Kenny Barron Trio

A 12-time GRAMMY nominee and 2010 NEA Jazz Master recipient, Barron is a singular artist who is uniquely qualified to honor Monk, having made the eccentric genius’ music a constant part of his repertoire for decades. He helped define and extend the jazz tradition since his work with Dizzy Gillespie in the early ‘60s, and crucial stints with Freddie Hubbard, Yusef Lateef, Stan Getz, James Moody and Ron Carter built his peerless reputation as a sideman. He has recorded nearly 50 albums as a bandleader over his five-decade career, including seven with the Monk alumni band Sphere featuring legendary saxophonist Charlie Rouse and drummer Ben Riley.

With his “splayed joy-spring chords, Thelonious Monk stabs and gospel voicings” (Mercury News), Green developed his lyrical and propulsive playing in the star-making bands of a pair of longtime Monk associates, drummer Art Blakey and bassist Ray Brown. The former Berkeley High wunderkind has regularly made Monk compositions a part of his three-decade bandleading career, infusing the icon’s singular works with irrepressible joy.