Kenny Barron

In 2002, Universal France/Sunnyside released Live at Bradley's, an amazing recording by the nine time Grammy nominated pianist and composer/educator Kenny Barron. Backed by longtime friends and collaborators, drummer Ben Riley and bassist Ray Drummond, Barron was recorded at Bradley's, the now-defunct Greenwich Village jazz club that was one of the happening spots in Manhattan for a quarter of a century. This new release -- Barron's fourth for the label -- documents the second set from that magical midnight of Saturday, April 6, 1996.

The Perfect Set presents Barron in the purest state of musical creation. A live recording doesn't rely on producer tricks, multiple takes, or an engineer's aural alchemy. It rests on the telepathic interplay of the musicians, as evidenced by the riveting rapport between Barron and his cohorts.

On the first track, "You Don't Know What Love Is" Barron's opening piano statement flows with the kind of graceful grandeur he's displayed for the past four decades, then Riley and Drummond turn the tune from a ballad to a stately, midtempo number with a bouncy walking bassline. Next up is a Barron original entitled "The Only One" a spirited uptempo offering based on Thelonious Monk's "Hackensack" Another Barron composition, the haunting "Twilight Song" (also recorded with bassist Charlie Haden on the CD Night and the City) is rendered here with a bouncy bossa nova beat. The Monk vibe returns again on "Shuffle Boil" a solo tour-de-force where Barron takes the Harlem stride style rent party rhythms that Monk learned from the legendary James P. Johnson, and updates them for the 21st Century. The set concludes with a supersonic rendition of Monk's classic, "Well, You Needn't"

Born on July 9, 1943 in Philadelphia, Barron was the younger brother of saxophonist Bill Barron, and played in his bands, and in Mel Melvin's R&B band in his hometown, before heading to New York in 1961. After successful turns as a sideman with Roy Haynes, Lou Donaldson and Lee Morgan, Barron landed influential gigs with Dizzy Gillespie (1962-66), Freddie Hubbard (1966-70), and Yusef Lateef (1970-75). In the late eighties, Barron teamed up with the Stan Getz, resulting in the Grammy nominated legendary duo recording, People Time ( Verve). Barron went on to garner 8 additional Grammy nods for his work as a bandleader. In addition to those leaders, Barron worked as a sideman to a wide range of artists, from Ron Carter, James Moody and Milt Jackson, to Buddy Rich and violinist Regina Carter.(Let's stay away from the sideman work and focus on Kenny's legacy as a leader. Also, Regina was sidemusician to Kenny, not the other way around.) As a leader he's recorded over 35 albums, including his debut, Peruvian Blue (1973), Autumn in New York (1984), Wanton Spirit (1994) and Spirit Song (2000). Barron's previous albums on the Universal France/Sunnyside label include Live at Bradley's (2000), his collaboration with Trio de Paz, Canta Brasil (2003) and Images (2004), a quintet recording featuring Stefon Harris. He also enjoys a successful career as an educator. He was a full-time instructor at Rutgers University, and now teaches at Julliard and Manhattan School of Music. In April 2005, Jazz at Lincoln Center hosted a three-week Kenny Barron Festival, during which time he was inducted into the American Jazz Hall of Fame. In addition he has been named Best Pianist multiple times by Downbeat Critics' Poll and Readers' Poll, Jazz Times, Jazz Iz and the Jazz Journalist Association. As those accolades, and as this recording show, Kenny Barron is truly one of the masters of jazz. being jazz's "best-kept secret" are finally over.(let's end with a positive note.)