. Per questa e per altre ragioni è stato fortemente influenzato, oltre che dal jazz, anche da numerosi altri stili musicali.

Pur essendo un eccellente strumentista (ha studiato clarinetto con Joe Allard e si è diplomato al New England Conservatory di Boston con George Russell) ha però sempre finalizzato la propria tecnica alla ricerca e all'esplorazione di diversi stili musicali con grande rigore e fantasia.

Byron ha lavorato e registrato, tra gli altri, con Allen Toussaint, Marc Ribot, Vernon Reid, Joe Henry, e molto anche col chitarrista Bill Frisell.

Discografia

Come leader Tuskegee Experiments (Nonesuch, 1992) Plays the Music of Mickey Katz (Nonesuch, 1993) Music for Six Musicians (Nonesuch, 1995) Don Byron Quintet: No-Vibe Zone: Live at the Knitting Factory (Knitting Factory Works, 1996) Bug Music (Nonesuch, 1996) Don Byron & Existential Dred: Nu Blaxploitation (Blue Note, 1998) Romance with the Unseen (Blue Note, 1999) A Fine Line: Arias and Lieder (Blue Note, 2000) You Are #6: More Music for Six Musicians (Blue Note, 2001) Ivey-Divey (Blue Note, 2004) Do the Boomerang - The Music of Junior Walker" (Blue Note, 2006) Love, Peace, and Soul (Savoy, 2011)

Come compositore String Quartet No. 2; Four Thoughts on Marvin Gay, III, ETHEL: Light (Cantaloupe, 2006) 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, I-IV, ETHEL: Heavy (Innova, 2012)

A titolo di collaborazioni Hamiet Bluiett: The Clarinet Family (Black Saint, 1987) Craig Harris: Shelter (JMT, 1987) Craig Harris Tailgater's Tales: Blackout in the Square Root of Soul (JMT, 1988) Living Colour: Time's Up (Epic, 1990) Mandy Patinkin: Dress Casual (CBS, 1990) Ralph Peterson: Presents The Fo'tet (Somethin' Else/Blue Note, 1990) Marc Ribot: Rootless Cosmopolitans (Antilles, 1990) 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: David Murray Big Band conducted by Lawrence "Butch" Morris (DIW/Columbia, 1991) Bobby Previte: Weather Clear, Track Fast (Enja, 1991) Steve Coleman: 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 Mingus (Columbia, 1992) Uri Caine: Sphere Music (JMT, 1993) Anthony Braxton: 4 (Ensemble) Compositions 1992 (Black Saint, 1993) Bill Frisell: Have a Little Faith (Elektra Nonesuch, 1993) David Murray: South of the Border (DIW/Columbia, 1993) Bobby Previte's Weather Clear, Track Fast: 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 (Nonesuch, 1994) Leroy Jenkins: Themes & Improvisations on the Blues (CRI, 1994) Uri Caine: 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) 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) Hector Martignon: The Foreign Affair (Candid, 1998) Neufeld-Occhipinti Jazz Orchestra (NOJO): You Are Here (Auracle, 1998) Daniel Barenboim and Guests: A Tribute to 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 (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 (Anti-, 2003) Craig Harris: Souls Within the Veil (Aquastra Music, 2005) Allen Toussaint; The Bright Mississippi (Nonesuch, 2009)

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

United States Artists, arts advocacy organization