Kenny Barron (born June 9, 1943) is 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 ...

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 Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

era.

Biography

Born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...

, Kenny Barron is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron (1927–1989). One of his first gigs was as pianist with the Dizzy Gillespie quartet. Barron was briefly a member of

the Jazztet The Jazztet was a jazz sextet, co-founded in 1959 by trumpeter Art Farmer and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, always featuring the founders along with a trombonist and a piano-bass-drums rhythm section. In its first phase, the Jazztet lasted unt ...

around 1962, but did not record with them. He graduated in 1978 with a BA in arts from

Empire State College Empire State College (SUNY Empire or ESC) is a public university headquartered in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Empire State College is a multi-site institution offering associate, ...

(Metropolitan Center, New York City). He co-led the groups

Sphere A sphere () is a Geometry, geometrical object that is a solid geometry, three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...

and the Classical Jazz Quartet. Between 1987 and 1991, Barron recorded several albums with Stan Getz, most notably ''

Voyage Voyage(s) or The Voyage may refer to: Literature *''Voyage : A Novel of 1896'', Sterling Hayden * ''Voyage'' (novel), a 1996 science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter *''The Voyage'', Murray Bail * "The Voyage" (short story), a 1921 story by ...

'', ''

Bossas & Ballads – The Lost Sessions ''Bossas & Ballads: The Lost Sessions'' is an album by jazz saxophonist Stan Getz. Background In 1989, Getz recorded his first album for A&M Records, but album wasn't released until 2003. Getz recorded the album with Kenny Barron, Victor Lewis, ...

'', '' Serenity'', ''Anniversary'' and ''People Time'', a two-CD set. He has been nominated nine times for

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

and for the American Jazz Hall of Fame. He was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

in 2009. In May 2010, Barron was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

along with African-born singer/songwriter Angelique Kidjo, Spanish guitarist

Paco de Lucia Paco is a Spanish nickname for Francisco. According to folk etymology, the nickname has its origins in Saint Francis of Assisi, who was the father of the Franciscan order; his name was written in Latin by the order as ''Pater Communitatis'' (fat ...

, and songwriting duo

Leon Huff Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as ...

and

Kenneth Gamble Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as ...

. For over 25 years, Barron taught piano and keyboard harmony at

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 ...

in New Jersey. He now teaches at the Juilliard School of Music. His piano students have included

Earl MacDonald Earl MacDonald (born July 26, 1970) is a Canadian pianist, composer, arranger, conductor, recording artist, and educator specializing in jazz. Described as "a magical, musical alchemist of hip hybrids", MacDonald's compositional work frequently d ...

Harry Pickens Harry Pickens is an American jazz pianist. He began his career with the Blue Note Records group Out of the Blue before releasing several albums as leader. Allmusic credits/ref> Pickens has been a mainstay feature at the Idyllwild Arts Jazz in ...

, Jon Regen and

Aaron Parks Aaron Parks (born October 7, 1983) is an American jazz pianist. Career A native of Seattle, Parks studied at the University of Washington at the age of 14 through the Transition School and Early Entrance Program as a double major in computer sc ...

Discography

* ''

You Had Better Listen ''You Had Better Listen'' is a studio album by the American trumpeter Jimmy Owens and the pianist Kenny Barron, recorded in 1967 and released on the Atlantic label.Fitzgerald, MKenny Barron Discography accessed January 20, 2019 Reception In h ...

'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, 1967) with Jimmy Owens * ''

Sunset to Dawn ''Sunset to Dawn'' is a studio album by American pianist Kenny Barron which was recorded in 1973 and first released on the Muse label. Reception In his review on Allmusic, Scott Yanow notes "Kenny Barron could easily go unidentified if some of ...

'' (

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 ...

, 1973) * '' Peruvian Blue'' (Muse, 1974) * '' In Tandem'' (Muse, 1975 980 with

Ted Dunbar Earl Theodore Dunbar (January 17, 1937 – May 29, 1998) was an American jazz guitarist, composer, and educator. Career Born in Port Arthur, Texas, Dunbar trained as a pharmacist at Texas Southern University, but by the 1970s he only did pharma ...

* ''

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 passa ...

'' (Muse, 1975) * ''

Innocence Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience. In relation ...

'' (Wolf, 1978) * ''

Together ''ToGetHer'' (, aka Superstar Express) is a 2009 Taiwanese drama starring Jiro Wang of Fahrenheit, Rainie Yang and George Hu. It was produced by Comic International Productions ( 可米國際影視事業股份有限公司) and directed by Linzi P ...

