Kenny Barron Traveler CD

Personnel: Kenny Barron (piano); Grady Tate, Gretchen Parlato, Ann Hampton Callaway (vocals); Lionel Loueke (guitar); Steve Wilson (soprano saxophone); Kiyoshi Kitagawa (upright bass); Francisco Mela (drums).
Arranger: Kenny Barron.
Kenny Barron is a veteran of contemporary jazz piano, and his style is based primarily in bebop, but he's also highly versatile, able to fit into (and enrich) virtually any musical context. THE TRAVELER is a bit of a departure for Barron, as it features him in an ambitious, nearly all-originals set with guest vocalists and a world-music guitarist to boot. Barron's compositions incorporate overtones from Africa, the Caribbean, and South America as well as the straight-ahead swingers he's typically known for. Vocalists Grady Tate, Gretchen Parlato, and Ann Hampton Calloway contribute their varied styles, and African guitarist Lionel Loueke engages Barron in an unconventional, knotty "Duet." The fluid post-bop saxophone of Steve Wilson (Chick Corea's Origins, the Mingus Big Band) also makes a welcome appearance.
These 2007 sessions by Kenny Barron are a bit unusual, as he works with several different groups, playing mostly originals. His trio with bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Francisco Mela are present on eight of the CD's ten tracks, including one trio feature, the light-hearted "The First Year," penned by Alex Nguyen. The masterful soprano saxophonist Steve Wilson is added on three numbers, including the intricate post-bop vehicle "The Traveler," the driving "Speed Trap," and the lovely impressionistic ballad "Illusion." African guitarist Lionel Loueke is Barron's sole partner for the avant-gardish "Duet," while also adding flavor to Barron's engaging "Calypso." There are several vocal features. "Phantoms" begins with a distinctively African flavor, with Loueke adding an uncredited vocal and simulating an African thumb piano on his guitar; then Thelonious Monk Jazz Vocal Competition winner Gretchen Parlato takes over, adding her haunting vocals. Veteran drummer Grady Tate has occasionally sung during his career and he adds warmth to Barron's ballad "Um Beijo." Ann Hampton Callaway is more of a cabaret singer, though she proves effective in Barron's dreamy ballad "Clouds." The pianist has Eubie Blake's "Memories of You" all to himself, sounding as if he is playing for his own enjoyment at home in a humorous arrangement that would have likely pleased its composer. ~ Ken DrydenDown Beat (p.75) - "Kenny Barron's piano is an oasis of calm in a turbulent world. There are some perfectly chilled moments here..."
JazzTimes (p.80) - "[T]he performances are dreamy, urbane and haunting by turns. Parlato's appearance on the aptly titled 'Phantoms' is particularly enjoyable..."