Bang on a Can

For Immediate Release May 5, 2006

CANTALOUPE MUSIC TO RELEASE
BANG ON A CAN AND DON BYRON'S ALBUM
A BALLAD FOR MANY

"Calling Don Byron a jazz musician is like calling the Pacific wet—it just doesn't begin to describe it...Byron has carpentered an extraordinary career precisely by obliterating the very idea of category." -Time

"[Bang on a Can is] an elite band of omnivorous performers with the chops to handle the thorniest avant-garde screed but also the power to crank out a withering sonic blitz." -Vanity Fair

Acclaimed art-music ensemble Bang on a Can and renowned jazz musician and composer Don Byron join forces on their upcoming studio recording, A Ballad For Many, to be released on Cantaloupe Music this summer. Bang on a Can and Byron recorded A Ballad For Many as a follow-up to Byron's GRAMMY®-nominated Ivey-Divey, after years of live collaboration. Bringing together Byron's extraordinarily divergent musical influences and Bang on a Can's unique instrumentation that is part classical ensemble, part rock band, and part jazz band, A Ballad For Many is an album unconstrained by stylistic borders.

A Ballad For Many features all original music written and arranged by Don Byron. This is the first full-length recording of his compositions performed by a group other than his own. The album features the Bang on a Can All-Stars (six of the world's most accomplished performers of new music) interpreting Byron's stunning compositional acumen, whether a cello-piano duet, a rock-inspired groove, a large-scale film score, or a piece dedicated to the Tuskegee Airmen. Additionally, Byron contributes his fêted clarinet-playing to three tracks "Silver Wings," "Basquiat," and "Credit."

The centerpiece of the album is "Eugene," which is based on a 1961 television episode by comedy pioneer Ernie Kovacs. This piece, initially commissioned by Bang on a Can, sparked what became a full-scale collaboration between Don Byron and the group. Originally performed alongside the screening of a surreal silent Kovacs TV episode, "Eugene" was edited for the recording to create a concert suite. It has been performed by Bang on a Can across the globe and has become a cornerstone feature of their live performances.

Byron and the Bang on a Can All-Stars will celebrate the release of A Ballad For Many with a featured performance at the annual Bang on a Can Marathon at the World Financial Center in New York City on June 4, 2006. The Marathon is a free one-day art music festival presented by Bang on a Can in partnership with the River to River Festival and World Financial Arts and Events, where Bang on a Can continues its unparalleled tenure of presenting the most innovative music of fringe rock and pop, classical, alt-jazz, world, and experimental.

Born and raised in the Bronx, Don Byron has been a singular voice in an expansive range of musical contexts, exploring widely differing traditions while continually striving for what he calls "a sound above genre." Although Byron is often lauded for his clarinet playing and interpreter of other artists' compositions, his own compositional work is equally groundbreaking and continues to grow in visibility. Bryon's musical prowess is well-accounted for on ten distinctive records for Blue Note and Nonesuch Records, including interpretations of Stravinsky, Ellington, Raymond Scott, Sly Stone and, most recently, Junior Walker. Byron has collaborated as a composer with acclaimed musicians from the Duke Ellington Orchestra to Joe Henry; arranged music for Stephen Sondheim's Broadway musicals; written a piece commissioned and performed by the Kronos Quartet; scored multiple films; written and performed music for the dance companies of Donald Byrd, Bebe Miller, Mark Dendy, and Ellen Sinopoli; and been featured in films including Robert Altman's Kansas City.

Freely crossing the boundaries between classical, jazz, rock, world, and experimental music, the Bang on a Can All-Stars are known for their dynamic live performances and their recordings of innovative and eclectic new music. Made up of Robert Black on bass; David Cossin on percussion; Lisa Moore on piano/keyboards; Mark Stewart on electric guitar; Wendy Sutter on cello; Evan Ziporyn on clarinets; and Artistic Directors, Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe, the All-Stars play with unsurpassed musical virtuosity and an intensity and adventurousness that have redefined what concert music is today. Recent and upcoming projects and collaborations include their landmark recording of Brian Eno's ambient classic "Music for Airports" and live performances with such acclaimed composers and musicians as Philip Glass, Terry Riley, Meredith Monk and Don Byron. The All-Stars appear 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, Holland Festival, Mass MoCA, and more. Now recording on Cantaloupe Music, the All-Stars have previously released albums on Sony, Universal, and Nonesuch.

BANG ON A CAN ALL-STARS LIVE DATES '06

October 27 - College Park, MD - Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
October 28 - Hampton, VA - American Theatre
October 30 - Asheville, NC - Lipinsky Auditorium @ UNC
November 3 - Davis, CA - Mondavi Center @ UC Davis
December 5 - New York, NY - Carnegie Hall

For more information, please contact Allegra McBane or Carla Sacks at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000, allegra.mcbane@sacksco.com or carla@sacksco.com.