Kenny Barron

Kenny Barron's unmatched ability to mesmerize audiences with his elegant playing, sensitive melodies and infectious rhythms is what inspired "The Los Angeles Times" to name him "one of the top jazz pianists in the world" and "Jazz Weekly" to call him "The most lyrical piano player of our time."

Philadelphia is the birthplace of many great musicians, including one of the undisputed masters of the jazz piano: Kenny Barron. Kenny was born in 1943 and while a teenager, started playing professionally with Mel Melvin's orchestra. This local band also featured Barron's brother Bill, the late tenor saxophonist. At age 19, Kenny moved to New York City and was hired by James Moody after the tenor saxophonist heard him play at the Five Spot.

He joined Dizzy Gillespie's band in 1962, where he developed an appreciation for Latin and Caribbean rhythms. After five years with Dizzy, Barron played with Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Milt Jackson, and Buddy Rich. In 1971 he joined Yusef Lateef's band. It is Lateef who Kenny credits as a key influence in his art for improvisation. In 1973 Kenny joined the faculty at Rutgers University as professor of music. He held this tenure until 2000, mentoring many of today's young talents including David Sanchez, Terence Blanchard, and Regina Bell. In 1974 he recorded his first album as a leader for the Muse label, entitled "Sunset To Dawn." This was to be the first of over 40 recordings (and still counting!) as a leader.

Throughout the 1980's, Kenny collaborated with the great tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, touring with his quartet and recording several albums, one of which was nominated for a Grammy ("People Time") Also during the 80's, he co-founded the quartet "Sphere," along with Buster Williams, Ben Riley and Charlie Rouse. This band focused on the music of Thelonious Monk and original compositions inspired by him. Sphere recorded several outstanding projects for the Polygram label, among them "Four For All" and "Bird Songs." After the death of Charlie Rouse, the band took a 15-year hiatus and reunited, replacing Rouse with alto saxophonist Gary Bartz. This reformation made its debut recording for Verve Records in 1998.

Kenny Barron's own recordings for Verve have earned him five Grammy nominations, most recently for "Spirit Song" in 2000. Prior Grammy nominations went to "Sambao," "Night and the City" (a duet recording with Charlie Haden) and "Wanton Spirit" (a trio recording with Roy Haynes and Haden.) It is important to note that these three recordings each received double-Grammy nominations (for album AND solo performance.) Barron consistently wins the jazz critics and readers polls, including Downbeat, JazzTimes and Jazziz magazines. He has been named Best Pianist by the Jazz Journalists Association every year since 1997 and was as a finalist in the prestigious 2001 Jazz Par International Jazz Award.

Kenny Barron / Ray Drummond / Ben Riley: So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon

Read "So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
June 30, 2026

Search high and low, look under houses and over rooftops, scan YouTube and social media--and there is no chance you will find a more adept and perceptive jazz trio than the one you will hear and appreciate on So Many Lovely Things. Pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Ben Riley recorded the two-disc album in August 1995 at the Brecon Jazz Festival in Wales, and it is by any measure a textbook lesson in how to do everything ...

Album Review

Kenny Barron: So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon

Read "So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon" reviewed by Jack Kenny

by Jack Kenny
June 21, 2026

Kenny Barron had the responsibility of playing piano on People Time (Universal Records, 1991) with Stan Getz--a poignant 7 CD box set recorded just three months before the saxophonist's death. Throughout those sessions, Barron displayed an extraordinary sensitivity. Now, as then, his piano phrasing is marked by incredible restraint and weightless grace. That same brilliance shines through on So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon, an archival jazz release from Elemental Music that captures a masterclass by one ...

Album Review

Kenny Barron: So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon

Read "So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
June 14, 2026

Kenny Barron has always had the rare ability to make sophistication feel conversational. Even at his most technically dazzling, there is an intimacy in the way he shapes a phrase. That quality permeates So Many Lovely Things: Live At Brecon, a previously unissued 1995 concert recording from Wales featuring Barron with bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Ben Riley. Released by Elemental Music on June 12, 2026 as a limited 2-LP set, a 2-CD edition, and a digital release, the 105-minute ...

Album Review

Kenny Barron: So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon

Read "So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic

by Mike Jurkovic
June 12, 2026

Some guys have all the luck, and Zev Feldman is a lucky guy. Imagine criss-crossing the world on a rogue yet holy mission to bring the music all back home, and listening to, for the first time, works of art as snazzy or as regal as “Up Jumped Spring," the second of six tracks on CD1 of the 2-CD / 2-LP set, So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon. Jazz has known its shamans: those few who roam ...

Album Review

Kenny Barron: So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon

Read "So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon" reviewed by Andrew Schinder

by Andrew Schinder
June 8, 2026

By the mid-1990's, piano icon and NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron had completed his transition from being a dependable, workhorse pianist-for-hire that elevated any group that had the good sense to engage him, to one of the most revered musicians in the business, and a living bridge between hard bop tradition and 21st century jazz modernity. It was at this point when Barron, along with his cohorts during this period--dearly-departed accompanists Ray Drummond (bass) and Ben Riley (drums), who had all being ...

Album Review

Kenny Barron: So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon

Read "So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
June 1, 2026

Pianist Kenny Barron (b. 1943) has paid his dues, working in the bands of Yusef Lateef and Dizzy Gillespie as well as a three-year stint in trumpeter Freddie Hubbard's band. His work as a leader has also soared. His first album under his own name was titled You Had Better Listen (Atlantic, 1967). That title offered good advice.As with most top-tier jazz artists who boast 50-plus-year careers, he has played thousands of concerts, and many of these have ...

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 Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
May 18, 2026

Some nights vanish into the ether, while others wait, patiently, until the world is ready to hear them. Such is the case with Alight Upon the Lake: Live at the Jazz Showcase. Resonance Records has released this adventurous 1975 recording as a limited-edition 180-gram 3-LP set and a 3-CD release, which feels less like an archival project than a living document. Yusef Lateef, ever the seeker, arrives here not merely as a saxophonist and flutist but as a guide through ...

Performance / Tour

Legendary Pianist Kenny Barron Makes Smoke Jazz Club Debut, August 22-25, 2024

Source: AMT Public Relations
August 7, 2024

Thursday-Sunday, August 22-25, 2024 Sets at 7:00 p.m. + 9:00 p.m. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. Tickets are now on sale. $25-$55. To purchase tickets, visit SMOKEjazz.com. SMOKE Jazz Club today announced that NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron will make his SMOKE Jazz Club debut August 22-25, 2024. The legendary pianist Kenny Barron will lead an essential Trio with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Savannah Harris. Described as “one of the top jazz pianists in the world (The Los Angeles ...
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