American jazz pianist (born 1943)
Kenny Barron
Born (1943-06-09 ) June 9, 1943 (age 80)
Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, U.S.Genres
Jazz Occupation(s) Musician, composer Instrument(s) Piano Years active 1960s–present Website
www .kennybarron .com
Musical artist
Kenny Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American
jazz pianist, who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as leader and sideman and is considered one of the most influential mainstream jazz pianists since the
bebop era.
[1]
[2]
[3]
Early life
Barren was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . He had four siblings; his eldest brother was tenor saxophonist
Bill Barron (1927–1989).
[4] At the age of 15, Barron played briefly with Mel Melvin's orchestra.
[4] In 1959, still at school, Barron had local gigs with saxophonist
Jimmy Heath .
[4] He also played a gig with
Yusef Lateef two months before graduating high school.
[4]
Later life and career
A few days after graduating, Barron set off on a week-long tour with Lateef.
[4] Seeking to further his musical career, Barron moved to New York in 1961.
[4] He soon had a regular spot in saxophonist
James Moody 's band, and in the same year he was briefly a sideman with bands led by
Lou Donaldson ,
Roy Haynes , and
Lee Morgan .
[4] Barron then joined
Dizzy Gillespie 's band, with which he toured internationally between 1962 and 1966.
[4] Barron was briefly a member of
the Jazztet around 1962, but did not record with them.
[5] In the 1960s, he also married and moved to Brooklyn.
[4]
After leaving Gillespie, Barron briefly performed with
Stanley Turrentine before starting a three-year stint with
Freddie Hubbard .
[4] He was then accompanist and arranger for vocalist Esther Marrow in 1970, after which he returned to Lateef for almost five years.
[4]
He graduated in 1978 with a BA degree in arts from
Empire State College (Metropolitan Center, New York City).
He co-led the groups
Sphere and the
Classical Jazz Quartet .
[1]
Between 1986 and 1991, Barron recorded several albums with
Stan Getz , most notably
Voyage (1986), Anniversary (1987),
Serenity (1987),
Bossas & Ballads – The Lost Sessions (1989), and
People Time: The Complete Recordings (1991), a two-CD set.
He has been nominated nine times for
Grammy Awards and for the American Jazz Hall of Fame. He was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009.
[6]
In May 2010, Barron was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from
Berklee College of Music along with African-born singer/songwriter
Angelique Kidjo , Spanish guitarist
Paco de Lucia , and songwriting duo
Leon Huff and
Kenneth Gamble .
[7]
For more than 25 years, Barron taught piano and keyboard harmony at
Rutgers University in New Jersey. He now teaches at the
Juilliard School of Music . His piano students have included
Earl MacDonald ,
[8]
Harry Pickens , Jon Regen and
Aaron Parks .
[9]
Discography
Barron in 1986
You Had Better Listen (
Atlantic , 1967) with
Jimmy Owens
Sunset to Dawn (
Muse , 1973)
Peruvian Blue (Muse, 1974)
In Tandem (Muse, 1975 [1980]) with
Ted Dunbar
Lucifer (Muse, 1975)
Innocence (Wolf, 1978)
Together (
Denon , 1978) with
