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.
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KENNY BARRON QUINTET
Expanding his stellar working trio to a quintet with the addition of SFJAZZ Collective trumpeter Mike Rodriguez and Bay Area-raised saxophone great Dayna Stephens, Kenny Barron explores new sonorities and textures in a program of originals and fresh takes on standards documented on his 2018 Blue Note album Concentric Circles.
Best known for his work with the Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra and a first-year member of the Collective, Martinez is a veteran of work with Clark Terry, Joe Lovano, and Chico O’Farrill. Stephens is arguably one of the busiest and most buzzed-about saxophonists in modern jazz, working with Taylor Eigsti, Brad Mehldau, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Gerald Clayton among others, and leading eleven albums.
The Band: Dayna Stephens, Mike Rodriguez, Kiyoshi Kitagawa, Johnathan Blake
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KENNY BARRON
Starting his week as Resident Artistic Director in grand style, Kenny Barron performs with his ironclad working trio with bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake. Kitagawa’s 27-year association with Barron and Blake’s nearly twenty-year tenure have made them the finest working piano trio in jazz, a unit that has developed a singular depth of communication as captured on Barron’s 2016 Impulse! album Book of Intuition — a sterling session nominated for “Best Instrumental Jazz Recording” at the 2016 GRAMMY Awards.
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.
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RENÉ MARIE
In a span of two decades, René Marie has cemented her reputation not only as a singer but also as a composer, arranger, actress and educator. Guided and tempered by powerful life lessons and rooted in jazz traditions laid down by icons of past generations, this two-time Grammy Nominee melds jazz with elements of spirituals, folk, R&B, classical and even country to create a captivating hybrid style. Her body of work is musical, but it’s more than just music. It’s an exploration of the bright and dark corners of the human experience, a musical architecture for the human spirit.
Her body of work is musical, but it’s more than just music. It’s an exploration of the bright and dark corners of the human experience, and an affirmation of the power of the human spirit.” – All About Jazz
7:00pm Performance ~ Sold Out
9:00pm Performance ~ Tickets Available w/$5.00 service charge
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KENNY WILLIAMS
In his acclaimed 25-year musical career, vocalist Kenny Williams has lit up stages nationally and internationally, and spent nearly a decade performing on Broadway in New York City, making his Broadway debut in Disney’s hit musical The Lion King. A tornado of talent and charisma, Williams possesses an impressive vocal range and a light-from-within aura. The Austin native studied voice at the University of Texas, and cut his teeth as an actor and an entertainer in clubs on the city’s famed 6th Street and at ZACH Theatre. Williams was born to entertain, and his star shines brightly. He is a truly gifted vocalist, while his spirit, energy, and passion will bring you back for more.
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