Nine-time Grammy nominee Kenny Barron to perform Nov. 3 with Whitworth Jazz Ensemble
October 10, 2012
Nine-time Grammy nominee Kenny Barron, hailed by The Los Angeles Times as “one of the top jazz pianists in the world,” will perform in concert with the award-winning Whitworth Jazz Ensemble on Saturday, Nov. 3, at 8 p.m. in Cowles Memorial Auditorium at Whitworth. Admission is $15 for adults; $10 for students/senior citizens over 62. Tickets can be purchased online at www.whitworth.edu/musictickets or www.ticketswest.com. Tickets also can be purchased at the information desk in the Hixson Union Building on campus.
Barron also will host a free jazz clinic open to Whitworth students, Spokane-area students and the general public on Friday, Nov. 2 at 5:15 p.m. in the Music Building's recital hall. All elementary, middle- and high-school students in attendance will receive a free ticket to the Nov. 3 concert. For more information about the clinic, please call (509) 777-3280.
“As a jazz pianist, Kenny Barron’s nine Grammy nominations attest to his incredible creativity and talent, and to his international fame,” says Dan Keberle, professor of music and director of jazz studies and the jazz ensemble at Whitworth. “It will be an unforgettable and moving experience for anyone who hears him play the piano that night.”
Barron, whose career spans more than 50 years, has worked with jazz greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald and Wynton Marsalis. He has taught at The Juilliard School since 2001, and he has also served as a professor of music at Rutgers University for nearly three decades. In 2005, Barron was inducted into the American Jazz Hall of Fame. He also received a MAC Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring excellence in New York City cabaret, comedy and jazz, the same year.
Barron earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Empire State College. He has released or collaborated on more than 40 albums. His Grammy recognition includes two nominations each for his albums Spirit Song, Night in the City, and Wanton Spirit. His most recent album, a trio compilation with George Mraz and Ben Riley called Minor Blues, was released in 2010. For more information on Barron, visit www.kennybarron.com.
The 18-piece Whitworth Jazz Ensemble performs several concerts each year on campus, as well as at jazz festivals, in public schools, at civic events and on annual tours throughout the United States. In January 2010, the ensemble toured New York City and New Orleans; in January 2009, the group traveled for the seventh time to Rome for several performances with leading Italian jazz artists. In January 2006, the ensemble traveled to Sao Paolo and Salvador, Brazil, for concerts at two music festivals. Other performance residencies in previous years have included trips to Hawaii, Havana, Munich, Rome (six times), and Australia, where the ensemble logged nine performances at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival and in the surrounding area.
The ensemble has produced nine CDs; the most recent is Sermon!, released in 2012. For more information on the Whitworth Jazz Ensemble, please visit www.whitworth.edu/jazzensemble.
Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The university, which has an enrollment of nearly 3,000 students, offers 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Contacts:
Joan Lack or Loree Swegle, academic program assistants, music department, Whitworth University (509) 777-3280, or music@whitworth.edu.
Andrea Idso, interim public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or aidso@whitworth.edu.
Barron also to present free jazz clinic Nov. 2 at Whitworth
Barron also will host a free jazz clinic open to Whitworth students, Spokane-area students and the general public on Friday, Nov. 2 at 5:15 p.m. in the Music Building's recital hall. All elementary, middle- and high-school students in attendance will receive a free ticket to the Nov. 3 concert. For more information about the clinic, please call (509) 777-3280.
“As a jazz pianist, Kenny Barron’s nine Grammy nominations attest to his incredible creativity and talent, and to his international fame,” says Dan Keberle, professor of music and director of jazz studies and the jazz ensemble at Whitworth. “It will be an unforgettable and moving experience for anyone who hears him play the piano that night.”
Barron, whose career spans more than 50 years, has worked with jazz greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald and Wynton Marsalis. He has taught at The Juilliard School since 2001, and he has also served as a professor of music at Rutgers University for nearly three decades. In 2005, Barron was inducted into the American Jazz Hall of Fame. He also received a MAC Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring excellence in New York City cabaret, comedy and jazz, the same year.
Barron earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Empire State College. He has released or collaborated on more than 40 albums. His Grammy recognition includes two nominations each for his albums Spirit Song, Night in the City, and Wanton Spirit. His most recent album, a trio compilation with George Mraz and Ben Riley called Minor Blues, was released in 2010. For more information on Barron, visit www.kennybarron.com.
The 18-piece Whitworth Jazz Ensemble performs several concerts each year on campus, as well as at jazz festivals, in public schools, at civic events and on annual tours throughout the United States. In January 2010, the ensemble toured New York City and New Orleans; in January 2009, the group traveled for the seventh time to Rome for several performances with leading Italian jazz artists. In January 2006, the ensemble traveled to Sao Paolo and Salvador, Brazil, for concerts at two music festivals. Other performance residencies in previous years have included trips to Hawaii, Havana, Munich, Rome (six times), and Australia, where the ensemble logged nine performances at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival and in the surrounding area.
The ensemble has produced nine CDs; the most recent is Sermon!, released in 2012. For more information on the Whitworth Jazz Ensemble, please visit www.whitworth.edu/jazzensemble.
Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The university, which has an enrollment of nearly 3,000 students, offers 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Contacts:
Joan Lack or Loree Swegle, academic program assistants, music department, Whitworth University (509) 777-3280, or music@whitworth.edu.
Andrea Idso, interim public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or aidso@whitworth.edu.