Tommy Flanagan
Golden Lotus (Muse, 1980 [1982])
Kenny Barron at the Piano (
Xanadu , 1981 [1982])
Imo Live (
Whynot , 1982)
Spiral (Baybridge, 1982)
Green Chimneys (
Criss Cross Jazz , 1983)
1+1+1 (BlackHawk, 1984 [1986]) with
Ron Carter and
Michael Moore
Landscape (Baystate, 1984)
Autumn in New York (
Uptown , 1984) - reissued as New York Attitude
Scratch (
Enja , 1985)
What If? (Enja, 1986)
Two as One (Red, 1986) with
Buster Williams
The Red Barron Duo (Storyville, 1986 [1988]) with
Red Mitchell
Live at Fat Tuesdays (Enja, 1988)
Rhythm-a-Ning (
Candid , 1989) with
John Hicks
The Only One (
Reservoir , 1990)
Live at Maybeck Recital Hall Volume Ten (
Concord Jazz , 1990)
Invitation (Criss Cross Jazz, 1990)
Lemuria-Seascape (Candid, 1991)
Quickstep (Enja, 1991)
The Moment (Reservoir, 1991 [1994])
Confirmation (Candid, 1991) with
Barry Harris
Sambao (
Verve , 1992)
Other Places (Verve, 1993)
Wanton Spirit (Verve, 1994) with
Roy Haynes and
Charlie Haden
Things Unseen (Verve, 1995 [1997])
Swamp Sally (Verve, 1995) with
Mino Cinelu
Live at Bradley's (
EmArcy , 1996 [2001])
Live at Bradley's II (Universal, 1996 [2005])
Night and the City (Verve, 1996 [1998]) with Charlie Haden
Spirit Song (Verve, 1999)
Freefall (Verve, 2000) with
Regina Carter
Canta Brasil (
Sunnyside , 2002)
Images (Sunnyside, 2003)
Super Standard (
Venus , 2004)
The Traveler (Sunnyside, 2007)
Minor Blues (Venus, 2009)
Kenny Barron & the Brazilian Knights (Sunnyside, 2012)
The Art of Conversation (
Impulse! , 2014) with
Dave Holland
Book of Intuition (Impulse!, 2016)
Concentric Circles (Blue Note, 2018)
Without Deception (Dare2, 2020) with
Dave Holland
The Source (Artwork, 2023)
The Complete Two as One (Red, 2023) with
Buster Williams
Sources:
[10]
References
^
a
b arwulf arwulf.
"Allmusic biography" . AllMusic . Retrieved November 22, 2014 .
^ Rizzo, Gene (March 5, 2005). "Kenny Barron".
50 Greatest Jazz Piano Players of All Time .
Hal Leonard Corporation . p. 143.
ISBN
9780634074165 . Retrieved January 18, 2013 .
^
Yanow, Scott (2001). "Kenny Barron".
All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music .
Hal Leonard Corporation . p. 1152.
ISBN
9780879306274 . Retrieved January 18, 2013 .
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k Bloom, Steve (June 1980). "Kenny Barron: Pianist's Progress".
DownBeat . Vol. 47, no. 6. pp. 26, 27, 62, 64.
^ Blumenthal, Bob (2004) In The Complete Argo/Mercury Art Farmer/Benny Golson/Jazztet Sessions (CD liner notes). p. 12. Mosaic.
^
"Book of Members, 1780-2010: Chapter B" (PDF) . American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved May 17, 2011 .
^ Aubrey Everett (May 15, 2010),
"Several Jazz Artists Honored at Berklee Commencement" , JazzTimes .
Archived September 27, 2017, at the
Wayback Machine .
^
"Wanton Spirit" . Vervemusicgroup.com. Retrieved November 22, 2014 .
^ Kugiya, Hugo (June 15, 2010).
"Jazz pianist Aaron Parks is back on the farm — the James Farm" . The Seattle Times . Archived from
the original on June 22, 2011.
^
"Kenny Barron Discography" .
MTV . mtv.com. Retrieved January 19, 2017 .
External links
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, unless stated otherwise.
