Kenny Barron is among the foremost liv­ing interpreters of Thelonious Monk: Video

Kenny Barron – solo piano: Appearing on our stage tonight in a rare evening of solo piano, Kenny Barron is among the foremost liv­ing interpreters of Thelonious Monk.

In 1982, he co–founded the superb Monk tribute band Sphere with bassist Buster Williams and two former Monk sidemen, saxophonist Charlie Rouse and drummer Ben Riley. Flash forward 34years, and Barron’s 2016 album Book Of Intuitionincludes the Monk compositions “Shuffle Boil” and “Light Blue.” A nine–time GRAMMY Award nominee, Kenny Barron was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009 and named an NEA “Jazz Master” in 2010. “One of the most articulate and polished mainstream–to–bop improvisers in the jazz of the past 40 years. Barron doesn’t play old Broadway songs, samba shuffles or swing grooves with re­spectful courtliness or knowing irony but with a devoted warmth, and a delicacy that comes from having lived with their nuances for a very long time.” (The Guardian).