Herod – 2013
Todd Marcus with Don Byron
Byron takes a particularly inventive clarinet solo
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Groups with a frontline of clarinet and bass clarinet are fairly rare but should not be.
The sound of the two reed instruments can be quite attractive, as can be heard during the opening and closing ensemble choruses on this version of “Herod.”
Todd Marcus has emerged during the past decade as one of jazz’s top bass clarinetists, and veteran Don Byron has consistently been involved in stimulating projects while being one of the most significant clarinetists on the modern jazz scene.
With pianist Xavier Davis, bassist Eric Wheeler, and drummer Eric Kennedy, the quintet performs an original that begins as an atmospheric ballad a la John Coltrane and McCoy Tyner, and then becomes a medium-tempo number that inspires explorative solos by Byron and Marcus.
-Scott Yanow
Ella Fitzgerald