Don Byron Ivey-Divey CD

For this luminous 2004 trio date, clarinetist/leader Don Byron collaborates with Jason Moran and Jack DeJohnette, two of the finest musicians in jazz. A firebrand with a kaleidoscope of styles, Moran emerged in the 1990s as one of the most innovative pianists of his generation, while DeJohnette's muscular, distinctive drumming has long placed him among the most influential drummers of post-'50s jazz. That Byron chose these players to complement his own multi-faceted explorations (which are influenced by traditional jazz, klezmer, chamber music, funk, and hip-hop) is enough to make one giddy even before the disc plays.

IVEY-DIVEY lives up to its promise. Motifs from swing and big-band music thread through the album, but the trio use these only as a jumping-off point. Veering from melodic, straight-ahead bop to cacophonous journeys outside the frame, Byron, Moran and DeJohnette generate a dramatic sound all more effective for its attention to dynamics and staggeringly complex, sensitive interplay. Bassist Lonnie Plaxico and trumpeter Ralph Alessi are present on a few numbers, but this is the trio's show, as readings of Gershwin ("Somebody Loves Me"), Miles Davis ("Freddie Freeloader"), and Byron's own tunes ("Abie the Fishman") prove. This is thoroughly modern, top-drawer jazz marked by adventurousness, beauty, and spectacular musicianship.

Recording information: Allaire Studios, Shokan, NY (05/23/2004/05/24/2004).

Illustrator: Juliette Borda.

Photographer: Cori Wells Braun.

Personnel: Don Byron (clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone); Don Byron; Lonnie Plaxico (double bass); Ralph Alessi (trumpet); Jason Moran (piano); Jack DeJohnette (drums).

Audio Mixer: Tom Lazarus.

Down Beat (p.65) - 3 stars out of 5 - "Young's spontaneity and playful sense of ensemble time inspired an album that is all about the jazz and the interaction..."
JazzTimes (pp.76-7) - "[Byron] plays with a wild abandon made meaningful by the clarity of his overarching purpose....With IVEY-DIVEY, Don Byron has finally made a major album."