Kenny Barron • My Funny Valentine

 

Biography

A highly respected, immensely influential jazz pianist, Kenny Barron is a sophisticated improviser, composer, bandleader, and educator. Emerging during the hard bop era, Barron established himself early on as an in-demand sideman, working alongside his brother, saxophonist Bill Barron, as well as with such titans as Dizzy Gillespie, James Moody, Freddie Hubbard, Booker Ervin, and many others. Blessed with fluid technique and a nuanced sense for chord voicings, he is the epitome of the modern jazz pianist, at home in swinging straight-ahead dates and more forward-thinking settings. Since the '70s, he has also dedicated himself to passing along his knowledge, working as an instructor at the university level. Although often thought of as a journeyman with numerous session credits, Barron is a virtuoso performer with many well-regarded albums under his own name, including 1978's Innocence, 1995's Wanton Spirit, 2016's Grammy-nominated Book of Intuition, 2018's Concentric Circles, and 2020's Without Deception.

Born in Philadelphia on June 9, 1943, Barron took on the piano at the age of 12, with a little help from Ray Bryant's sister, known today as the mother of guitarist Kevin Eubanks. Three years later, on the recommendation of his own big brother, saxophonist Bill Barron (1927-1989), he joined Mel Melvin's rhythm & blues band. The aspiring pianist gained more experience while working with drummer Philly Joe Jones and saxophonist Jimmy Heath, as well as multi-instrumentalist Yusef Lateef in Detroit. Lateef's album The Centaur and the Phoenix (1960) was Barron's first modern jazz recording project -- not as a performer (Joe Zawinul was the pianist on this date) but as composer and arranger.

His recording debut as an improvising artist, The Tenor Stylings of Bill Barron, took place shortly after he moved to New York in 1961, and was the first of many albums with his brother. A session in 1962 found Barron working with trumpeter Dave Burns, onetime member of sax and flute man James Moody's exciting bop orchestra. Moody himself played an important role in Barron's career, first hiring him to perform at the Village Vanguard, then bringing him into Dizzy Gillespie's band. Barron stuck with Diz and Moody until 1966, performing at clubs and festivals on both coasts and touring through France and England.

Barron's first great year of independent recording activity was 1967. In addition to co-leading the session You Had Better Listen with trumpeter Jimmy Owens, the pianist made records with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and saxophonists Joe Henderson, Stanley Turrentine, Tyrone Washington, Booker Ervin, and Eric Kloss. His ever-expanding discography continued to widen in the '70s, featuring dates with sax and flute men Moody and Lateef, bassists Ron Carter and Buster Williams, and artists like Earl and Carl Grubbs, Marion Brown, and Marvin "Hannibal" Peterson.

Barron's artistic balance of freedom and discipline would continue to bear fruit in the '70s as he worked regularly with saxophonists Chico and Von Freeman, John Stubblefield, Nick Brignola, and Stan Getz (with whom he toured extensively during Getz's twilight years). The stylistic range continued to widen as Barron sat in with violinists Michal Urbaniak and John Blake, drummer Elvin Jones, and singing trombonist Ray Anderson. He also delivered several of his own albums, including 1973's Sunset to Dawn, 1975's Lucifer, and 1978's Together with fellow pianist Tommy Flanagan. Also beginning in the '70s, Barron joined the faculty at Rutgers University, teaching piano and keyboard harmony.

During the '80s, Barron remained quite active, releasing his own albums such as 1985's Scratch with bassist Dave Holland and drummer Daniel Humair. He also played on Bill Lee's score for Spike Lee's film Do the Right Thing, appeared on multi-performer tribute albums honoring composers Nino Rota and Thelonious Monk, and became a founding member (with Charlie Rouse, Buster Williams, and Ben Riley) of Sphere, the definitive Monk legacy band. The '90s were an equally fruitful period for Barron, and found him working steadily for Verve, releasing such albums as People Time, Other Places, Wanton Spirit, and Night and the City.

By the turn of the century, Barron had established himself as both a piano virtuoso and journeyman artist who issued solo, duo, and large-ensemble recordings. In 2000, he released the Grammy-nominated Spirit Song, followed quickly by the release of Freefall, featuring violinist Regina Carter, in 2001. Also around this time, he left his position at Rutgers and joined the faculty at Juilliard. Barron then moved to a quintet setting for 2004's Images. Four years later, he collaborated with West African guitarist Lionel Loueke on Traveler. Vocalist Claire Martin was the next beneficiary of Barron's deft accompanist skills on her album Too Much in Love to Care in 2012.

