NORWICH – The Chenango Arts Council announces a free public program on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 3 p.m. at the United Church of Christ, 11 West Main St., with musician Don Byron.

For over two decades, Don Byron, has been a singular voice in an astounding range of musical contexts, exploring widely divergent traditions while continually striving for what he calls "a sound above genre."

As clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, arranger, and social critic, he redefines every genre of music he plays, be it classical, salsa, hip-hop, funk, rhythm & blues, klezmer, or any jazz style from swing and bop to cutting-edge downtown improvisation. He has been consistently voted best clarinetist by critics and readers alike in leading international music journals since being named “Jazz Artist of the Year” by Down Beat in 1992. Acclaimed as much for his restless creativity as for his unsurpassed virtuosity as a player, Byron has presented a multitude of projects at major music festivals around the world.

His most recent project is the Don Byron New Gospel Quintet, a passionate, spiritually-charged tribute to gospel legends Thomas A. Dorsey and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who stretched the boundaries of the genre by combining traditional Christian hymns with the rhythmic disciplines of jazz and blues. The Quintet will perform at the Martin W. Kappel on May 10, 2014. The September program is one of two outreach programs scheduled in advance of the full concert.