Master Pianist Comes to Town

There are times when the world seems filled with jazz pianists, many of whom can charm audiences with their facility.  But technical prowess is not everything. You have to appeal to audience member's need for melody while others love the rhythmic possibilities inherent in a situation where a pianist is joined by a bass player and drummer.

This Thursday at 8 p.m. in Crowell Concert Hall, Kenny Barron (pictured) will perform with his Trio. Philadelphia-born and raised, Barron started playing professionally while still in his teens.  He followed his older brother, Bill, who played saxophone, into Mel Melvin's Orchestra.  Bill (1927-1989) later joined the faculty at Wesleyan and became a Professor of music and Director of Jazz Program.  Meanwhile, Kenny worked with most of the "big names" in jazz, from Roy Haynes to Dizzy Gillespie to Buddy Rich to a long and fruitful relationship with saxophonist Stan Getz.  He, also, became a teacher, spending nearly 3 decades on the faculty of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.  


Over the past 5 decades, Barron has appeared on hundreds of recordings as a sideman.  He recorded as a leader for Muse Records in the 1970s, Verve in the 1990s and, recently, CDs have been released on both SunnySide Records and the Japanese label, Venus Records.  His music is powerful, subtle, rhythmical (and not just swing), melodic and quite enjoyable.  


Joining Mr. Barron will be bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Lee Pearson.  For ticket information, go to www.wesleyan.edu/cfa or call the Box Office at 860-685-3355.