Biography
Byron Asher is a clarinetist, saxophonist and composer 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).
Byron can be seen regularly performing across New Orleans and the US and is adjunct music faculty 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.
