dlockeretz's Full Review: Nu Blaxploitation by Don Byron & Existential Dred
In an era of specialization and categorization, Don Byron is somewhat of an anomaly.
The African-American clarinettist is best known in musical circles for his work with the Hankus Netsky Klezmer orchestra (Klezmer is Yiddish street music similar to American dixie land jazz.) If that pairing seems unlikely, it gives a sense of Byron's wide diversity.
"Nu Blaxploitation" has influences of funk, reggae, jazz, klezmer and more. Byron leads his band through tracks which vary from pure spoken word to funk/rap to a cover of Hendrix's "If Six Were Nine." There is a sort of defiance that unifies the whole album. Byron doesn't just speak against racism; he speaks against any kind of narrow-minded thought, such as the categorization of music into neatly packaged labels for the expedition of sales.
"Dodi" is commentery on Dodi Al-Fayed, killed in the same accident that took the life of Princess Diana. Against an eligiac background of an overdubbed clarinet chorale, Byron says, "Money can buy you love, but it can't change the color of your skin."
In the track "Interview", Byron is interrupted while eating a bowl of Wheaties by a phone call. The interviewer seems to have plenty to say about Byron's album. "That music you used to do was so...cute," she says. "Why is this album so...funky?" As Byron tries to explain that he has always prided himself on eclecticism, the interviewer says, "I think you're avoiding the question." Byron hangs up and says, "I think she's avoiding me."
Two more tracks, "Domino Theory-Part I and II", Byron and his friends sit in a park and discuss racial relations and politics. If the album thus far sounds rather outside and avant garde, there are some more straight ahead offerings such as the funky "I'm Stuck" and "Fencewalk" (although both of those cuts have their twists and turns too.)
What we have here is an album that has something to offer anyone who is open minded to receive it. It might not sound pleasant at first; it might challenge one's views about music. But art is not always friendly, and while some might consider it harsh, "Nu Blaxploitation" is an original and powerful musical statement.
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