Kenny Barron

Kenny Barron
Barron at the Oslo Jazzfestival 2018
Barron at the Oslo Jazzfestival 2018
Background information
Born (1943-06-09) June 9, 1943 (age 81)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer
InstrumentPiano
Years active1960s–present
Websitewww.kennybarron.com

Kenny Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American jazz pianist, who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as leader and sideman and is considered one of the most influential mainstream jazz pianists since the bebop era.[1][2][3]

Early life

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Barren was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He had four siblings; his eldest brother was tenor saxophonist Bill Barron (1927–1989).[4] At the age of 15, Barron played briefly with Mel Melvin's orchestra.[4] In 1959, still at school, Barron had local gigs with saxophonist Jimmy Heath.[4] He also played a gig with Yusef Lateef two months before graduating high school.[4]

Later life and career

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A few days after graduating, Barron set off on a week-long tour with Lateef.[4] Seeking to further his musical career, Barron moved to New York in 1961.[4] He soon had a regular spot in saxophonist James Moody's band, and in the same year he was briefly a sideman with bands led by Lou Donaldson, Roy Haynes, and Lee Morgan.[4] Barron then joined Dizzy Gillespie's band, with which he toured internationally between 1962 and 1966.[4] Barron was briefly a member of the Jazztet around 1962, but did not record with them.[5] In the 1960s, he also married and moved to Brooklyn.[4]

After leaving Gillespie, Barron briefly performed with Stanley Turrentine before starting a three-year stint with Freddie Hubbard.[4] He was then accompanist and arranger for vocalist Esther Marrow in 1970, after which he returned to Lateef for almost five years.[4]

He graduated in 1978 with a BA degree in arts from Empire State College (Metropolitan Center, New York City).

He co-led the groups Sphere and the Classical Jazz Quartet.[1]

Between 1986 and 1991, Barron recorded several albums with Stan Getz, most notably Voyage (1986), Anniversary (1987), Serenity (1987), Bossas & Ballads – The Lost Sessions (1989), and People Time: The Complete Recordings (1991), a two-CD set.

He has been nominated nine times for Grammy Awards and for the American Jazz Hall of Fame. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009.[6]

In May 2010, Barron was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music along with African-born singer/songwriter Angelique Kidjo, Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucia, and songwriting duo Leon Huff and Kenneth Gamble.[7]

For more than 25 years, Barron taught piano and keyboard harmony at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He now teaches at the Juilliard School of Music. His piano students have included Earl MacDonald,[8] Harry Pickens, Jon Regen and Aaron Parks.[9]

In 2022, Barron was elected in the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame.[10]

Discography

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Main article: Kenny Barron discography
Barron in 1986

Sources:[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b arwulf arwulf. "Allmusic biography". AllMusic. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  2. ^ Rizzo, Gene (March 5, 2005). "Kenny Barron". 50 Greatest Jazz Piano Players of All Time. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 143. ISBN 9780634074165. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  3. ^ Yanow, Scott (2001). "Kenny Barron". All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 1152. ISBN 9780879306274. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bloom, Steve (June 1980). "Kenny Barron: Pianist's Progress". DownBeat. Vol. 47, no. 6. pp. 26, 27, 62, 64.
  5. ^ Blumenthal, Bob (2004) In The Complete Argo/Mercury Art Farmer/Benny Golson/Jazztet Sessions (CD liner notes). p. 12. Mosaic.
  6. ^ "Book of Members, 1780-2010: Chapter B" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  7. ^ Aubrey Everett (May 15, 2010), "Several Jazz Artists Honored at Berklee Commencement", JazzTimes. Archived September 27, 2017, at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ^ "Wanton Spirit". Vervemusicgroup.com. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  9. ^ Kugiya, Hugo (June 15, 2010). "Jazz pianist Aaron Parks is back on the farm — the James Farm". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011.
  10. ^ "DownBeat December 2022 Readers Poll". archive.maherpublications.com. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  11. ^ "Kenny Barron Discography". MTV. mtv.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
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