March 7, 2019
Clarinetist Don Byron once again mixes post-bop, swing, and funk into a unique concoction on Ivey-Divey. Just like Bug Music wasn’t necessarily ’30s swing and A Fine Line: Arias and Lieder wasn’t exactly a classical album, Ivey-Divey isn’t truly a straight-ahead, mainstream jazz album, although purists and avant-garde fans alike should find much common ground here. To these ends, Byron gets humorously rambunctious and a little “out” on such tracks as the swinging “I’ve Found a New Baby,” the reverent and bluesy “Himm (For Our Lord and Kirk Franklin),” and the funky downtown jam “‘Leopold, Leopold…’.” Backing Byron here are the always adventurous talents of pianist Jason Moran, drummer Jack DeJohnette, trumpeter Ralph Alessi, and bassist Lonnie Plaxico. ~ Matt Collar
