Basher

BlueStem Jazz.

media release: BASHER is New Orleans' premiere "free jazz party band," playing highly improvisational songs with a joyous spirit, as if Ornette Coleman were a member of a New Orleans brass band, propelled by saxophones, analog and modular synthesizers, and drums. Led by saxophonist and composer Byron Asher, Basher has garnered the adoration of the New Orleans creative music scene with its combination of danceable grooves and anthemic melodies, and its wild clash of acoustic and electronic textures. They've been playing listening rooms, dive bars, train tunnels, and arenas across the US since 2017. In 2022 they released their LP Doubles on Sinking City Records, which Downbeat gave 4 stars, claiming it "slaps," and Pitchfork called "unbearably beautiful." In 2024 they released their new LP May Day, also on Sinking City.