Jazz Articles about Kenny Barron

About Kenny Barron

Album Review

Yusef Lateef: Alight Upon the Lake: Live at the Jazz Showcase

Read "Alight Upon the Lake: Live at the Jazz Showcase" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
May 12, 2026

One of the legendary figures of Detroit jazz, Yusef Lateef experienced a truly distinctive path of artistic development, with a trajectory which took him from swing, bebop and R&B in the 1940s and 1950s through a deep immersion in world music, funk and classical idioms during the 1960s and beyond. Somehow incorporating all of these disparate strands and more, Resonance Records' three-disc extravaganza, Alight Upon the Lake, gives us a thorough glimpse of Lateef's multifaceted identity in the company of ...

Album Review

Kenny Barron: Sunset to Dawn

Read "Sunset to Dawn" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
April 15, 2026

Dalla fine degli anni ottanta Kenny Barron s'è universalmente imposto presso la critica e il grande pubblico del jazz fino a essere considerato nel suo pieno valore: uno dei massimi stilisti del piano jazz contemporaneo. Questa riedizione della Time Traveler dal catalogo Muse ce lo presenta nel 1973 al debutto da leader, quando alle soglie dei trent'anni era ancora un musician's musician, dopo il prestigio che aveva acquisito accanto a Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, Yusef Lateef e altri. Successivi dischi ...

Album Review

Kenny Barron: Songbook

Read "Songbook" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
February 10, 2026

82 anni, magistrale protagonista del pianismo moderno, Kenny Barron raccoglie suoi vecchi e nuovi brani per affidarli all'interpretazione di cantanti. I testi sono della sua vecchia amica Janice Jarrett (eccetto “Minor Blues Redux" scritto da Catherine Russell & Paul Kahn) e gli interpreti vocali vedono nomi ben noti come Cécile McLorin Salvant, Kurt Elling, Catherine Russell e Ann Hampton Callaway accanto agli emergenti Kavita Shah, Ekep Nkwelle e Tyreek McDole. Barron si ritaglia il ruolo di sensibile accompagnatore, intervenendo con ...

Album Review

Martin Wind: Stars

by Pierre Giroux
January 30, 2026

A chamber-jazz glow hangs over Stars a sessions featuring renowned bassist and composer Martin Wind, with a quietly luminous quartet including legendary pianist Kenny Barron, exceptional clarinetist Anat Cohen, and imaginative drummer Matt Wilson. The album feels less like a blowing date than a late-night conversation among old friends, where each phrase is weighted with warmth and meaning. The opening track is Aaron Bell's “Passing Thoughts," which conveys a blue-tinged melancholy told through a few carefully-chosen phrases. Cohen's ...

Year in Review

Pierre Giroux's Favorite Jazz Albums of 2025

by Pierre Giroux
January 12, 2026

The story of my selection of the top jazz albums of 2025, is, fittingly a conversation between past and present. New recordings by working bands and veteran leaders proved that the language of swing, blues and modern harmony is still being spoken with conviction, while carefully curated reissues reminded us just how deep the tradition runs. Equally compelling were the previously unheard sessions finally brought to light, offering a fresh glimpse of great artists caught in unguarded, inspired moments.Together these ...

Album Review

Kenny Barron: Songbook

Read "Songbook" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
November 26, 2025

Kenny Barron's offering Songbook is a deeply personal milestone in the pianist's career. Long regarded as one of the most lyrical voices in modern jazz, Barron fulfills a long-held dream by revisiting thirteen of his original compositions, now reimagined with words by lyricist Janice Jarrett and performed by a talented cast of vocalists spanning different generations. Joined by his longtime trio with bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake, Barron creates an album that effortlessly blends instrumental mastery with vocal ...

Radio & Podcasts

Brandon Sanders, Aaron Parks, James Suggs, Kenny Barron and more

by Benjamin Boddie
November 13, 2025

Today's Music--Right Now! Fantastic music by Brandon Sanders, Aaron Parks, James Suggs, Kenny Barron, Scott Silbert, Enoch Smith Jr., Lafayette Harris Jr., Kenny Barron, Angela Verbrugge, Baltimore Jazz Collective, Mark Sherman, Jerry Weldon, Nicholas Payton, Maja Jaku, Nat Adderley Jr., Affinity Trio, Anthony Stanco, David Sneider, Charles Lloyd, Boz Scaggs, Andrew Carroll, Sean Mason, Horace Silver, Tierney Sutton, Johnathan Blake, Josie Falbo, and more. Playlist Brandon Sanders “8/4 Beat" from Lasting Impression (Savant) 00:00 Aaron Parks “Parks Lope" ...