Chrome Posted March 22, 2005 Report Posted March 22, 2005 Maybe I'm not using the search function correctly, but I didn't turn up anything about this album ... I just picked it up based on (I thought) a recommendation here, and it's quite good. Byron's on clarinet, bass clarinet and tenor, with Jason Moran, piano; Jack DeJohnette, drums; Ralph Alessi, trumpet on a couple tracks; and Lonnie Plaxico, bass on a couple tracks. After one listen, it seems to be a good combination of both "inside" and "outside" playing ... sometimes Byron sounds almost Dolphy-esque ... plus, the disc includes interpretations of both Freddie Freeloader and In a Silent Way. It's just challenging enough to make me think, but without overloading the few working brain cells I have left. Quote
couw Posted March 22, 2005 Report Posted March 22, 2005 this one maybe? http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=9335 Quote
Chrome Posted March 22, 2005 Author Report Posted March 22, 2005 Yep, that's the one ... going back and reading it reminds of Eric Alexander posts ... seems like Byron also has that kind of a polarizing affect on people. Quote
garthsj Posted March 22, 2005 Report Posted March 22, 2005 (edited) Yep, that's the one ... going back and reading it reminds of Eric Alexander posts ... seems like Byron also has that kind of a polarizing affect on people. If God had meant the clarinet to be played with that tinny tone, he would never have given us Karl Boehm! Seriously, Byron is a fantastic technician, but I get the feeling that he goes outside for sake of going outside ... I never feel any real conviction in his music, and I am not an admirer of his angular lines. I guess I am just a diehard DeFranco/Scott/Giuffre fan ... where is Perry Robinson when you need him? This new, old guy Mort Weiss in not bad either ... check him out ... click here ... http://www.smsjazz.com/catalog/index.php?o...175b7609c2a0964 Edited March 22, 2005 by garthsj Quote
Chrome Posted March 22, 2005 Author Report Posted March 22, 2005 I never feel any real conviction in his music, and I am not an admirere of his angular lines. I know what you're saying, but I guess I hear the "lack of conviction" as a kind of "cool" approach ... maybe even "cold," that I enjoy sometimes. Kind of like electronic music, if you follow. Quote
Nate Dorward Posted March 22, 2005 Report Posted March 22, 2005 Hm, is he a fantastic technician? I haven't heard the new one, but was just listening to Tuskegee Experiments & was marvelling at the number of clinkers he gets away with there. Quote
garthsj Posted March 22, 2005 Report Posted March 22, 2005 (edited) Hm, is he a fantastic technician? I haven't heard the new one, but was just listening to Tuskegee Experiments & was marvelling at the number of clinkers he gets away with there. I would daresay, having listened to him quite extensively because I am always interested in those who are brave enough to try and play jazz on the clarinet, that those "clinkers" are an integral part of his improvisational style ... or, God! I hope so! Edited March 22, 2005 by garthsj Quote
md655321 Posted March 22, 2005 Report Posted March 22, 2005 I bought it because of the presence of Jason Moran and DeJohnette. I like it alot. Its my first Byron disc and although im not overwhelmed, I do enjoy it. Quote
Nate Dorward Posted March 22, 2005 Report Posted March 22, 2005 I would daresay, having listened to him quite extensively because I am always interested in those who are brave enough to try and play jazz on the clarinet, that those "clinkers" are an integral part of his improvisational style ... or, God! I hope so! See, he gets away with it! Quote
Steve Reynolds Posted March 23, 2005 Report Posted March 23, 2005 listen to Don Byron then listen to John Carter or Marty Ehrlich or Michael Moore then you might understand what Nate is talking about Quote
AllenLowe Posted March 23, 2005 Report Posted March 23, 2005 personally, when it comes to clarinet, I like Jimmy O'Bryant - Quote
relyles Posted March 23, 2005 Report Posted March 23, 2005 personally, when it comes to clarinet, I like Jimmy O'Bryant - Didn't you also record with Byron? As best I can remember, I enjoyed that recording a lot. Quote
Chrome Posted April 25, 2005 Author Report Posted April 25, 2005 I happened to be listening to this again this weekend and scanning the ol' liner notes, and he lists his membership in three organizations, two of which have slipped out of my head already, but I believe they were music-related ... anyway, he also lists that he's a member of Mensa! That's great and all, but, I don't know, it struck me as kind of pretentious ... it's funny how little things like this can change the way one listens to music. Quote
Spontooneous Posted April 25, 2005 Report Posted April 25, 2005 personally, when it comes to clarinet, I like Jimmy O'Bryant - No love for Percy Glascoe? Quote
marcello Posted April 25, 2005 Report Posted April 25, 2005 That's great and all, but, I don't know, it struck me as kind of pretentious ... it's funny how little things like this can change the way one listens to music. That's how his MUSIC strikes me. Quote
AllenLowe Posted April 26, 2005 Report Posted April 26, 2005 just reading a previous post - yes, I did record with Byron in the late 80's or early 90s (have to check) - he's a very fine player, I think, in a "free" context - Quote
