Kenny Barron Quartet
Village Vanguard178 7th Avenue South, New York 10014
Kenny Barron brings a quartet to the Village Vanguard on Christmas Eve. The bill identifies the group as the Kenny Barron Quartet, with no individual personnel announced in the available listing. It is a full evening set in the Vanguard’s triangular basement room, where the stage sits at the point of the room and the audience is asked to keep the focus on the music.
Barron is a New York pianist whom NPR calls “one of the most talented and tasteful keyboard players” in the city and “a living bridge between multiple generations of jazz.” His long career includes work with Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz. He also co-founded Sphere, a group that interpreted the music of Thelonious Monk. Those associations point to a musician deeply connected to both the bebop lineage and the continuing life of the piano trio and small-group tradition, though the announced quartet’s repertoire and personnel have not been specified.
A narrow basement staircase leads to a triangular room with a red curtain and a stage at the point, where musicians play for a small audience of 123. Tables open like spokes from the stage, and the walls hold portraits of jazz legends. The acoustics are excellent, and the only sound before the music begins is the hum of the room. No food is served, only drinks at a bar. Shows start at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., with seating beginning at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. respectively. The atmosphere is focused entirely on the music, with silence requested before the concert begins.