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Don Byron: Cleo's Mood

By Ludovico Granvassu
March 1, 2023
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In addition to being one of its most-forward looking voices,

Don Byron

clarinet
b.1958

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Byron has covered the whole gamut of American music—from

Mickey Katz

" data-original-title="" title="">Mickey Katz to

Raymond Scott

b.1908

" data-original-title="" title="">Raymond Scott, from

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington to

Lester Young

saxophone
1909 - 1959

" data-original-title="" title="">Lester Young and

" data-original-title="" title="">Stevie Wonder—and beyond, from Robert Schumann to Giacomo Puccini. He has done so with his signature sound, a deep understanding of those composers' traditions that didn't prevent his experimentation, and a tongue-in-cheek attitude. At the most soulful end of this eclectic range is his 2006 tribute to Junior Walker, Do the Boomerang (Blue Note).

Introduced by

George Colligan

multi-instrumentalist
b.1969

" data-original-title="" title="">George Colligan's Hammond, "Cleo's Mood" is a gem built on the sinuous lines of Don Byron's tenor saxophone, a compelling and singable solo by guitarist

David Gilmore

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">David Gilmore, with

Dean Bowman

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Dean Bowman's vocals doing the rest towards building a slow simmering crescendo that stays with you well after the end of the song.

Happy listening!

Contact Ludovico Granvassu on All About Jazz.
I'm the Editor-in-Chief of All About Jazz Italia, host of Mondo Jazz on Radio Free Brooklyn and was once visited by Frank Zappa's ghost.... he was funny too.

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