William Barron, Jr. (March 27, 1927 – September 21, 1989) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

tenor and soprano saxophonist. Barron was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He first appeared on a

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...

recording in 1959, and he later recorded extensively with

Philly Joe Jones Joseph Rudolph "Philly Joe" Jones (July 15, 1923 – August 30, 1985) was an American jazz drummer. Biography Early career As a child, Jones appeared as a featured tap dancer on ''The Kiddie Show'' on the Philadelphia radio station WIP. He was ...

and co-led a post-bop quartet with

Ted Curson Theodore Curson (June 3, 1935 – November 4, 2012) was an American jazz trumpeter. Life and career Curson was born in Philadelphia. He became interested in playing trumpet after watching a newspaper salesman play a silver trumpet. Curson's fath ...

. His younger brother, pianist

Kenny Barron 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. Biography Born in Philadel ...

, appeared on all of the sessions that the elder Barron led. Other musicians he recorded with included

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...

and Ollie Shearer. Barron also directed a jazz workshop at the Children's Museum in Brooklyn, taught at City College of New York, and became the chairman of the music department at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

. He recorded for

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

, recording that label's last jazz record in 1972, and

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

. The Bill Barron Collection is housed at the

Institute of Jazz Studies The Institute of Jazz Studies (IJS) is the largest and most comprehensive library and archives of jazz and jazz-related materials in the world. It is located on the fourth floor of the John Cotton Dana Library at Rutgers University–Newark in Newa ...

of the

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

libraries. Barron died in Middletown,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Discography

As leader

* ''

The Tenor Stylings of Bill Barron ''The Tenor Stylings of Bill Barron'' is the debut album by saxophonist Bill Barron which was recorded in 1961 and first released on the Savoy label. The album was reissued on CD combined with ''Modern Windows'' in 2000. Reception In his rev ...

'' (Savoy, 1961) * ''

Modern Windows ''Modern Windows'' (subtitled ''A Jazz Suite from the New "Soul" by Bill Barron'') is an album by saxophonist Bill Barron which was recorded in 1961 and first released on the Savoy label. The album was reissued on CD combined with ''The Tenor St ...

'' (Savoy, 1962) * ''

West Side Story Bossa Nova ''West Side Story Bossa Nova'' is an album by saxophonist Bill Barron featuring bossa nova versions of tunes from the Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim musical ''West Side Story'' which was recorded in 1963 and first released on the Dauntles ...

'' (Dauntless, 1963) * ''

Hot Line A hotline is a point-to-point communications link in which a call is automatically directed to the preselected destination without any additional action by the user when the end instrument goes off-hook. An example would be a phone that automa ...

'' (Savoy, 1964) * ''Now Hear This!'' (Audio Fidelity, 1964) * ''Motivation'' (Savoy, 1972) * ''

Jazz Caper ''Jazz Caper'' is an album by saxophonist Bill Barron which was recorded in 1978 and first released on the Muse label in 1982.Variations in Blue ''Variations in Blue'' is an album by saxophonist Bill Barron which was recorded in 1983 and first released on the Muse label.The Next Plateau ''The Next Plateau'' is an album by saxophonist Bill Barron which was recorded in 1987 and first released on the Muse label.Live at Cobi's ''Live at Cobi's'' is a live album by saxophonist Bill Barron which was recorded in 1987 and 1988 and released posthumously on the SteepleChase label in 2005. Reception In JazzTimes Chris Kelsey wrote "Straightahead tenor players who regularl ...

'' (SteepleChase, 2005) * ''

Live at Cobi's 2 ''Live at Cobi's 2'' is a live album by saxophonist Bill Barron which was recorded in 1985 and released posthumously on the SteepleChase label in 2006.

'' (SteepleChase, 2006)

As sideman

With

* '' Plenty of Horn'' (Old Town, 1961) * ''

Tears for Dolphy ''Tears for Dolphy'' is a 1964 album by jazz trumpeter Ted Curson. The album's title track, an elegy for Eric Dolphy (who died at the end of June that year), has been used in many films. Reception Brian Morton and Richard Cook, writing for ...

'' (Fontana, 1965) * ''

The New Thing & the Blue Thing ''The New Thing & the Blue Thing'' is an album by American trumpeter Ted Curson which was recorded in 1965 and released on the Atlantic label.

'' (Atlantic, 1965) * ''

Flip Top ''Flip Top'' is an album by American trumpeter Ted Curson which has one side recorded in the studio in 1964 at the same sessions that produced '' Tears for Dolphy'' and one side recorded live at the Seventh Yugoslavia Jazz Festival in Ljubljana w ...

'' (Arista/Freedom, 1977) * ''

Snake Johnson ''Snake Johnson'' is an album by trumpeter Ted Curson which was recorded in 1980 and first released on the Chiaroscuro label.Charlie Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...

* ''

Pre-Bird ''Pre-Bird'' (later re-released as ''Mingus Revisited'') is an album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus consisting of music that was composed before Mingus first heard Charlie Parker, hence the title ''Pre-Bird''. It was released on Merc ...

'' (Mercury, 1961) * ''Jazz Makers'' (Mercury, 1963) * ''

Mingus Revisited ''Pre-Bird'' (later re-released as ''Mingus Revisited'') is an album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus consisting of music that was composed before Mingus first heard Charlie Parker, hence the title ''Pre-Bird''. It was released on M ...

'' (Limelight, 1965) * ''Take the A Train'' (Back Up, 2006) With others *

, ''

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...

'' (Muse, 1975) *

Ted Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

, ''London Stereo Laboratory Vol. 4 Big Band'' (London, 1974) *

, '' Philly Joe's Beat'' (Atlantic, 1960) * Philly Joe Jones, ''

Showcase Showcase or vitrine may refer to: *Cabinet (furniture) *Display case Music * ''Showcase'' (Bill Anderson album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Patsy Cline album), 1961 * ''Showcase'' (Buddy Holly album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Philly Joe Jones album), 1959 ...

'' (Riverside, 1960) *

, '' Love for Sale'' (United Artists, 1959) * Cecil Taylor, ''In Transition'' (Blue Note, 1975)

References

External links

Bill Barron
at the

, Rutgers University {{DEFAULTSORT:Baron, Bill 1927 births 1989 deaths American jazz tenor saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz soprano saxophonists Savoy Records artists SteepleChase Records artists Muse Records artists Chiaroscuro Records artists Wesleyan University faculty Musicians from Philadelphia 20th-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians African-American jazz musicians 20th-century African-American musicians