On Thursday, December 3, at 8:30 p.m., three visionary pianists—Kenny Barron, Hiromi, and Roger Kellaway—pay tribute to the legacy of Oscar Peterson, one of the most influential jazz pianists of the last 50 years. For this program, entitled Oscar Peterson Remembered, Barron, Hiromi, and Kellaway bring their individual voices to their performances while demonstrating the inspiration that Peterson has had on their music. This performance is part of Carnegie Hall’s 2009–2010 Just Jazz: The Joyce Wein Series, a three-part series presented by Carnegie Hall in partnership with legendary jazz impresario George Wein in memory of his late wife, Joyce Wein.
Just Jazz: The Joyce Wein Series concludes on Thursday, April 29, at 8:30 p.m., when celebrated jazz trumpeter, composer, conductor, and educator, Jon Faddis returns to Carnegie Hall for a program entitled The Majesty of the Jazz Trumpet—the final performance of the Just Jazz series. In this performance, Faddis explores the styles and musical influences of Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, and Dizzy Gillespie, among others.
About the Artists
Kenny Barron’s unmatched ability to mesmerize audiences with his elegant playing, sensitive melodies and infectious rhythms is what inspired the Los Angles Times to name him "one of the top jazz pianists in the world” and Jazz Weekly to call him the “most lyrical piano player of our time.” Barron was born in 1943 in Philadelphia, and while a teenager, started playing professionally with Mel Melvin’s orchestra. By 1959, while still in high school, he had already worked with celebrated jazz drummer Philly Joe Jones. At age 19, he moved to New York City and freelanced with Roy Haynes, Lee Morgan, and James Moody after the tenor saxophonist heard him play at the Five Spot.
In 1962, Barron began working with Dizzy Gillespie (on the recommendation of James Moody), and developed an appreciation for Latin and Caribbean rhythms. After five years with Dizzy, Barron played with Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Milt Jackson, and Buddy Rich. The early seventies found Kenny working with Yusef Lateef, who Barron credits as a key influence in his art for improvisation. Encouraged by Lateef to pursue a college education, Barron balanced touring with studies and earned his B.A. in Music from Empire State College. By 1973 he had joined the faculty at Rutgers University as professor of music. He held this tenure until 2000, mentoring many of today’s young talents including David Sanchez, Terence Blanchard, and Regina Bell. In 1974 Barron recorded his first album as a leader for the Muse label, entitled Sunset to Dawn. This was to be the first of over 40 recordings (and still counting) as a leader.
Following stints with numerous jazz greats including Ron Carter, Buster Williams, Ben Riley, Eddie "Lockjaw” Davis, Eddie Harris, Sonny Stitt and Harry “Sweets” Edison among others, Barron co-founded the quartet Sphere, along with Buster Williams, Ben Riley, and Charlie Rouse to focus on the music of Thelonious Monk and original compositions inspired by him. Barron’s own recordings for Verve have earned him nine Grammy nominations beginning in 1992. In Spring 2008, he released The Traveler (Universal France), his first studio recording in four years. In 2005 he was inducted into the American Jazz Hall of Fame, and won a MAC Lifetime Achievement Award. Barron is a six-time recipient of Best Pianist by the Jazz Journalists Association and was a finalist in the prestigious 2001 Jazz Par International Jazz Award. Whether he is playing solo, in a trio, or in a quintet, Barron is recognized the world over as a master of performance and composition.
Hiromi (Uehara) first mesmerized the jazz community with her 2003 Telarc debut, Another Mind, which created a buzz that spread all the way back to her native Japan where the album was certified gold and received the Recording Industry Association of Japan's (RIAJ) Jazz Album of the Year Award. Her critically acclaimed second release, Brain, caught the attention of an even wider audience and earned her countless accolades including the Horizon Award at the 2004 Surround Music Awards. Her winning streak has continued with the 2007 release of Time Control and the 2008 release, Beyond Standard—both featuring her super group, Sonic Bloom.
Born in Shizuoka, Japan, in 1979, Hiromi took her first piano lessons at age six and began learning to tap into the intuitive as well as the technical aspects of music. She enrolled in the Yamaha School of Music less then a year after her first piano lessons, and by age 12 was performing in public, sometimes with very high-profile orchestras, including a performance with the Czech Philharmonic at the age of 14. As a teenager, her musical tastes expanded to include jazz as well as classical music, and a chance meeting with Chick Corea at the age of 17 led to a performance with the well-known jazz pianist the very next day. Hiromi came to the United States in 1999 to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston with mentor and professor, veteran jazz bassist Richard Evans. Evans later produced her debut album for Telarc with longtime friend and collaborator, jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal.
In addition to Oscar Peterson, Hiromi‘s musical influences include artists as diverse as Franz Liszt, Ahmad Jamal, Sly and the Family Stone, and King Crimson. As a matter of principle, she refrains from putting a label on her music which includes elements of classical, rock, and jazz. She says. "Other people can put a name on what I do. It's just the union of what I've been listening to and what I've been learning…but I don't want to give it a name."
Roger Kellaway, often described as "a musical chameleon," has a discography that includes over 250 albums and a resume that includes performances with everyone from Elvis, Duke Ellington, and Dizzy Gillespie to Yo-Yo Ma, Joni Mitchell, and Michael Tilson Thomas. In addition to performing, Kellaway is a composer of protean ability, writing in the jazz, classical, and popular music fields, and scoring for films and television. His acclaimed Cello Quartet albums for A&M are described by some as crossover or chamber jazz, and by others as the beginning of New Age music. His commissions include a ballet for George Balanchine and the New York City Ballet and orchestral pieces for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, and New American Orchestra, as well as a variety of works for performances at Carnegie Hall, most recently with the world premiere of his concerto, Songs of Ascent, commissioned by New York Philharmonic conductor Zubin Mehta.
Kellaway was born in Waban, Massachusetts. After spending two years studying at conservatory, he left to go on the road, playing bass. He soon settled in New York City and began freelancing on piano, and by the age of 22 was one of the busiest, most highly respected pianists in New York, playing record dates, jazz clubs, and working with singers such as Lena Horne. In the mid '60's, Kellaway moved to Los Angeles to continue doing studio work, which included playing on and writing film scores. As musical director for Bobby Darin, he arranged and conducted Darin's album of songs from the film Dr. Doolittle. His most prized television credit is, “Remembering You,” the closing theme for All in the Family.
In 1999, Kellaway was commissioned to compose the music for London’s West End production of Lenny starring Eddie Izzard. The following year he was commissioned by West German Radio to write a two-hour show celebrating the 100th birthday of composer Kurt Weill. Later that year he began working as Musical Director with Kevin Spacey on the pre-production for his film, Beyond The Sea, about the life of Bobby Darin, and later served as Musical Director, conductor, and pianist for the 13-city Beyond The Sea tour. In 2005 Kellaway conducted the world premiere of Sir Paul McCartney’s Nova in Buenos Aires with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, and in 2008, he was awarded the prestigious Prix du Jazz Classique for The Roger Kellaway Trio "Heroes." Kellaway continues performing in concerts across the U.S. and Europe, recording numerous new CD’s, also writing for film, theatrical productions, and commissioned works.
Program Information
Thursday, December 03, 2009 at 8:30 p.m.
Zankel Hall
HIROMI
KENNY BARRON
ROGER KELLAWAY
OSCAR PETERSON REMEMBERED
Presented by Carnegie Hall in partnership with George Wein.
This concert and Just Jazz: The Joyce Wein Series are sponsored by the Joyce and George Wein Foundation in memory of Joyce Wein.
Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.
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