Don Byron is perhaps one of the most innovative and unpredictable jazz musicians of the last decade. The Bronx-born graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music sarcastically described himself to one interviewer as “the black guy with dreadlocks who plays klezmer.”

Modern jazz has not always been kind to clarinetists, but Byron hardly seems mindful of this fact. Romance With the Unseen is Byron’s seventh outing as a leader and his development as a soloist, composer and arranger is apparent throughout this richly layered recording. He is joined on Romance by guitarist Bill Frisell (a longtime associate), bassist Drew Gress and drummer Jack DeJohnette.

With his 1992 debut Tuskeegee Experiments, Byron proved himself to be a capable composer. The same year, his release of the Music of Mickey Katz spurred a wave of recordings of klezmer music by jazz musicians and 1995’s Music for Six Musicians offered a refreshing take on jazz’s Afro-Caribbean influences. In 1996, with Bug Music, Byron entered the debate over jazz repertory and 1998’s Nu Blaxploitation was a jazzman’s journey into the world of funk-rock and hip hop. Romance is perhaps one of the few themes that Byron has not yet tackled musically.

Byron is a master of double entendre and irony, a trickster and an expert at subtle though precise critiques. It is with these ideas in mind that one should approach Romance With the Unseen. The term romance is defined by Webster’s in various ways. Three of these definitions seem to describe well Byron’s latest work: 1. A narrative depicting…colorful events or scenes or other matters to appeal to the imagination.; 2. A romanctic spirit, sentiment, emotion or desire; and 3. A short, simple melody, vocal or instrumental, of tender character.

Byron uses texture and color to create melodies that are rarely short and hardly simple. He and guitarist Bill Frisell seem to be able to communicate telepathically, each pushing the other forward to new heights. Both dispaly a range in tone that is remarkable and the rythmic support provided by Gress and DeJohnette only adds to the richness of the sounds created. Songs like “Bernhard Goetz, James Ramseur and Me” or “Homegoing” have well-developed themes and solos. All in all, Romance is an excellent album deeply embued with Byron’s signature ability to impart intricate narratives with memorable messages through jazz.