It was unusually cold last night in Seattle. In fact, you could say it was downright frigid. But that all changed as the Kenny Barron Trio took the stage at Jazz Alley.

From the sonorous first chord, a warmth spilled over the stage and into the packed house as Barron and his trio set off on a musical journey. From the bustle of New York to the sun soaked beaches of Tahiti, Barron treated Seattle to a lyrical 90-minute set.

It’s been a while since the NEA Jazz Master, Kenny Barron graced a stage in Seattle.

“I can’t remember the last time I was in Seattle, noted Barron. “I took a walk around today and the Sixth Avenue Inn where I use to stay is no longer there… shops are boarded up. Seattle looks so different now.”

Times may have changed, but Barron’s standing as one of the best jazz pianists of our time has not.  

This time through, Barron took the stand with Kiyoshi Kitagawa on double Bass and fellow Philadelphian Johnathan Blake on drums.

From New York to Tahiti

They kicked off their 8-piece set with an original composition called “New York Attitude.” Barron described it as the encounter you experience when you get off the plane at JFK.  It was up tempo and had a driving force with no wasted notes – book me a ticket now.

A couple of Thelonious Monk compositions also made it onto the playlist. Makes sense, as Barron was one of the founding members of Sphere, a Monk tribute group.

Even if you hadn’t heard “Shuffle Boil” before, you would recognize the unmistakable Monk styling that flows through Barron. Yet this version takes on more of a groove as Johnathan Blake lays down his own sassy beat on drums.

The other Monk piece was Teo, dedicated to his producer Teo Macero.  Throughout the night Barron gave plenty of room for bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa to display his chops. With Teo, Kitagawa’s play was inspired.

Fans of musicals will be happy to hear that Barron has them covered as well with “The Surrey with Fringe on Top” from Rogers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” With Blake’s dynamic presence on drums, this version was far more up tempo then I recall which made me think – if musicals were more like Barron’s take, I may be inclined to see more of them.

Barron and his trio finished their set with “Cook’s Bay,” another of his original compositions. The song is named after the bay on the north coast of the island if Mo’orea, Tahiti. It was there that Barron and his wife celebrated 40 years together. The song is wistful and washes over you with its warm progression.

Now, 20 years later, Barron said that they just celebrated their 60^th anniversary – which elicited a collective “whoa” from the audience. “That’s what I said,” Barron jokingly shot back.

Barron and his trio play one more set tonight at Jazz Alley. Hopefully the stretch between Seattle gigs won’t be as long this time – but you never know. If you want to see one of the jazz greats, you’ll definitely want to catch Barron while he’s still in town.