Don Byron is one of the most versatile clarinetists in jazz, a composer and multi-instrumentalist who moves fluidly between free jazz, klezmer, classical, funk, and other traditions. Born in 1958 in the Bronx, he studied clarinet with Joe Allard and trained at the New England Conservatory of Music, where George Russell was among his teachers. DownBeat named him Jazz Artist of the Year in 1992, and he was voted best clarinetist by critics and readers in leading music journals in the years that followed. His honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Rome Prize for musical composition, along with Grammy nominations and recognition as a Pulitzer finalist. Byron has also taught composition and improvisation at institutions including MIT and the University at Albany.
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