ENJA LP 5013: Kenny Barron ?– What If?, McBee, Lewis, Roney, Stubblefield - 1986

$

30

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Background -

Kenny Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American jazz pianist, who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as leader and sideman and is considered one of the most influential mainstream jazz pianists since the bebop era.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kenny Barron is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron (1927–1989). One of his first gigs was as pianist with the Dizzy Gillespie quartet. Barron was briefly a member of the Jazztet around 1962, but did not record with them.

He graduated in 1978 with a BA in Arts from Empire State College (Metropolitan Center, New York City). He also co-led the groups Sphere and the Classical Jazz Quartet.

Between 1987 and 1991, Barron recorded several albums with Stan Getz, most notably Bossas & Ballads – The Lost Sessions, Serenity, Anniversary and People Time.

He has been nominated nine times for Grammy Awards and for the American Jazz Hall of Fame. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009.

In May 2010, Barron was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music along with African-born singer/songwriter Angelique Kidjo, Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucia, and songwriting duo Leon Huff and Kenneth Gamble.

For over 25 years, Barron taught piano and keyboard harmony at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He now teaches at the Juilliard School of Music. His piano students have included Earl MacDonald, Harry Pickens, and Aaron Parks.

A thorough examination of Kenny Barron's musical accomplishments over a span of 50 years necessitates a discography of more than 200 pages. That's because in addition to a distinguished career as soloist and leader he has served as one of the most dependable sidemen in all of post-bop mainstream modern jazz. More than 40 albums have appeared under his name, and his presence on literally hundreds of recordings by other musicians paints a panoramic picture of Barron's lifelong devotion to the music.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 9, 1943, he took on the piano at the age of 12, with a little help from Ray Bryant's sister, known today as the mother of guitarist Kevin Eubanks. Three years later, on the recommendation of his own big brother, saxophonist Bill Barron (1927-1989), he joined Mel Melvin's rhythm & blues band. The aspiring pianist gained more experience while working with drummer Philly Joe Jones and saxophonist Jimmy Heath, as well as multi-instrumentalist Yusef Lateef in Detroit. Lateef's album The Centaur and the Phoenix (1960) was Barron's first modern jazz recording project -- not as a performer (Joe Zawinul was the pianist on this date) but as composer and arranger.

His recording debut as an improvising artist took place shortly after he moved to New York in 1961 and cut the first of many albums with his brother, who often aligned himself with two graduates of the Charles Mingus Jazz Workshop, trumpeter Ted Curson and saxophonist Booker Ervin. A session in 1962 found Barron working with trumpeter Dave Burns, onetime member of sax and flute man James Moody's exciting bop orchestra. Moody himself played an important role in Barron's career, first hiring him to perform at the Village Vanguard, then bringing him into Dizzy Gillespie's band. Barron stuck with Diz and Moody until 1966, performing at clubs and festivals on both coasts and touring through France and England.

Barron's first great year of independent recording activity was 1967. In addition to co-leading a band with trumpeter Jimmy Owens, the pianist made records with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and saxophonists Joe Henderson, Stanley Turrentine, Tyrone Washington, Booker Ervin, and Eric Kloss. Barron seldom recorded with anyone just once. His discography is thickly woven with inspiring names that recur with the regularity of intricate and colorful patterns that invite further scrutiny. Examples of artists who made a lot of records with Barron during the '70s are sax and flute men James Moody and Yusef Lateef and bassists Ron Carter and Buster Williams, with people like Earl and Carl Grubbs, Marion Brown, and Marvin "Hannibal" Peterson expanding the range of expression beyond perceived parameters of predictability and accessibility. This healthy combination of freedom and discipline would continue to bear fruit as Barron worked regularly with saxophonists Chico and Von Freeman, John Stubblefield, Nick Brignola, and Stan Getz (with whom he toured extensively during Getz's twilight years). The stylistic range continued to widen as Barron sat in with violinists Michal Urbaniak and John Blake, drummer Elvin Jones, and singing trombonist Ray Anderson.

During the '80s, Kenny Barron composed the score for Spike Lee's film Do the Right Thing, appeared on multi-performer tribute albums honoring composers Nino Rota and Thelonious Monk, and became a founding member (with Charlie Rouse, Buster Williams, and Ben Riley) of the definitive Monk legacy band, known as Sphere. The '90s were an equally fruitful period for Barron, and found him working steadily for Verve, releasing such albums as People Time, Other Places, Wanton Spirit, and Night and the City.

By the turn of the century, Barron had established himself as both a piano virtuoso and journeyman artist who moved solo, duo, and large-ensemble recordings. In 2000, he released the Grammy-nominated Spirit Song, followed quickly by the release of Freefall, featuring violinist Regina Carter, in 2001. Barron then moved to a quintet setting for 2004's Images. Four years later, he collaborated with West African guitarist Lionel Loueke on Traveler. Vocalist Claire Martin was the next beneficiary of Barron's deft accompanist skills on her album Too Much in Love to Care, in 2012.

