Nu Blaxploitation
At the tail end of Don Byron's liner notes and lyrics from this genre-bending CD, the clarinetist notes that "The evasion of civil, focused discussions of racial issues is, in itself, a form of racism." Indeed,Nu Blaxploitationextends the frontal approach to African American history and the history of race in the United States that Byron took on his debut CD,Tuskegee Experiments.  Performance poet Sadiq was also on board for Byron's debut, and now, after four wide-ranging, pan-stylistic jazz recordings, Byron returns with Sadiq for a session that's part street theater, part satire, and many parts steamy post-bebop avant-funk jazz. Byron's clarinet plays an often secondary role to Sadiq's ruminations, and a phenomenally soulful guest appearance by Biz Markie. But when Byron's playing, he's all over the horn, blowing off-kilter highs and cloudy lows. Byron nods to the past in many ways here, from dedicating the CD to early black rock pioneers Mandrill to taking on seemingly textbook blaxploitation dialogue for lyrical material. All in all, this is surely Byron's most challenging work, but it's all in the manner that Boogie Down Production leader KRS-ONE described years ago as "edutainment."--Andrew Bartlett