In recent years, the career of the now 54-year-old pianist Kenny Barron has focused much more on Barron's ability to lead a formation. He has previously appeared in many line-ups, as a sideman to many other leaders such as Dizzy Gillespie, Yusef Lateef and Milt Jackson. He could also be heard on Stan Getz's latest CD People Time. Since Getz's death, he has been working steadily on his own oeuvre,
… the latest CDs of which were all released on the Verve label. Among other things, he made the CD Swamp Sally with percussionist Mino Cinelu. On his new CD Things Unseen he can be heard with his quintet, except for himself consisting of trumpet player Eddie Henderson, saxophonist John Stubblefield, bassist David Williams and drummer Vicor Lewis. The previously mentioned percussionist Mino Cinelu played along as guests, violinist Naoko Terai and guitarist John Scofield. The CD contains 8 songs, all written by Barron. For true jazz lovers, this CD offers a lot of listening pleasure and can captivate until the very end. Recommended! (JW)more
