Barron 2021

SLOWLY: Song for Keith Jarrett was recorded at the end of 2020, a watershed year for pianist Noah Haidu. As critical accolades streamed in for his innovative multi-media release DOCTONE, Haidu was on the verge of realizing another ambitious project: recording a trio album with one of the greatest bass and drum combinations in jazz: Billy Hart and Buster Williams, whose own remarkable collaboration began half a century ago. The project will be released via Sunnyside Records on May 7, 2021, one day before Jarrett’s 75th birthday.

Swiss saxophonist George Robert is one of the top players of his generation, though he seems appreciated far more in Europe and Asia than in the U.S., probably because few of his recordings as a leader have been made for American labels. Known primarily for his brilliant work on alto sax, he opens this live duo date on soprano sax, with the phenomenal pianist Kenny Barron as his sole accompanist. The haunting ballad "Peace" is a superb opener, followed by a dancing "I Didn't Know What Time It Was." Barron launches the furious post-bop interpretation of "Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise," with Robert switching back to alto. The shimmering rendition of Mal Waldron's "Soul Eyes" is absolutely breathtaking…

Bradley's was a legendary New York City jazz club that for 25 years acted as a gathering place for many of the Big Apple's top musicians, a place to hang out. In 1996, the Kenny Barron Trio dug in before the illustrious audience and played at their best. Barron and drummer Ben Riley were members of Sphere, a quartet (with tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse and bassist Buster Williams) that initially paid tribute to Thelonious Monk. On this trio set, "The Only One" is based on Monk's "Hackensack," Barron takes Thelonious' "Shuffle Boil" as an unaccompanied piano solo, and the threesome jams on "Well You Needn't." The other two songs, the standard "You Don't Know What Love Is" and Barron's "Twilight Song," are not connected to the pianist-composer but are excellent examples of the trio's close interplay and ability to think as one…

Kenny Barron, whose duets with tenor great Stan Getz rank among the greatest achievements in that format, has recorded only a handful of duo albums with bassists. One of them, his 1986 encounter with Harvie S, Now Was the Time, came out almost by accident, years after it was recorded. (It was discovered among Harvie S’ belongings and released in 2008.) A mere five years later, in time for Barron’s 70th birthday, Witchcraft arrives as a rewarding sequel.
S’s melodic and temperate bass skates like Sonja Henie while Barron dances like Astaire on graceful tunes like “Deep Night” and “Witchcraft.” They pull an obscure Ellington piece such as “Wig Wise” and make you wonder why you’ve never heard it before as they play with it like a cat with a ball of string…