Albums as leader or co-leader
You Had Better Listen (with
Jimmy Owens , 1967)
Sunset to Dawn (1973)
Peruvian Blue (1974)
In Tandem (and
Ted Dunbar , 1975)
Lucifer (1975)
Innocence (1978)
Together (and
Tommy Flanagan , 1978)
Golden Lotus (1980)
Kenny Barron at the Piano (1981)
Imo Live (1982)
Spiral (1982)
Green Chimneys (1983–87)
1+1+1 (1984)
Autumn in New York (1984)
Landscape (1984)
Scratch (1985)
The Red Barron Duo (and
Red Mitchell , 1986)
Two as One (and
Buster Williams , 1986)
What If? (1986)
Live at Fat Tuesdays (1988)
Rhythm-a-Ning (and
John Hicks , 1989)
Invitation (1990)
Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Ten (1990)
The Only One (1990)
Confirmation (and
Barry Harris , 1991)
Lemuria-Seascape (1991)
The Moment (1991)
Quickstep (1991)
Sambao (1992)
Other Places (1993)
Wanton Spirit (1994)
Swamp Sally (and
Mino Cinelu , 1995)
Things Unseen (1995)
Live at Bradley's (1996)
Live at Bradley's II (1996)
Night and the City (and
Charlie Haden , 1996)
Spirit Song (1999)
Canta Brasil (2000)
Freefall (and
Regina Carter , 2000)
Images (2003)
Super Standard (2004)
The Traveler (2007)
Minor Blues (2009)
Kenny Barron & the Brazilian Knights (2012)
The Art of Conversation (and
Dave Holland , 2014)
Book of Intuition (2015)
Concentric Circles (2018)
Without Deception (and
Dave Holland , 2020)
The Source (2023)
Member of
Sphere With
Bill Barron With
Ron Carter With
Stan Getz With
Dizzy Gillespie With
Freddie Hubbard With
Yusef Lateef With
James Moody With
Buddy Rich With others
Many a New Day: Karrin Allyson Sings Rodgers & Hammerstein (
Karrin Allyson , 2015)
Live at the Blue Note (
Franco Ambrosetti , 1992)
Mustang (
Curtis Amy , 1967)
Old Bottles - New Wine (
Ray Anderson , 1985)
The Best Thing for You (
Chet Baker , 1977)
You Can't Go Home Again (Chet Baker, 1977)
Studio Trieste (
Chet Baker and
Hubert Laws , 1982)
Bad Benson (
George Benson , 1974)
Code Red (
Cindy Blackman , 1990)
The Oracle (Cindy Blackman, 1995)
Shining Hour (
Larry Coryell , 1989)
Quicksand (
Ted Curson , 1974)
Continuum (
Ray Drummond , 1994)
Booker 'n' Brass (
Booker Ervin , 1967)
Tex Book Tenor (Booker Ervin, 1968)
All That Jazz (
Ella Fitzgerald , 1989)
Awakening (
Sonny Fortune , 1975)
Two for the Blues (
Frank Foster and
Frank Wess , 1983)
Frankly Speaking (Frank Foster and Frank Wess, 1984)
Tiger in the Rain (
Michael Franks , 1978)
Man & Woman (
George Freeman , 1974)
Panorama: Live at the Village Vanguard (
Jim Hall , 1996)
Light and Lively (
Louis Hayes , 1989)
Una Max (Louis Hayes, 1989)
The Gap Sealer (
Albert Heath , 1972)
Kwanza (The First) (
Jimmy Heath , 1973)
Now! (
Bobby Hutcherson , 1969)
In the Vanguard (Bobby Hutcherson, 1986)
New Agenda (
Elvin Jones , 1975)
Time Capsule (Elvin Jones, 1977)
The Bassist! (
Sam Jones , 1979)
We're Goin' Up (
Eric Kloss , 1967)
Jazz Nocturne (
Lee Konitz , 1992)
Number Two Express (
Christian McBride , 1995)
Brownie: Homage to Clifford Brown (
Helen Merrill , 1995)
Never Never Land (
Jane Monheit , 2000)
Peace and Rhythm (
Idris Muhammad , 1971)
A Time for Love (
Arturo Sandoval , 2010)
This Bud's for You... (
Bud Shank , 1984)
Solid (
Woody Shaw , 1986)
Kamau (
Charles Sullivan , 1995)
Pure Dynamite (
Buddy Terry , 1972)
A Bluish Bag (
Stanley Turrentine , 1967)
Jazz French Horn (
Tom Varner , 1985)
Listen Here (
Roseanna Vitro , 1982)
Natural Essence (
Tyrone Washington , 1967)
Two at the Top (
Frank Wess and
Johnny Coles , 1983)
New York, New Sound (
Gerald Wilson , 2003)
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, unless stated otherwise.
Studio albums Live albums
International National Artists Other