Don Byron

Don Byron (born November 8, 1958 in New York City) is a composer and jazz clarinet player.

While Don Byron is for all intents and purposes considered a jazz musician, he is stylistically very adventurous, having recorded

Don Byron (born November 8, 1958 in New York City) is a composer and jazz clarinet player.

While Don Byron is for all intents and purposes 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 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, if not note-for-note) of forgotten moments in the history of popular music. Don Byron has been nominated for a Grammy award for his bass clarinet solo on "I Want to Be Happy" from Ivey-Divey.