Byron Asher

Byron Asher is a clarinetist and saxophonist, composer and improviser based in New Orleans. Raised in Maryland, he has performed across Europe and the US. Festivals include the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and French Quarter Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland, Jazz a Vienne, France, and the Karlovy Vary Jazz Festival, Czech Republic. He has also played shows and festivals in Germany, Poland, and Slovakia and performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. As a composer, Byron’s work has been supported by the MacDowell Colony, South Arts, A Studio In The Woods (New Orleans), the Jazz And Heritage Foundation (New Orleans), the Foundation for Contemporary Arts (NYC), the Marigny Opera Ballet (New Orleans), and the Puffin Foundation (Teaneck, NJ). Based in Louisiana since 2011, Byron can be seen regularly performing in New Orleans and is adjunct faculty in the music department at the University of New Orleans. He is one-third of Nutria, a trio dedicated to original instrumental music and named in honor of the swamp rat, and leads his award-winning Skrontch Music large ensemble, among other projects.