Don Byron

UNC Asheville welcomes the acclaimed Bang on a Can All-Stars with special guest Don Byron to the Lipinsky Auditorium stage at
8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30. The performance is sponsored by UNC Asheville’s Office of Cultural & Special Events.

Born out of New York City’s legendary Bang on a Can Festival, this musical super group blends the boundaries of classical, jazz, rock, work and experimental music. The All-Stars includes Robert Black on bass, David Cossin on percussion, Lisa Moore on piano and keyboard; Mark Stewart on electric guitar; Wendy Sutter on cello, and Evan Ziporyn on clarinets. The band appears annually in New York at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Merkin Hall, in addition to international appearances at the Singapore Arts Festival, Bergen International Festival, Venice Biennale and Holland Festival.

The All-Stars are joined by clarinetist and composer Don Byron. A native of New York, Byron has ten albums to his credit, including “Ivey-Divey,” which was nominated for a Grammy Award. Byron has been hailed as singular voice in an expansive range of musical contexts, exploring differing traditions while continually striving for what he calls “a sound above genre.” Time magazine recently said, “Calling Don Byron a jazz musician is like calling the Pacific wet – it just doesn’t begin to describe it.”

Bang on a Can All-Stars

The tour coincides with the release of a new album by Byron and the All-Stars. “A Ballard for Many” features the All-Star’s interpretation of Byron’s compositions in cello-piano duets, rock inspired grooves, and a piece dedicated to the Tuskegee Airmen. The centerpiece of the album, and of the upcoming concert, is Byron’s new score inspired by an early 1960s television episode by American TV iconoclast Ernie Kovacs. In a legendary moment in TV history, Kovacs broadcast a half hour of silent, live television. This classic program will be projected onstage as the band plays Byron’s original score.

General admission tickets are $22. To reserve tickets by phone, call the UNC Asheville box office at 828/232-5000. Tickets may also be purchased with cash or check at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café, 55 Haywood St., downtown Asheville.

This performance is held in conjunction with “Black Mountain College: A Community Celebration in 2006/07.” This year-long community project marks the 50th anniversary of the closing of Black Mountain College. Public programs will feature films, talks, performances and exhibitions developed in partnership with Asheville Art Museum, Asheville Symphony Orchestra, Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, Diana Wortham Theatre and the UNC Asheville Office of Cultural & Special Events.

For more information about this performance or UNC Asheville’s Cultural & Special Events season, call 828/251-6227 or click on www.unca.edu/culturalarts.