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.

Freddie Hubbard: On Fire: Live From The Blue Morocco

Read "On Fire: Live From The Blue Morocco" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
April 24, 2025

Freddie Hubbard was never one to play it safe. Even at a time when jazz was bending in myriad directions--from the structural freedom of Ornette Coleman's harmolodics to the modal explorations of Miles Davis--Hubbard maintained a singular focus on the power of his horn. In the newly unearthed performance On Fire: Live from Blue Morocco, Resonance Records, in conjunction with Record Store Day, has released a deluxe 2CD package that includes new interviews with Bennie Maupin and Kenny Barron, notes ...

Album Review

Freddie Hubbard: On Fire--Live From The Blue Morocco

Read "On Fire--Live From The Blue Morocco" reviewed by Jack Kenny

by Jack Kenny
April 23, 2025

Freddie Hubbard is a conundrum. His style has varied significantly over the years, as though he were unsure of himself at a deep level. There were the Blue Note years, then the funk years, where he gained money and lost credibility. The all-encompassing technique was displayed in so many contexts, with Art Blakey, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy. Hubbard's casting around indicates an unresolved idea of what to do with his gifts. He was, after all, born at ...

Album Review

Freddie Hubbard: On Fire: Live from the Blue Morocco

Read "On Fire: Live from the Blue Morocco" reviewed by Thierry De Clemensat

by Thierry De Clemensat
April 20, 2025

If Resonance Records did not exist, it would have to be invented, for it fills the hearts of jazz lovers with such joy that they eagerly anticipate each new release, especially one as extraordinary as this. On Fire: Live from the Blue Morocco is a previously unreleased recording of the legendary jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, captured in 1967 at the Blue Morocco jazz club in the jny: Bronx, New York. Featuring an all-star lineup; Bennie Maupin, Kenny Barron, ...

Album Review

Freddie Hubbard: On Fire: Live At The Blue Morocco

Read "On Fire: Live At The Blue Morocco" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
April 14, 2025

Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard (1938 -2008) began his professional jazz journey in 1960 as a full-blooded hard bopper, recording his first album in that year for Blue Note Records, Open Sesame. Much of the ensuing decade saw him in several Blue Note outings under his own name and as a side man. He also recorded sets for Atlantic Records and Impulse!. His output ran at about two albums a year through the 1960s. The 1970s saw Hubbard rise from ...

Radio & Podcasts

Kenny Barron, Richard X Bennett, Barry Harris & Louis Hayes

by Joe Dimino
December 8, 2024

Step into the 883rd episode of Neon Jazz, where the echoes of legends and the pulse of the future intersect. We open with the incomparable Kenny Barron, a living jazz icon still blazing trails, featuring music from his 2024 masterpiece, Beyond This Place. From there, we journey back to the roots with James Moody, the legend who set the stage for Kenny's rise. Next, we spotlight the remarkable Richard X Bennett, whose 2024 album and film, Scavenger, chronicles his triumphant ...

Album Review

Jeff Rupert: It Gets Better

Read "It Gets Better" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
November 14, 2024

Florida-based tenor saxophonist Jeff Rupert leads a superlative quartet on It Gets Better, a graceful and charming album recorded September 2021 at the renowned Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey. While comparisons to other musicians are as a rule less than viable, the striking similarities between Rupert and the late jazz giant Stan Getz cannot simply be overlooked or ignored. As John Coltrane once said of Getz, “We'd all sound like that if we could." Not only can Rupert sound ...

Album Review

Kenny Barron: Beyond This Place

Read "Beyond This Place" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
June 10, 2024

Kenny Barron, = 3659}}, the mastermind behind Beyond This Place, leads us on a journey through the corridors of jazz. As of of the genre's most outstanding pianists, Barron is accompanied by an ensemble of formidable talents, including alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, vibraphonist Steve Nelson, double bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake. Together, they orchestrate an exploration of Barron's legacy and the ever-evolving landscape of jazz. This meticulously selected nine-track session opens with “The Nearness ...

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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