media | tour dates | full bio and quotes
An innovative, continually curious musical explorer like no other, Don Byron has signed with Savoy Jazz and is gearing up for the release of “LOVE, PEACE, AND SOUL,” the debut album by his New Gospel Quintet. With jazz as his springboard, the virtuosic clarinetist and saxophonist has turned his ear to Gospel icons Thomas A. Dorsey and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Featuring a stellar line-up of mostly longtime collaborators, the quintet and several guest artists have created a soulful homage to Dorsey and Tharpe with inspired interpretations of their compositions. Playing alongside Byron are DK Dyson (vocals), Xavier Davis (piano, backing vocals), Brad Jones (bass, backing vocals), Pheeroan Aklaff (drums) and guests Brandon Ross and Vernon Reid (guitars), Dean Bowman (vocals), Ralph Alessi (trumpet), and JD Parran (baritone saxophone). Recorded at Harlem’s Stadium Red Studio, the album was produced by Hans Wendl and engineered by Tom Lazarus, a team Byron has relied on for many of his recordings. Savoy Jazz will release “LOVE, PEACE, AND SOUL” by the DON BYRON NEW GOSPEL QUINTET on February 21st, 2012.
Don Byron’s idea to mine the historical riches of American Gospel came to fruition while teaching a course at SUNY, Albany. Once known as “the father of Black Gospel music” Thomas A. Dorsey was a pioneer in combining traditional Christian hymns with the rhythmic disciplines of Jazz and Blues—an almost rebellious perspective shared also by Sister Rosetta Tharpe, another key musical reference for Byron. Both stretched and blew apart the boundaries of traditional gospel structures and performance and in doing so created a template for a unique form of spiritual expression grounded in African American culture.
READ MORE…
One Sheet in PDF Format
High-Res JPG Promo Photo A
High-Res JPG Promo Photo B
High-Res JPG Promo Photo C
High-Res JPG Promo Photo D