Jazz pianist Kenny Barron will be at MSU Feb. 8-14 to teach and work with students through the MSUFCU Jazz Artist in Residence program. While in residence, Barron will instruct, perform and tour with MSU Jazz Octets throughout a seven-day period packed with workshops and campus concerts.
The award-winning artist will also take to the road with MSU Jazz Octets I and II to visit music and jazz programs at public schools and academies in Oxford, East Lansing, Fowlerville, Williamston, Hastings and Detroit.
“Kenny Barron brings a wealth of experience to students everywhere he goes,” said associate professor of jazz piano Xavier Davis. “He has worked with many of our heroes including Joe Henderson, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie and Ella Fitzgerald. Practicing is very important, but there is no replacement for experience and hearing first hand about the good and bad from a jazz legend.”
Honored as a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2010, Barron is known for his elegant playing, sensitive melodies and infectious rhythms. The Los Angeles Times named him “one of the top jazz pianists in the world” and Jazz Weekly calls him “the most lyrical piano player of our time.”
Barron is scheduled to perform two concerts with MSU Jazz Octets led by Davis as well as jazz studies faculty Diego Rivera and Randy Napoleon at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 12 at the Cook Recital Hall in the Music Building. The concerts will also showcase performances of MSU Jazz Octets I, II, III and IV.
“Bringing an artist of Kenny Barron’s caliber here shows that we take jazz extremely seriously,” said Director of Jazz Studies Rodney Whitaker. “We can’t thank the MSU Federal Credit Union enough for their vision and generosity that is building our reputation as a center for jazz studies and performance.”
General admission tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and free for students with ID or those under 18, and are available from the College of Music box office, in person at the Music Building, over the phone at (517) 353-5340, online or at the door one hour before the show.