Jazz

Clarinetist, jazz musician, and klezmer virtuoso Don Byron. He's an unlikely candidate to play klezmer, a product of Eastern European Yiddish culture: Byron is African American and dreadlocked. Byron has become best known for klezmer, but musically he's all over the map: He plays jazz with his Don Byron Quintet, modern classical music with the Semaphore quintet, and he toured Europe last fall with Music for Six Musicians, an Afro-Cuban ensemble. He's also currently writing a classical piece for the avant-garde Kronos Quartet.

Jazz Vibraphonist Gary Burton. He invented a four-mallet grip for the instrument that is used by many contemporary players. Burton left Stan Getz's quartet in the mid 60's (at the age of 24) to form his own combo; a few years later he hired a young guitarist named Pat Metheny, giving Metheny his first taste of big time jazz. Burton has been teaching percussion and improvisation classes at the Berklee School of Music in Boston; in 1985 he was named Dean of Curriculum there. Burton has over fifty albums to his credit and three Grammy award.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new CD-box set, just right for the jazz-lover in your circle of family or friends "Ornette Coleman: Beauty is a Rare Thing: The Complete Atlantic Recordings," (on Rhino).

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews trumpeter Eddie Allen's (aka E.J. Allen) new album, "Another's Point of View."

Jazz musician Joshua Redman. A self-taught tenor saxophonist, Redman has a new album, "Wish," which is his second album released this year. Redman won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in 1991. Son of renowned free-jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman, Joshua Redman had the most influence from his mother who raised him alone. After Redman graduated summa cum laude from Harvard in 1991 he decided to pursue his love of jazz.

Kevin Whitehead reviews saxophonist Evan Parker's new release, "Conic Sections" on the Ah Um label.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Reginald R. Robinson's album "The Stongman."

Novelist Frank Conroy. At 57, he's just published his first novel, "Body & Soul" (Houghton & Mifflin). He is currently the director of the prestigious Iowa Writers Program, and this novel has been long awaited by fans of his 1967 autobiography "Stop Time". Conroy has one other book, a collection of short stories called "Midair"; he's worked as a jazz pianist in Greenwich Village and Nantucket for many years.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews "The John Coltrane Anthology: The Last Giant" (Rhino/Atlantic).

Cuban-born saxophonist and composer, Paquito D'Rivera. D'RIivera defected to the United States in 1980 during a concert tour. Like his mentor, Dizzy Gillespie, D'RIVERA is a tireless performer and purveyor of Latin jazz. His "Reunion" album (Messidor), recorded with trumpeter Arturo Sandoval was called a "high speed tour of the Pan-American musical map." For his newest record D'RIVERA gathered 23 of the top Cuban musicians from around the world: "Paquito D'Rivera Presents 40 Years of Cuban Jam Session"