''Concentric Circles'' is a studio album by American jazz pianist Kenny Barron. The record was released on via

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

label.

Background

This is Barron's debut album for Blue Note. The album features Barron with a new band consisting of three strong emerging players—tenor saxophonist Dayna Stephens, trumpeter Mike Rodriguez, and drummer

Johnathan Blake Johnathan Blake (born July 1, 1976, in Philadelphia) is an American jazz drummer. Biography Johnathan Blake is the son of jazz violinist John Blake Jr. He started playing the drums when he was ten; He gained his first experience in his homet ...

—and a long-term Barron's collaborator bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa. The record consists of 11 tracks of which there are eight original compositions written by Barron.

Reception

Matt Collar of

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wrote "While Barron has never sounded anything short of virtuosic, his skills have only deepened over the years. He commands the album, framing his musicians with richly textured chord voicings one minute, and launching into evocative improvisational asides the next. What's particularly refreshing is how immediate and of-the-moment the album feels. Concentric Circles is the sound of a jazz master continuing to push forward, buoyed by his bandmates and the lessons of the past". A reviewer of ''

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'' stated "''Concentric Circles'' is another sparkling jewel in Barron’s crown; and it surely won’t be the last". Writing for ''

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'', Thomas Conrad stated, "The set list is not unusual, containing mostly recent originals plus typical choices like a Brazilian piece and a Monk tune. What makes a Barron record special is execution, the distinctive substance and elegance..." Will Layman of ''Spectrum Culture'' noted "This is a program marked by variety as well as quality... Barron’s affection for Latin grooves is here in spades." Paddy Cahoe of

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added "Kenny Barron's ''Concentric Circles'' is the legendary jazz pianist's first bona fide quintet release since 2003's Images and it is a fine affair, skirting around the lighter edges of bop, with Afro-Latin and bossa nova traces". Dave Gelly of ''

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'' commented "Now, a pianist, composer and bandleader of apparently infinite resource and ingenuity, he records albums as close to perfection as anyone could wish. Lately they have tended to be piano trios, but this sleek new quintet sounds full of promise". Keith Black writing for ''

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'' added, "Kenny Barron has been a gift to the jazz world for 50 years and hopefully is not close to being done yet."

Track listing

Personnel

Band *Kenny Barron – piano, producer *

Kiyoshi Kitagawa Kiyoshi Kitagawa (北川潔) (born December 5, 1958 in Osaka) is a Japanese-American jazz double-bassist. Career Kitagawa first played bass guitar, and was in a rock band as a high school student. He switched to double bass while a student at ...

– bass *

– drums *

Dayna Stephens Dayna Stephens (born August 1, 1978) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. In addition to leading his own group, Stephens has performed extensively with Kenny Barron, Ambrose Akinmusire, Taylor Eigsti, Julian Lage, Eric Harland, and Ger ...

– saxophone *Mike Rodriguez – trumpet, flugelhorn Production *Karen Kennedy – co-producer *Max Ross – mixing, mastering *Joe Marciano – recording

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2018 albums Blue Note Records albums Instrumental albums Kenny Barron albums