There aren’t many pianists like Kenny Barron around anymore, so if you’re smart, you’ll appreciate him. Lyrical, melodic and yet with a boppers compass, he seems to be the last of the gentleman swingers. Here he returns from his stint with bassist Dave Holland and reunites with his long time trio of Johnathan Blake/dr and kiyoshi Kitagawa for a mix of new material and a revisitation older tunes.
He shows his dna line with a wonderfully torrid take of “Bud-Like” as he prances on the ivories here and as well as on “Lunacy” while the rhythm team snazzies things up with a Latin flavored “Cooks Bay.” Blakes brushes skate like Sonya Henie on “In The Slow Lane” as well as some tasty tones and interplay on the delicately reverential “Prayer,” both pieces from his soundtrack to the film Another Harvest Moon. Best of all is his solo delivery on “Light Blue” where Barron pulls out all the stops on understatement and style. This is a guy to treasure, and here’s a chest of reasons why.
He’s coming with his trio to Santa Barbara April 19. Might want to check it out. www.lobero.com
Impulse! Records