maren Posted April 28, 2005 Report Posted April 28, 2005 Yep, that's the one ... going back and reading it reminds of Eric Alexander posts ... seems like Byron also has that kind of a polarizing affect on people. If God had meant the clarinet to be played with that tinny tone, he would never have given us Karl Boehm! Seriously, Byron is a fantastic technician, but I get the feeling that he goes outside for sake of going outside ... I never feel any real conviction in his music, and I am not an admirer of his angular lines. I guess I am just a diehard DeFranco/Scott/Giuffre fan ... where is Perry Robinson when you need him? Polarizing effect, indeed! Maybe there's something about hearing him live... which I've done an awful lot during the past few years... but I think Don is incredible! And I know Perry Robinson, Marty Ehrlich, Kenny Davern, Buddy DeFranco and Tony Scott all thought so too, when they all played in that "Legends of the Clarinet" week at Iridium in the summer of 2003... Heard him just last night at Columbia University, playing with Ralph Peterson (drums), Lonnie Plaxico (bass) and Ralph Alessi (trumpet) -- Oh. My. God. It was stunning. The guy's been growing by leaps and bounds, for years now. Tinny tone? No way. Clinkers? None. Moments of "out sound" or "extended technique"? Some, clearly intended to sound that way. Utterly fluid, gorgeous, killer solos, nearly telepathic interaction among a quartet who've never played in that exact configuration before? Hell yeah. Quote
LWayne Posted May 3, 2005 Report Posted May 3, 2005 I also bought this album last year, mainly because Jason Moran and Jack DeJohnette were playing on it. The CD leaves me cold-one of my bigger disappointmets of last year-but I did enjoy hearing Don Byron play live a couple of years ago. It was a program of "Jungle Music" saluting Duke Ellington. Maybe it's just a matter of the material. LWayne Quote
montg Posted August 1, 2005 Report Posted August 1, 2005 I haven't picked up ivey divey yet, but I just bought Ralph Peterson's Fo'tet Augmented (Criss Cross) which features Byron throughout-- he sounds terrific to me on this release. Really loose, inventive, and sounding like he's having a ball. ANyway, for fans of Byron, I'd highly recommend this fairly recent release: Quote
AllenLowe Posted August 1, 2005 Report Posted August 1, 2005 Don is an absolutely great player in an "open" context - where's he's gone wrong, IMHO, is when he tries to play on standard changes, as he does on Ivey Divey - Don playing chord changes sounds, to my ears and IMHO again, as though he's working too hard, concentrating too much on just getting the right notes, as opposed to relaxing and blowing with any degree of relaxation and command - Quote
Nate Dorward Posted August 1, 2005 Report Posted August 1, 2005 ....but, alas, Blue Note ain't going to go for Byron playing "free". Quote
AllenLowe Posted August 1, 2005 Report Posted August 1, 2005 (edited) exactly - I first heard him playing with Craig Harris in the 1980s, and called him up afterwards to do a session - he was flattered to be called, but he really has something that shines in a free context - on the tunes with chord changes I can almost hear him thinking - he's figured out how to do it from an analytical standpoint, but it just does not come together, IMHO - Edited August 1, 2005 by AllenLowe Quote
Kalo Posted August 2, 2005 Report Posted August 2, 2005 Interesting. I like him on the Harris sides I've heard, as well as on your (Allen Lowe's) At the Moment of Impact... I've found his Blue Note dates to be very, well, VARIABLE. A month or so back I finally got Ivey-Divey, but it hasn't really kicked in, despite the fact that I've given it several spins. Still, I'm rooting for him; though, at times, I admit that he can be eclectic to a fault. Quote
Kalo Posted August 13, 2005 Report Posted August 13, 2005 (edited) I've been enjoying ivey-divey moderately, but I'm not finding that it lives up to the hype it's received. I just looked this thread over because I'm going to review his upcoming Boston gig. The following caught my attention: I happened to be listening to this again this weekend and scanning the ol' liner notes, and he lists his membership in three organizations, two of which have slipped out of my head already, but I believe they were music-related ... anyway, he also lists that he's a member of Mensa! That's great and all, but, I don't know, it struck me as kind of pretentious ... it's funny how little things like this can change the way one listens to music. ← Yeah, I agree that the Mensa mention was off-putting. The other two groups he lists are the Screen Actors Guild and the Black Rock Coalition. just reading a previous post - yes, I did record with Byron in the late 80's or early 90s (have to check)... ← The liner notes of Allen's At the Moment of Impact... list the following recording dates: December 9, 1989, and January 24, 1990, but doesn't specify which tracks were recorded when. So Allen's memory is quite accurate as far as it goes. Edited August 13, 2005 by Kalo Quote
Nate Dorward Posted August 13, 2005 Report Posted August 13, 2005 I assume the Screen Actors Guild membership is because of his (playing) role in Altman's Kansas City.... or has he been in anything else? Quote
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