'' (

Denon is a Japanese electronics company started in 1910 by Frederick Whitney Horn, an American entrepreneur. Denon produced the first cylinder audio media in Japan and players to play them. Decades later, Denon was involved in the early stages of de ...

, 1978) with

Tommy Flanagan Thomas Lee Flanagan (March 16, 1930 – November 16, 2001) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He grew up in Detroit, initially influenced by such pianists as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and then by bebop musicians. ...

* '' Golden Lotus'' (Muse, 1980

982 Year 982 ( CMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Tara ...

* ''

Kenny Barron at the Piano ''Kenny Barron at the Piano'' is a solo album by pianist Kenny Barron that was recorded in early 1981 and first released on the Xanadu Records, Xanadu label. Reception In his review on AllMusic, Robert Taylor notes: "The set is a fine mix of ...

'' ( Xanadu, 1981

* ''

Imo Live ''Imo Live'' is a live album by pianist Kenny Barron that was recorded in Japan in 1982 and first released on the Whynot label in 1982 before being reissued on CD by Candid Records in 2010 as ''Live''.Fitzgerald, MKenny Barron Discography access ...

'' ( Whynot, 1982) * ''

Spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:Green Chimneys ''Green Chimneys'' is an album by pianist Kenny Barron which was recorded in Holland in 1983 and first released on the Dutch Criss Cross Jazz label. The 1988 CD reissue included six bonus tracks.Fitzgerald, MKenny Barron Discography accessed Janu ...

'' (

Criss Cross Jazz Criss Cross Jazz is a Dutch record company and label specializing in jazz. Criss Cross was established in 1980 by Gerry Teekens, a drummer and German language, German professor.

, 1983) * ''

1+1+1 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

'' (BlackHawk, 1984

986 Year 986 ( CMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * August 17 – Battle of the Gates of Trajan: Emperor Basil II leads a Byz ...

with

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded nu ...

and

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...

* ''

Landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

'' (

Baystate Baystate was a Japanese jazz record label. Some of these album were also released on the Japanese labels Victor and Horo Records. Almost none have been reissued on LP or CD. Discography 6000s *RVJ-6001: M'Boom - '' Re: Percussion'' *RVJ-60 ...

, 1984) * '' Autumn in New York'' ( Uptown, 1984) - reissued as ''New York Attitude'' * '' Scratch'' (

Enja Enja Records is a German jazz record company and label based in Munich which was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971. The label's first release was by Mal Waldron, and early releases included European and Ja ...

, 1985) * '' What If?'' (Enja, 1986) * ''

Two as One ''Two as One'' is a live album by pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Buster Williams recorded at the Teatro Morlacchi in Perugia, Italy as part of the 1986 Umbria Jazz Festival and released on the Italian Red label. Reception In his review on ...

'' (Red, 1986) with

Buster Williams Charles Anthony "Buster" Williams (born April 17, 1942) is an American jazz bassist. Williams is known for his membership in pianist Herbie Hancock's early 1970s group, working with guitarist Larry Coryell from the 1980s to present, working in th ...

* '' The Red Barron Duo'' (Storyville, 1986 988 with

Red Mitchell Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell (September 20, 1927 – November 8, 1992) was an American jazz double-bassist, composer, lyricist, and poet. Biography Mitchell was born in New York City. His younger brother, Whitey Mitchell, also became a jazz ba ...

* '' Live at Fat Tuesdays'' (Enja, 1988) * ''

Rhythm-a-Ning This is a list of compositions by jazz musician Thelonious Monk. 0-9 52nd Street Theme A contrafact based loosely on rhythm changes in C, and was copyrighted by Monk under the title "Nameless" in April 1944. The tune was also called "Bip Bop" b ...

'' ( Candid, 1989) with

John Hicks Sir John Richards Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economic ...

* '' The Only One'' (

Reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

, 1990) * '' Live at Maybeck Recital Hall Volume Ten'' (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the j ...

, 1990) * '' Invitation'' (Criss Cross Jazz, 1990) * '' Lemuria-Seascape'' (Candid, 1991) * ''

Quickstep The quickstep is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal a ...

'' (Enja, 1991) * '' The Moment'' (Reservoir, 1991

994 Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish gener ...

* ''

Confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

'' (Candid, 1991) with

Barry Harris Barry Doyle Harris (December 15, 1929 – December 8, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style. Life and career Harris was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December ...