Barron then delivered several duo albums, pairing with bassist Dave Holland for 2014's The Art of Conversation and vibraphonist Mark Sherman for 2015's Interplay. In 2016, he returned to the trio format with Book of Intuition featuring bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake. - Arwulf Arwulf

What If? is an album by pianist Kenny Barron which was recorded in 1986 and released on the Enja label. In his review on Allmusic, Greg Turner noted "Long considered as one of the finest pianists in jazz, Barron's excellent composing skills are also evident on this worthy addition to his discography".

Kenny Barron, one of those talented pianists who always seems to be underrated, breaks away from playing standards and conventional bebop on this frequently exciting trio date. Matched up with bassist Dave Holland and drummer Daniel Humair, Barron explores five of his originals and Carmen Lundy's "Quiet Times." The fresh material and close interplay between the musicians make this set one of Barron's best trio recordings to date. - Scott Yanow                

This is a satisfying effort from pianist Kenny Barron. His second Enja release documents a quintet consisting of trumpeter Wallace Roney, tenor saxophonist John Stubblefield, bassist Cecil McBee, and drummer Victor Lewis. The entire quintet is showcased on four Barron originals, the haunting melody of "Phantoms," the free bop of the title track, the relaxed swing of "Voyage," and the lovely waltz "Lullabye." Barron performs with McBee and Lewis on McBee's beautiful ballad "Close to You Alone, performs an up-tempo duet with Lewis on Charlie Parker's "Dexterity," and goes solo on Thelonious Monk's "Trinkle Trinkle." Long considered as one of the finest pianists in jazz, Barron's excellent composing skills are also evident on this worthy addition to his discography. - Greg Turner

• LP made by ENJA Records, in CANADA
  

• LP released in 1986
  

• LP is recorded in STEREO

• Record Catalog Number: ENJA 5013

• Record Labels are primarily ORANGE with BLACK lettering
  

This listing is for a rare, out of print LP - an OPENED and in near mint minus overall condition LP PRESSED and ISSUED by ENJA Records of a highly collectible title from their catalog - a superb title featuring -

Kenny Barron / Cecil McBee / Wallace Roney / John Stubblefield / Victor Lewis

LP Title -
What If?
Track Listing -
1. Phantoms - Written-By – Kenny Barron - 7:00         
2. What If? - Written-By – Kenny Barron - 7:23         
3. Close To You Alone - Written-By – Cecil McBee - 5:54         
4. Dexterity - Written-By – Charlie Parker - 3:55         
5. Voyage - Written-By – Kenny Barron - 5:00         
6. Lullaby - Written-By – Kenny Barron - 7:05         
7. Trinkle Tinkle - Written-By – Thelonious Monk - 5:41
Performers / Other Information -
• Bass – Cecil McBee (tracks: 1 to 3, 5, 6)
• Design – Elisabeth Winckelmann
• Drums – Victor Lewis (tracks: 1 to 6)
• Photography By – Lajos Keresztes
• Piano – Kenny Barron
• Producer – Matthias Winckelmann
• Recorded By [digitally] – Rudy Van Gelder
• Tenor Saxophone – John Stubblefield (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 6)
• Trumpet – Wallace Roney (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 6) 
• Rights Society: GEMA
• Label Code: LC 3126
• Matrix / Runout (Runout A Stamped [Etched]): DMM A C - 76 , 44 487 - 01 - 1 [CS-B-III]
• Matrix / Runout (Runout B Stamped [Etched]): DMM A C - 76 , 44 487 - 01 - 2 [CS-B-III]
Digital recorded by Rudy van Gelder on Mitsubishi X-20 on February 17, 1986 at Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, N. J. 
Photography ba Lajos Keresztes, album design by Elisabeth Winckelmann. 
Produced by Matthias Winckelmann.

CONDITION Details:

The LP JACKET is in near mint minus overall condition! The jacket has NO seam splits, NO cutout marks and NO writing on it. The corners and seams are solid with just some light shelf wear. The colors on the jacket are sharp and clean - see our pictures with this listing as they are of the actual item offered.

The LP is in near mint minus overall condition. We found that the vinyl looked superb - there are no serious marks evident. The LP does have a few spider marks. Spider marks may sound on some audio systems, depending on the sensitivity of your audio gear. When play tested, it performed very well for a vintage record, with no skips, with some light noise periodically, mostly during quieter passages of the music. The LP retains much of the original gloss and sheen. It does have a bit of dust and perhaps a finger print or two on the vinyl so it should be cleaned before playing for best results. There are NO serious spindle marks on the record labels - this is a fine collector's grade copy of this LP.
A Short Note About LP GRADING -

• Mint = Only used for sealed items.
• Near Mint = Virtually flawless in every way.
• Near Mint Minus = Item has some minor imperfections, some audible.
• Excellent = Item obviously played and enjoyed with some noise.
• Very Good Plus = Many more imperfections which are noticeable and obtrusive.

For best results, always properly clean your LPs before playing them.

The LP is an audiophile quality pressing (any collector of fine MFSL, half speeds, direct to discs, Japanese/UK pressings etc., can attest to the difference a quality pressing can make to an audio system).

Do not let this rarity slip by!