Home » Jazz Articles » Kenny Barron
Jazz Articles about Kenny Barron
Gerry Gibbs: Thrasher Dream Trio
by Jack Bowers
A trio that clings together and swings together. Drummer Gerry Gibbs calls this a “dream trio," a description that seems as appropriate as any. Surely, having pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Ron Carter as teammates must seem like a dream come true for any timekeeper. To summarize the point clearly, Barron and Carter are quite simply two of the best at what they do. And as for Gibbs, the new kid on the block, he's more than happy to be ...
Continue ReadingKenny Barron/Gerry Gibbs/Ron Carter: Gerry Gibbs Thrasher Dream Trio
by Dan McClenaghan
Drummer Gerry Gibbs calls this band the Thrasher Dream Trio. That “Thrasher" aspect of the appellation might make the uninitiated conjure images of burly tattooed guys in sleeveless shirts, sporting long black hair--and maybe facial make-up--slamming their instruments in the heavy metal bass/drums/guitar mode. But this couldn't be further from the music at hand. Gerry Gibbs Thrasher Dream Trio teams two seasoned jazz veterans--legends, really: bassist Ron Carter and pianist Kenny Barron--with relative newcomer Gibbs, on an energized set of ...
Continue ReadingKenny Barron: The Traveler
by Florence Wetzel
The Traveler is a delicious offering of ten beautiful songs by pianist Kenny Barron. Eight of the tunes were composed by Barron, and each one is brimming with his famous lyricism. Most of the songs feature solid underpinning by Kiyoshi Kitagawa (bass) and Francisco Mela (drums), and in addition the CD features a variety of guests who add their own unique voices. Soprano saxophonist Steve Wilson, a superb player with an intimate, conversational tone, appears on three ...
Continue ReadingKenny Barron: The Traveler
by Mark F. Turner
It would be quite a feat to have traveled in Kenny Barron's shoes. A venerable pianist whose career has spanned more than fifty years of performances with a host of greats--Lee Morgan, Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, Yusef Lateef, Charlie Rouse and many others. His music has traveled across the paths of blues, bop, modern, and other terrains. Whether working with vocalists such as jazz diva, Abbey Lincoln or taking Brazilian music excursions in Canta Brasil (Sunnyside Records, 2002), Barron has ...
Continue ReadingKenny Barron: A Musical Autobiography
by Victor Verney
Kenny Barron has achieved recognition, long overdue, as one of the giants of modern mainstream jazz piano. Born in Philadelphia in 1943, he moved to New York in 1961, where he worked briefly with James Moody, Lee Morgan, Roy Haynes and Lou Donaldson. He then had extended gigs with Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, Yusef Lateef and Ron Carter. After a stint as co-leader of the group Sphere in the 1980s, he went on to lead his own trios. One of ...
Continue ReadingKenny Barron Trio: The Perfect Set: Live at Bradley's II
by Ollie Bivens
From the '60s through the '80s, pianist Kenny Barron was one of the most sought-after sidemen in jazz, playing with Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, Yusef Lateef, and Ron Carter, along with being a co-founder of the group Sphere, dedicated to performing the music of Thelonious Monk. Since the early '70s, Barron has put out several albums as leader. However, a series of live dates recorded with Stan Getz for four years up until the tenor's death in '91 brought Barron ...
Continue ReadingKenny Barron Trio: The Perfect Set: Live at Bradley's II
by Tom Greenland
In the Middle East, “tarab," a state of musical and spiritual ecstasy, is produced and maintained when a creative feedback loop is established between performers and listeners. The transformation is dependent not only on the skilled artisans, but on the environment created by the musically initiated audience. In jazz, people and place are equally important: Bradley's, in the Village, was one such place, where after-hours aficionados came to hear the best piano trio jazz that New York had to offer. ...
Continue ReadingShowcase
Giveaway