* ''

Sambao ''Sambao'' is a studio album by American jazz pianist Kenny Barron, which was released in 1992 on Verve Records label. The album contains eight original instrumental compositions written by Barron. Track listing Personnel Band *Kenny Barron � ...

'' (

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

, 1992) * '' Other Places'' (Verve, 1993) * '' Wanton Spirit'' (Verve, 1994) with

Roy Haynes Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jazz ...

and

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking ...

* '' Things Unseen'' (Verve, 1995

997 Year 997 (Roman numerals, CMXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first ...

* '' Swamp Sally'' (Verve, 1995) with

Mino Cinelu Mino may refer to: Places in Japan * Mino, Gifu, a city in Gifu Prefecture * Mino, Kagawa, a former town in Kagawa Prefecture * Mino, Tokushima, a town in Tokushima Prefecture * Mino, an alternate spelling of Minoh, a city in Osaka Prefecture * Mi ...

* '' Live at Bradley's'' (

EmArcy EmArcy Records is a jazz record label founded in 1954 by the American Mercury Records. The name is a phonetic spelling of "MRC", the initials for Mercury Record Company. During the 1950s and 1960s, musicians such as Max Roach, Clifford Brown ...

, 1996 001 * '' Live at Bradley's II'' (Universal, 1996 005 * ''

Night and the City ''Night and the City'' is a 1950 film noir directed by Jules Dassin and starring Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney and Googie Withers. It is based on the Night and the City (novel), novel of the same name by Gerald Kersh. Shot on location in Londo ...

'' (Verve, 1996

998 Year 998 ( CMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Otto III retakes Rome and restores power in the papal city. Crescenti ...

with Charlie Haden * ''

Spirit Song ''Spirit Song'' is an album by pianist Kenny Barron recorded in New York in 1999 and released on the Verve label.Fitzgerald, MKenny Barron Discography accessed January 24, 2019 Reception In the review on AllMusic, Michael G. Nastos noted that ...

'' (Verve, 1999) * ''

Freefall In Newtonian physics, free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it. In the context of general relativity, where gravitation is reduced to a space-time curvature, a body in free fall has no force acting on it. ...

'' (Verve, 2000) with

Regina Carter Regina Carter (born August 6, 1966) is an American jazz violinist. She is the cousin of jazz saxophonist James Carter. Early life Carter was born in Detroit and was one of three children in her family. She began piano lessons at the age of t ...

* ''

Canta Brasil ''Canta Brasil'' is an album by pianist Kenny Barron recorded in New York in 2002 and released on the Sunnyside label.Fitzgerald, MKenny Barron Discography accessed January 24, 2019 Reception In the review on AllMusic, Judith Schlesinger no ...

'' ( Sunnyside, 2002) * ''

Images An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

'' (Sunnyside, 2003) * '' Super Standard'' (

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

, 2004) * '' The Traveler'' (Sunnyside, 2007) * '' Minor Blues'' (Venus, 2009) * '' Kenny Barron & the Brazilian Knights'' (Sunnyside, 2012) * '' The Art of Conversation'' (

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

, 2014) with

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

* ''

Book of Intuition ''Book of Intuition'' is a studio album by jazz pianist Kenny Barron with bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake. The album was released on March 4, 2016, via Impulse! Records label. Background The album contains 10 tracks, of whi ...

'' (Impulse!, 2016) * ''

Concentric Circles In geometry, two or more objects are said to be concentric, coaxal, or coaxial when they share the same center or axis. Circles, regular polygons and regular polyhedra, and spheres may be concentric to one another (sharing the same center point ...

'' (Blue Note, 2018) * '' Without Deception'' (Dare2, 2020) with

Sources:

References

External links

Official websiteKenny Barron Discography at ''www.JazzDiscography.com''Kenny Barron at NPR MusicKenny Barron iPhone/iPad application
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barron, Kenny American jazz pianists American male pianists American jazz keyboardists African-American pianists African-American jazz musicians Jazz fusion pianists Mainstream jazz pianists Post-bop pianists Hard bop pianists Musicians from Philadelphia Enja Records artists Muse Records artists Red Records artists Verve Records artists Xanadu Records artists Criss Cross Jazz artists Candid Records artists Chesky Records artists 1943 births Living people Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Empire State College alumni 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania 21st-century American keyboardists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Sphere (American band) members The Jazztet members Reservoir Records artists African-American jazz pianists 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians