KENNY BARRON: BRAZILIAN EXPLORATIONS

Called “one of the top jazz pianists in the world” by The Los Angeles Times, Kenny Barron is a 2010 NEA Jazz Master and eleven-time GRAMMY nominee who helped define and extend the jazz tradition since his work with Dizzy Gillespie in the early ‘60s catapulted him into the spotlight. Extensive associations with Freddie Hubbard, Yusef Lateef, Stan Getz, James Moody and Ron Carter built his peerless reputation as a sideman, and he has recorded over 50 albums as a bandleader over his five-decade career. A seven-time recipient of Best Pianst by the Jazz Journalists Association, Barron leads an ironclad trio with bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake, and regularly performs as a soloist and settings from duo to big band.

His third night brings the Bay Area premiere of a new sextet project embracing the music of Brazil and beyond. No stranger to Brazilian rhythms, Barron recorded his first album of samba-influenced compositions three decades ago with 1993’s Verve date Sambao.

He is joined for this special night by flutist Anne Drummond and percussionist Valtinho Anastacio from his 2002 Sunnyside release Canta Brasil, along with drummer Rafael Barata, whose scintillating playing propelled the pianist’s 2013 Rio-recorded session Kenny Barron & the Brazilian Knights. Rounding out the band is Barron’s granddaughter, the masterful vibraphonist Nikara Warren, and virtuoso bassist John Patitucci.