Romance with the Unseen
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Romance with the Unseen
| type = studio
| artist = Don Byron
| cover = Romance with the Unseen.jpg
| alt =
| released = September 21, 1999
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Jazz
| length =
| label = Blue Note
| producer = Don Byron, Hans Wendl
| prev_title = Nu Blaxploitation
| prev_year = 1998
| next_title = A Fine Line: Arias and Lieder
| next_year = 2000
}}
Romance with the Unseen is an album by the American musician Don Byron, released on September 21, 1999.{{cite magazine |last1=Lien |first1=James |title=Jazz News |magazine=CMJ New Music Report |date=August 2, 1999 |volume=59 |issue=629 |page=32}}{{cite magazine |last1=Themba-Nixon |first1=Makani |title=Don Byron: Makes Music Beyond Category—and Gets Away with It |magazine=ColorLines |date=Fall 1999 |volume=2 |issue=3 |page=37}} He supported the album with a North American tour.{{cite news |last1=Hicks |first1=Robert |title=Politics Yield to Romance |work=The Record |date=December 10, 1999 |location=Bergen County |department=Lifestyle/Previews |page=15}} Due in part to the album, Byron was chosen as "Clarinetist of the Year" in a DownBeat readers' poll.{{cite magazine |last1=Cohen |first1=Aaron |title=Don Byron: Clarinetist of the year |magazine=DownBeat |date=December 1999 |volume=66 |issue=12 |page=46}}
Production
The album was produced by Byron and Hans Wendl.{{cite magazine |title=Romance with the Unseen |magazine=Billboard |date=October 2, 1999 |volume=111 |issue=40 |page=30}} Byron was backed by Jack DeJohnette on drums, Drew Gress on bass, and Bill Frisell on guitar.{{cite news |last1=Chapman |first1=Geoff |title=Perfect blend of grabby tunes and pithy ideas |work=Toronto Star |date=November 6, 1999 |page=J18}} Byron considered many of the songs to be about romantic relationships and his inability to separate his political opinions from his personal interactions.{{cite magazine |last1=Palmer |first1=Don |title=Don Byron, unraveled |magazine=Jazziz |date=October 1999 |volume=16 |issue=10 |page=46}} He took a more relaxed approach to recording, seeking out people he wanted to play with and choosing not to worry about technical aspects of his playing or commercial prospects.{{cite news |last1=Coleman |first1=Korva |title=Interview: Don Byron, Clarinetist, and Uri Caine, Pianist, Discuss Their Music |work=Weekend All Things Considered |agency=NPR |date=March 26, 2000}} "I'll Follow the Sun" is a version of the Beatles song.{{cite news |last1=Gettler |first1=Leon |title=Romance with the Unseen |work=The Age |date=December 9, 1999 |department=Green Guide |page=27}} "Perdido (Pegao)" is a take on the composition made famous by Duke Ellington. "One Finger Snap" was written by Herbie Hancock. "Basquiat" is a tribute to the American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. "Homegoing" is based on one of Byron's favorite and much used melodies.{{cite news |last1=Atkins |first1=Ronald |title=Jazz CD of the week |work=The Guardian |date=January 7, 2000 |department=Friday |page=16}} "Bernhard Goetz, James Ramseur, and Me" references the 1984 New York City Subway shooting.{{cite magazine |last1=Shoemaker |first1=Bill |title=Jazz's changing of the (avant) garde |magazine=The American Prospect |date=February 28, 2000 |volume=11 |issue=8 |page=44}}
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web |title=Romance with the Unseen Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/romance-with-the-unseen-mw0000249826 |website=AllMusic |access-date=March 4, 2025}}
|rev2 = The Gazette
|rev2score = 9/10{{cite news |last1=Hadekel |first1=Peter |title=Jazz |work=The Gazette |date=September 30, 1999 |page=D13}}
|rev3 = Los Angeles Times
|rev3score = {{rating|2.5|4}}{{cite news |last1=Heckman |first1=Don |title=Jazz Spotlight |work=Los Angeles Times |date=October 10, 1999 |department=Calendar |page=70}}
|rev4 = The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD
|rev4score = {{rating|3|4}}{{cite book |title=The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD |date=2004 |publisher=Penguin Books |page=253}}
|rev5 = Sound & Vision
|rev5score = {{rating|4.5|5}}{{cite magazine |last1=Davis |first1=Francis |title=Romance with the Unseen |magazine=Sound & Vision |date=January 2000 |volume=65 |issue=1 |pages=160–161}}
|rev6 = The Sydney Morning Herald
|rev6score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite news |last1=Clare |first1=John |title=Jazz |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=November 8, 1999 |department=The Guide |page=6}}
}}
The Gazette said that "Frisell's moody, impressionistic guitar serves as a perfect backdrop to Byron's clean, articulate clarinet". The Chicago Sun-Times noted that "few contemporary musicians roam the stylistic landscape as restlessly or rewardingly as clarinetist Don Byron".{{cite news |last1=Sachs |first1=Lloyd |title=Spin Control |work=Chicago Sun-Times |date=October 10, 1999 |department=Showcase |page=11}} The Los Angeles Times opined that "despite the players' skill and the music's appeal as an intellectual exercise, the music seems unfulfilled." Sound & Vision called "I'll Follow the Sun" "one of the most beguiling jazz interpretations of the Beatles."
The Globe and Mail said that Byron's "clarinet, for all of its piping melody and pure tones, probably couldn't have carried the disc without the assistance of Frisell".{{cite news |last1=Miler |first1=Mark |title=Romance with the Unseen |work=The Globe and Mail |date=October 14, 1999 |page=C7}} The Irish Times concluded that "Byron spins a series of solos that rely for impact more on their logic and originality of line than on tone".{{cite news |last1=Comiskey |first1=Ray |title=Jazz |work=The Irish Times |date=October 23, 1999 |page=72}} The Independent said, "Byron's sounds are beautifully airy, on a set of free-floating tunes whose delicate treatment by the band creates a very superior form of chamber-jazz, with none of the usual stuffiness that term implies."{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Phil |title=Jazz & Blues |work=The Independent |date=October 31, 1999 |department=Features |page=8}}
Track listing
{{Track listing
| all_writing =
| title1 = A Mural from Two Perspectives
| length1 =
| title2 = Bad Twilight
| length2 =
| title3 = Bernhard Goetz, James Ramseur, and Me
| length3 =
| title4 = I'll Follow the Sun (For EAMR)
| length4 =
| title5 = 'Lude
| length5 =
| title6 = Homegoing
| length6 =
| title7 = One Finger Snap
| length7 =
| title8 = Basquiat
| length8 =
| title9 = Perdido (Pegao)
| length9 =
| title10 = Closer to Home
| length10 =
}}