Carnegie Hall

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

The Philadelphia native started playing professionally as a teenager with Mel Melvin’s orchestra and Philly Joe Jones. He moved to New York City at 19 and freelanced with Roy Haynes, Lee Morgan, and James Moody. Upon Moody’s recommendation, Dizzy Gillespie hired Barron in 1962 without even hearing him play a note. It was in Gillespie’s band that Barron developed an appreciation for Latin and Caribbean rhythms. After five years with Gillespie, Barron played with Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Milt Jackson, and Buddy Rich. In the early 1970s, Barron began working with Yusef Lateef, whom Barron credits as a key influence on his art for improvisation. Encouraged by Lateef to pursue a college education, Barron balanced touring with studies, earning his degree from SUNY Empire State College. By 1973, Barron joined the faculty at Rutgers University as a professor of music. He held this tenure until 2000, mentoring many of today’s young talents, including David Sanchez, Terence Blanchard, and Regina Belle. In 1974, Barron recorded Sunset to Dawn for the Muse label—the first of more than 40 recordings as a leader. His duo album with Stan Getz in the late 1980s, People Time, led to the first of 11 Grammy nominations. His 2016 album, Book of Invention, was Barron’s first trio outing in 20 years and marked his first recording with bandmates Kiyoshi Kitagawa and Johnathan Blake.

Barron consistently wins jazz critics’ and readers’ polls, including DownBeat, JazzTimes, and Jazziz magazines. Spanish ceramist Lladró honored Barron with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. Barron has also received honorary doctorates from SUNY Empire State College and the Berklee College of Music. In 2009, he received the Living Legacy Award from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation and was inducted into the American Jazz Hall of Fame. Barron is a seven-time recipient of the Jazz Journalists Association’s Best Pianist distinction.

Borrowed from the title of one of his most popular songs, “Voyage,” Barron opens his vault of rarely performed music that spans 60 years of composing to create a retrospective evening of his prolific artistry. Alongside Kitagawa and Blake, this classic trio explores the magic within some of Barron’s finest unheard melodies as well as more recent nods to some of his favorite inspirations.

Soon after moving to New York City from Osaka, Japan, Kiyoshi Kitagawa joined The Harper Brothers, recording Remembrance: Live at the Village Vanguard. Kitagawa has toured and recorded Triology with the alto great Kenny Garrett and drummer Brian Blade, and has gone on to work with many of the leading names in jazz, including Tommy Flanagan, Jimmy Heath, Andy Bey, and Maria Schneider. In 1996, he formed The Trio with pianist Makoto Ozone and drummer Clarence Penn, releasing four albums together. As a leader, Kitagawa has released five albums in Japan on the Atelier Sawano label, including Ancestry and Prayer, followed by the DVD release of Live at Tsutenkaku and Live in Japan with Kenny Barron and Blade. Kitagawa’s latest release, I’m Still Here, features Danny Grissett and Blade. As a sideman, Kitagawa has recorded with Pete Minger, Jimmy Heath, Terell Stafford, Jon Faddis, and Dayna Stephens, and many others.

Grammy-nominated drummer and composer Johnathan Blake was introduced to the world of jazz music by his father, world-renown jazz violinist John Blake Jr. Although trained on the violin since he was three, Blake revolted and started playing drums at 10, and began performing in the Philadelphia area during his teen years. While at William Paterson University, he started working professionally with the Oliver Lake Big Band, Roy Hargrove, and David Sánchez. He turned down an offer to join McCoy Tyner’s band in order to complete his bachelor’s degree before earning his master’s from Rutgers University in 2007. Blake was awarded an ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award in 2006.

DownBeat once wrote, “It’s a testament to Blake’s abilities that he makes his presence felt in any context. Heralded by NPR Music as “the ultimate modernist,” he has collaborated with Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, Tom Harrell, Hans Glawischnig, Avishai Cohen, Donny McCaslin, Linda May Han Oh, Jaleel Shaw, Chris Potter, Maria Schneider, and Kris Davis. He  has been a member of the Kenny Barron Trio for 15 years.

Blake’s latest recording, Passage, is a stirring follow-up to his acclaimed 2021 Blue Note Records debut, Homeward Bound, for which the drummer and composer reconvened his dynamic band Pentad with alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, vibraphonist Joel Ross, pianist David Virelles, and bassist Dezron Douglas. Dedicated to Blake’s father and musical mentor, Passage captures the arc of personal and collective evolution: the passing from one moment to the next, from one phase into another.