Kenny Barron: So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon

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 performance captures three master improvisers operating with extraordinary mutual trust before an enthusiastic audience.

The concert opens with Joe Bushkin's "Oh, Look At Me Now," and from the first chorus, the trio sets the evening's tone of elegant restraint. Barron toys slyly with the melody, using glancing harmonic substitutions and spiralling right-hand figures. Drummond's bass is deep, resonant, and ever-present. Midway through the 11-minute treatment, Barron and Riley engage in a wonderfully inventive exchange that feels less like trading phrases than like finishing one another's sentences.

Freddie Hubbard's "Up Jumped Spring" is buoyant. Riley's subtle swing lifts the performance from the outset, while Drummond's lines dance beneath Barron's luminous improvisations. The trio sounds relaxed, revealing the tune's optimism and easygoing momentum.

Thelonious Monk's "Shuffle Boil" reveals Barron engaging with the composer's mischievous side in a solo performance. He navigates the tune's notoriously tricky bass line with bravura, implying harmony, rhythm, and counterpoint while tossing off a string of playful, melody-centred choruses. His touch alternates between percussive bite and sly lyricism, capturing Monk's angular humour and underlying elegance.

A more fulsome exposition of Monk's brilliance appears in "Ask Me Now," where Barron traces the ballad's emotional arc over 12 remarkable minutes with immense patience, letting every harmonic nuance and melodic hesitation register fully. His improvisations balance tenderness and turbulence as Riley alternates between delicate brushwork and intense accents. Drummond provides a dark, resonant counterweight beneath Barron's searching lines, deepening the music's emotional pull.

Barron's original "Nikara's Song" once again shifts the mood outward, revealing another dimension of the trio's rapport. Barron's interpretation moves kaleidoscopically across the keyboard's full range, offering shifting harmonic colours, while Drummond responds with a solo of remarkable depth, clarity and poise. Riley continues to reshape the texture with subtle accents and responsive cymbal shading.

The emotional centre of the concert may well be Ray Noble's 1934 torch song "The Very Thought Of You." Barron once said he wanted "to play a ballad and make people cry," and that might have happened here, as the song showcases his narrative ballad prowess. His opening statement is delivered with restraint, allowing each note to develop naturally as Drummond fills in with deep, lyrical responses, culminating in an impressive solo replete with his dynamic, big tone. Throughout the 13-minute performance, the trio sustains an atmosphere of tenderness without sentimentality.

The concert closes with Eddie Heywood's "Canadian Sunset," stretched into a leisurel 16-minute meditation on collective improvisation. Barron's lyricism flows effortlessly over the trio's deep groove, while Drummond probes the harmony with deep intelligence. Riley sustains an inexhaustible swing throughout the number, carrying it to the final bars. The performance features three musicians accompanying one another with a single musical goal.

The release should not be treated as a historical document bound by time and place. Rather, it is a reminder of what a jazz piano trio can accomplish.