Don Byron and Existential Dred
Nu Blaxploitation

Ladies and gentlemen… Ladies and gentlemen… Presenting Don Byron & Existential Dred!

Don Byron is a New York jazz musician, a clarinetist active since the beginning of the last decade (belonging to the syncretist scene). This Nu Blaxploitation is his sixth album and marks the start of his contract with the historic jazz label Blue Note. Accompanying him in this work are the Existential Dred, a backing band assembled for the occasion and led by pianist and experimenter Uri Caine (a name that might evoke something even to those, like me, who are not jazz connoisseurs).

The album presents itself as a multifaceted work, capable of appealing to a rather wide variety of listeners: the fantastic Byron with his trusty clarinet and an ever-improvisational spirit remains in touch with jazz, while numerous influences spice up the album.

Even the title is splendid, with its allusions to the soft and murky sound of the black music of the seventies.
But there are many surprises, starting with the constant and intrusive presence of Sadiq who rhymes and rhapsodizes on all tracks. Not to mention the fleshy bass and truly free drum set: together they form a stunning rhythm section, the perfect backdrop over which the aforementioned Sadiq's lyrics and above all the wonderful solos of the album's titular artist rise, always suspended between heaven and earth, between spirit and body.

The references are numerous and all genuinely blended to achieve a fresh yet respectful recipe: traces of Living Colour's crossover, Miles Davis's eclecticism, Latin sounds, and Roy Ayers's mystical groove can all be found… The first name that comes to mind, however, is Guru and his Jazzmatazz project, the same fusion of live sounds, though here the beat is entirely absent and the mc seems much more out there (the flow is quite different: more relaxed with Guru, more frenetic and psychedelic with Sadiq).

The great tracks include the dialogic "Alien" and the swaying "I Cannot Commit" (perhaps the most accessible); "Hagalo" is infectious thanks to the warm rhythms of South America; "Dodi" is tender and nocturnal; "I'm Stuck" is full of rock germs and the cover of "If 6 Was 9" (Hendrix) is R'n'B for alternative cultural lounges.
But the true manifesto of the album is the long "Schizo Jam": few other times has a title been so explanatory… Pure creative freedom, pure ease of improvisation. Mastery and class.