Byron Asher is a clarinetist and saxophonist, composer and improviser based in New Orleans. His practice is dedicated to exploring new sounds across genres, and he is committed to building community through assembling and participating in ensembles that bring together musicians from a diversity of backgrounds. Raised in Maryland, he has performed across Europe and the US at major festivals and art centers including the Kennedy Center in Washington DC and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival as well as at dive bars and DIY spaces. As a composer, Byron’s work has been supported by MacDowell, South Arts, and A Studio In The Woods, among others. He leads Skrontch Music, an experimental large ensemble, and basher, a “free jazz party band,” and is an equal collaborator in Flaxan, a brass and woodwind chamber quartet, among many others. Also an educator, Byron is adjunct faculty in the music department at the University of New Orleans.
Byron Asher
