Kenny Barron (Solo)

Saturday, September 23

TIME: 11:00-12:00am (midnight)

VENUE: rockefeller chapel. 5850 south woodlawn ave.

A black and white image of Kenny Barron sitting in a chair resting his chin in his right hand with a marble-looking background, followed by an image of Kenny Barron wearing a black suit and a red tie against a blurry background, followed by an image

A black and white image of Kenny Barron sitting in a chair resting his chin in his right hand with a marble-looking background, followed by an image of Kenny Barron wearing a black suit and a red tie against a blurry background, followed by an image of Kenny Barron sitting in a chair with his chin resting on his knuckles wearing a black suit, scarf, and cabbie hat.

Kenny Barron

Honored by The National Endowment for the Arts as a 2010 Jazz Master, pianist, composer, and arranger Kenny Barron has an unmatched ability to mesmerize audiences with his elegant playing, sensitive melodies, and infectious rhythms. The Los Angeles Times named him "one of the top jazz pianists in the world,” and Jazz Weekly calls him “The most lyrical piano player of our time.”

A Philadelphia native, Barron started playing professionally as a teenager with Mel Melvin’s orchestra and Philly Joe Jones. When he was 19, he moved to New York City and began freelancing with the likes of Roy Haynes, Lee Morgan, and James Moody, before being hired (on Moody’s recommendation) by Dizzy Gillespie. After five years with Gillespie, he spent time playing with Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Milt Jackson, and Buddy Rich, and, later, Yusef Lateef. Encouraged by Lateef to pursue a college education, Barron balanced touring with studying, earning his degree and eventually joining the faculty at Rutgers University as professor of music–a position he held until 2000.

In the meantime, he also recorded his first album as a leader, not yet knowing it would be the first of more than 40 such recordings, nor that these recordings would go on to earn eleven Grammy nominations. Barron has played with Ron Carter, Buster Williams, Ben Riley, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Eddie Harris, Sonny Stitt, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Charlie Rouse, Charlie Haden, Roy Haynes, Trio de Paz, Stefon Harris, Ray Drummond, and countless others, and toured, recorded, and collaborated extensively with the great Stan Getz.

Barron is a seven-time recipient of Best Pianist by the Jazz Journalists Association and a consistent winner of jazz critics and readers polls, including those from Downbeat, Jazz Times, and Jazziz magazines. He has been inducted into the American Jazz Hall of Fame and honored with a MAC Lifetime Achievement Award, a Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation Living Legacy Award, and two honorary doctorates. He is recognized the world over as a master of performance and composition, and is considered one of jazz’s most influential mainstream pianists.

The musician:

Kenny Barron - piano