Barron next delivered several duo albums, pairing with bassist Holland for 2014's The Art of Conversation on Impulse! and vibraphonist Mark Sherman for 2015's Interplay on Chesky Records. In 2016, he returned to the trio format with the Grammy-nominated Book of Intuition featuring bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake. He then expanded his trio to a quintet for his Blue Note debut, 2018's Concentric Circles, adding trumpeter Mike Rodriguez and saxophonist Dayna Stephens. The following year, Barron issued a three-disc live album titled The Art of Piano Duo, collecting three duo performances with late pianist Mulgrew Miller from 2005 (Marciac, France) and 2011 (Geneva and Zurich, Switzerland). In 2020, he reunited with Dave Holland and Johnathan Blake for the trio date Without Deception.

by arwulf arwulf

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kenny-barron-mn0000081181/biography

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Biografía 

 

Kenny Barron es un pianista de jazz muy respetado e inmensamente influyente, un sofisticado improvisador, compositor, director de banda y educador. Surgido durante la era del hard bop, Barron se estableció muy pronto como un sideman muy solicitado, trabajando junto a su hermano, el saxofonista Bill Barron, así como con titanes como Dizzy Gillespie, James Moody, Freddie Hubbard, Booker Ervin, y muchos otros. Bendecido con una técnica fluida y un sentido matizado para las voces de los acordes, es el epítome del pianista de jazz moderno, en su casa en las citas de swing directo y en los escenarios más vanguardistas. Desde los años 70, también se ha dedicado a transmitir sus conocimientos, trabajando como instructor en la universidad. Aunque a menudo se le considera un viajero con numerosos créditos de sesión, Barron es un intérprete virtuoso con muchos álbumes bien considerados bajo su propio nombre, incluyendo Innocence de 1978, Wanton Spirit de 1995, Book of Intuition de 2016, nominado al Grammy, Concentric Circles de 2018 y Without Deception de 2020.

Nacido en Filadelfia el 9 de junio de 1943, Barron se hizo cargo del piano a la edad de 12 años, con un poco de ayuda de la hermana de Ray Bryant, conocida hoy como la madre del guitarrista Kevin Eubanks. Tres años más tarde, por recomendación de su propio hermano mayor, el saxofonista Bill Barron (1927-1989), se unió a la banda de rhythm & blues de Mel Melvin. El aspirante a pianista adquirió más experiencia mientras trabajaba con el baterista Philly Joe Jones y el saxofonista Jimmy Heath, así como con el multi-instrumentista Yusef Lateef en Detroit. El álbum de Lateef, The Centaur and the Phoenix (1960), fue el primer proyecto de grabación de jazz moderno de Barron, no como intérprete (Joe Zawinul era el pianista en esa fecha) sino como compositor y arreglista.

Su debut discográfico como artista improvisador, The Tenor Stylings of Bill Barron, tuvo lugar poco después de que se mudara a Nueva York en 1961, y fue el primero de muchos álbumes con su hermano. Una sesión en 1962 encontró a Barron trabajando con el trompetista Dave Burns, antiguo miembro de la excitante orquesta de bop del saxofonista y flautista James Moody. El mismo Moody jugó un papel importante en la carrera de Barron, primero contratándolo para actuar en el Village Vanguard, y luego incorporándolo a la banda de Dizzy Gillespie. Barron permaneció con Diz y Moody hasta 1966, tocando en clubes y festivales en ambas costas y haciendo giras por Francia e Inglaterra.

El primer gran año de actividad discográfica independiente de Barron fue 1967. Además de codirigir la sesión You Had Better Listen con el trompetista Jimmy Owens, el pianista grabó con el trompetista Freddie Hubbard y los saxofonistas Joe Henderson, Stanley Turrentine, Tyrone Washington, Booker Ervin y Eric Kloss. Su discografía en constante expansión continuó ampliándose en los años 70, con citas con los saxofonistas Moody y Lateef, los bajistas Ron Carter y Buster Williams, y artistas como Earl y Carl Grubbs, Marion Brown y Marvin "Hannibal" Peterson.

El equilibrio artístico de libertad y disciplina de Barron seguiría dando frutos en los años 70, ya que trabajó regularmente con los saxofonistas Chico y Von Freeman, John Stubblefield, Nick Brignola y Stan Getz (con quien realizó numerosas giras durante los años del crepúsculo de Getz). La gama estilística siguió ampliándose a medida que Barron se sentó con los violinistas Michal Urbaniak y John Blake, el baterista Elvin Jones y el trombonista cantante Ray Anderson. También entregó varios de sus propios álbumes, incluyendo Sunset to Dawn de 1973, Lucifer de 1975 y Together de 1978 con su colega pianista Tommy Flanagan. También a partir de los años 70, Barron se unió a la facultad de la Universidad de Rutgers, enseñando piano y armonía de teclados.

Durante los 80, Barron se mantuvo bastante activo, lanzando sus propios álbumes como Scratch de 1985 con el bajista Dave Holland y el baterista Daniel Humair. También tocó en la partitura de Bill Lee para la película de Spike Lee Do the Right Thing, apareció en álbumes tributo a los compositores Nino Rota y Thelonious Monk, y se convirtió en miembro fundador (junto con Charlie Rouse, Buster Williams y Ben Riley) de Sphere, la banda definitiva del legado de Monk. Los 90 fueron un período igualmente fructífero para Barron, y lo encontró trabajando constantemente para Verve, lanzando álbumes como People Time, Other Places, Wanton Spirit, y Night and the City.

A finales de siglo, Barron se había establecido como un virtuoso del piano y como un artista de viaje que publicó grabaciones en solitario, en dúo y en grandes grupos. En 2000, lanzó la nominada al Grammy Spirit Song, seguida rápidamente por el lanzamiento de Freefall, con la violinista Regina Carter, en 2001. También por esta época, dejó su puesto en Rutgers y se unió al profesorado de Juilliard. Barron luego se mudó a un escenario de quinteto para Images de 2004. Cuatro años después, colaboró con el guitarrista africano Lionel Loueke en Traveler. La vocalista Claire Martin fue la siguiente beneficiaria de las habilidades de Barron como acompañante en su álbum Too Much in Love to Care en 2012.

Barron entregó a continuación varios álbumes en dúo, emparejándose con el bajista Holland para The Art of Conversation on Impulse! de 2014 y el vibrafonista Mark Sherman para Interplay on Chesky Records de 2015. En 2016, volvió al formato de trío con el nominado al Grammy Book of Intuition con el bajista Kiyoshi Kitagawa y el baterista Johnathan Blake. Luego expandió su trío a un quinteto para su debut en Blue Note, 2018's Concentric Circles, agregando al trompetista Mike Rodríguez y a la saxofonista Dayna Stephens. Al año siguiente, Barron publicó un álbum en vivo de tres discos titulado The Art of Piano Duo, que recoge tres actuaciones en dúo con el difunto pianista Mulgrew Miller de 2005 (Marciac, Francia) y 2011 (Ginebra y Zurich, Suiza). En 2020, se reunió con Dave Holland y Johnathan Blake para la fecha del trío Without Deception.

por arwulf arwulf

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kenny-barron-mn0000081181/biography

kennybarron.com ...

Tracks:
1 - Summertime
Written-By – George Gershwin
2 - Have You Met Miss Jones?
Written-By – Richard Rodgers
3 - Black Orpheus (Manha De Carnaval)
Written-By – Luiz Bonfá
4 - Embraceable You
Written-By – George Gershwin
5 - Mack The Knife (Moritat)
Written-By – Kurt Weill
6 - Calypso
Written-By – Kenny Barron
7 - Fly Me To The Moon
Written-By – Bart Howard
8 - Monk's Dream
Written-By – Thelonious Monk
9 - I Thought About You
Written-By – Jimmy Van Heusen
10 - My Funny Valentine
Written-By – Richard Rodgers


Credits:
    Art Direction, Design – Keiji Uyeda
    Coordinator – Kiyoko Murata
    Design – Hiroko Umezawa
    Engineer [Assistant] – Akihiro Nishimura
    Liner Notes – Masayuki Baba
    Mastered By – Koji "C-chan" Suzuki*
    Photography [Cover] – Tommy Taylor (9)
    Photography [Inner] – Richard Conde
    Piano – Kenny Barron
    Producer – Yasohachi Itoh (tracks: Yasohachi "88" Itoh)
    Recorded By, Engineer [DSD] – Motohiro Noguchi
    Supervised By – Yoshihiro Suzuki

Note:
Recorded February 1, 2012 in New York City.

Label:    Eighty-Eight's – EECD-8805
Country:    Japan
Released:    Nov 20, 2013
Genre:    Jazz
Style:    Bop, Swing, Post Bop
https://www.discogs.com/release/11920869-Kenny-Barron-My-Funny-Valentine-The-Excellent-Jazz-Standards-Collection-Vol-2

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