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Interviews
Kenny Barron: Pianist Who Opens Eyes and Ears
R.J. DeLuke
R.J. DeLuke is an indefatigable jazz fan and arbiter elegantiarum who aspires to ultimate hipness; also an upstate NY freelance writer for various media.“ It's group-oriented music. So you're surrounded by like minds, so to speak. Then just being able to pluck notes out of the air and have it make sense. To be able to express yourself by doing that. It's really fascinating ”
Kenny Barron's piano playing has delighted fans—and other pianists—for many years now. Every time he sits at the keyboard, his lyricism and crisp, clean style, whether lightning fast or soulfully soft, is one of the great pleasures of jazz. When Kenny Barron plays, it's like the old E.F. Hutton commercials. People are going to listen.
The Philadelphia native has played with remarkable consistency throughout his career and he doesn't just stick to one thing. This summer, he's doing some concerts with the group Canta Brasil, where he gets to dabble with one of his great loves: the music of Brazil. He also has his own working trio and the group Sphere, formed many years ago to play the music of Thelonious Sphere Monk, but long ago establishing itself as its own entity, still surfaces from time to time.
Barron can be found on any number of recordings with numerous giants of jazz. Check out his work with Yusef Lateef in the 1970s, ( Ten Years Hence is a desert island recording), his stellar work with Ron Carter's piccolo bass group, his sweet duets with Stan Getz on People Time or any of his own recordings, which have garnered five Grammy nominations. Barron can always be found at or near the top of fan and critics' polls. He's been on the top of his game for years, and is still learning, teaching and performing in excellent fashion.
His interest in jazz started in his childhood, growing up in a home where older brother Bill played tenor sax and had a good record collection that allowed Kenny to hear the jazz greats. "There was always music around the house. Bill had old 78 recordings with Charlie Parker and Dizzy and things like that. So I would listen to his records. And Philadelphia also had a great jazz radio station. So I heard it on the radio there as well," he says. "When I was old enough to go out and hang out, there were a lot of clubs there for local young musicians to go and play and work on their craft. So at about age 12, I actually really started listening to the music."
Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones and Wynton Kelly were among his early influences, and he moved on to listen to more contemporary players like McCoy Tyner and Thelonious Monk. He also loved the work of John Coltrane and Clifford Brown, "and guitar players. Because they had a way of playing harmony and chords that really fascinated me."
Barron was studying classical piano from the age of six through high school, so his technique was developing. But so was his ear for jazz by listening to records and getting out to clubs. While he was still in high school, his reputation was such that he began getting calls to play with top musicians coming through town.
"The first gig of significance—well, they're all significant—but the first gig with anybody with a name was in high school. I worked with Philly Joe Jones when he came into town. Also, when I was still in high school, I played with Jimmy Heath."
Barron also played his share of non-jazz gigs as he honed his craft in Philly, a musical hotbed. "Growing up I played rhythm and blues. I played dances and stuff. We all did that. Rhythm and blues when I was growing up was a lot different than what you call rhythm and blues now. Rhythm and blues then was really music based on the blues and it had rhythmic changes. Sometimes it had a backbeat, but basically it was accessible music you could dance to. And music that was still harmonically challenging. And you had to improvise. You had to really play."
But for Barron, the route to jazz was clear, and he took it. Like most artists, it is the spirit of improvisation that called to the pianist. "That's really what it is. First of all, it's group-oriented music. So you're surrounded by like minds, so to speak. Then just being able to pluck notes out of the air and have it make sense. To be able to express yourself by doing that. It's really fascinating. Mostly I think melody. For me, that's the major thing, trying to play as lyrical as possible."
With experience and confidence, Barron knew he had to get to New York. He didn't hesitate at the age of 18 and made the move. "It wasn't such a big decision. It really wasn't that far. I just decided that was the place that I needed to be. I had gone there on a visit before. We went to Birdland and the Five Spot and heard some Latin music. I knew that was the place. I and to come to New York, so I moved the following year. My first gig was with James Moody. I sat in with him at the old Five Spot and he offered me the gig. During that time I also worked with Roy Haynes, Lou Donaldson. All this was 1961."
The association with Lateef—a very influential person in Barron's life—came not long after, even though their paths had crossed in Philly when Barron was still a teenager.
