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I was drawn to Don Byron after hearing Bug Music for the first time a few years back. My only regret when it comes to Tuskegee Experiments is that I didn’t discover it sooner.
The opening track, “Waltz for Ellen,” is just one big, gorgeous clarinet solo. The musicianship here, and throughout the disc, is bone-chillingly exquisite, but this is the kind of piece that makes you hit the stop button when it’s over just so you can finish drinking it all in.
“In Memoriam: Uncle Dan” features some magnificent bass clarinet stylings by Reggie Workman. And though we’re treated to delightful interpretations Ellington’s “Mainstem” and Robert Shumann’s “Auf Einer Burg,” most of the tracks here are original.
Named after a ruthless medical experiment conducted by the United States Health Department that lasted for over four decades, Tuskegee Experiments is all instrumental except for the title track, which features some gripping lyrics: “This experiment is not a crime, but a rite of sacrifice.”
Don Byron is an artist in the truest sense of the word. Despite the album’s title, this music is not sleepy or depressed. It is a hauntingly powerful debut, packed with raw talent.
To listen to tracks from this album, check them out for free at Napster.
