MJF PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE: WHEN: Friday Night Sept. 18, 2009 / 9:40pm WHERE: Arena / Jimmy Lyons Stage WHEN: Saturday Night Sept. 19, 2009 / 8:00pm WHERE: Dizzy's Den presented by CareFusion MJF HISTORY: Regina Carter 1999, 2001, 2004, 2009 Kenny Barron 1963, 1964, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2009 Russell Malone 1999, 2001, 2005, 2009 Kurt Elling 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009

KENNY BARRON - piano
Kenny Barron’s unmatched ability to mesmerize audiences with his elegant playing, sensitive melodies and infectious rhythms is what inspired The Los Angeles 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.” Kenny was born in Philadelphia in 1943 and while a teenager, started playing professionally with Mel Melvin’s orchestra. This local band also featured Barron’s brother Bill, the late tenor saxophonist.

By 1959, and still in high school, Kenny had worked with drummer Philly Joe Jones. At age 19, Kenny 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. Upon Moody’s recommendation Dizzy Gillespie hired Barron in 1962 without even hearing him play a note. It was in Dizzy’s band where Kenny 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 Kenny 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, Kenny 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 Kenny recorded his first album as a leader for the Muse label, entitled Sunset To Dawn. This was to be the first in over 40 recordings as a leader.

Following stints with Ron Carter in the late seventies, Kenny formed a trio with Buster Williams and Ben Riley which also worked alongside of Eddie Lockjaw” Davis, Eddie Harris, Sonny Stitt and Harry “Sweets” Edison. Throughout the 80s Barron collaborated with the great tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, touring with his quartet and recording several legendary albums including Anniversary, Serenity, and the Grammy nominated People Time. Also during the 80s, he co-founded the quartet “Sphere,” along with Buster Williams, Ben Riley and Thelonious Monk’s longtime saxophonist, Charlie Rouse. This band focused on the music of Monk and original compositions inspired by him. Sphere recorded several outstanding projects for the Polygram label, among them Four For All and Bird Songs. After Rouse’s death in the 1988, the band took a long hiatus. In 1998, the band reunited with alto saxophonist Gary Bartz, making its debut recording for Verve Records.

Kenny Barron’s own recordings for Verve have earned him nine Grammynominations beginning in 1992 with People Time, an outstanding duet with Stan Getz, followed by the Brazilian-influenced Sambao and Freefall in 2002. Other Grammy nominations went to Spirit Song, Night and the City (a duet recording with Charlie Haden) and Wanton Spirit, a trio recording with Roy Haynes and Haden. Canta Brasil linked Barron with Trio de Paz in a fest of original Brazilian jazz, and was named Critics’ Choice Top Ten CDs of 2003 by Jazziz magazine. 2004’s Images was inspired by a suite originally commissioned by The Wharton Center at Michigan State University and features multi-Grammy nominated vibraphonist Stefon Harris. The long awaited trio sequel featuring Ray Drummond and Ben Riley, The Perfect Set, Live At Bradley’s, Part Two was released in 2005.  In 2008, Mr. Barron released his first studio recording in four years with The Traveler, an intoxicating mix of favorite Barron tunes set to lyrics and newly penned compositions.

Barron consistently wins the jazz critics and readers’ polls, including Downbeat, Jazz Times and Jazziz magazines. In 2005 he was inducted into the American Jazz Hall of Fame and won a MAC Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a six-time recipient of Best Pianist by the Jazz Journalists Association and was as a finalist in the prestigious 2001 Jazz Par International Jazz Award. Whether he is playing solo, trio or quintet, Kenny Barron is recognized the world over as a master of performance and composition.

JOHNATHAN BLAKE - drums
Grammy-nominated drummer and composer, Johnathan Blake, has been working steadily in the contemporary jazz scene for the past 10 years, and is the first-call drummer for many notable jazz musicians such as Tom Harrell, David Sanchez, Russell Malone, Kenny Barron, Randy Brecker, and Oliver Lake, to name a few. Born in Philadelphia in 1976, his father (world-renown jazz violinist, John Blake, Jr.) introduced Johnathan to the world of jazz music at an early age. At age 10, Johnathan picked up the drums and began winning Outstanding Achievement in Music awards. Eventually attending William Paterson University in New Jersey and studying with Rufus Reid, John Riley, Steve Wilson, and Horace Arnold, he also was gigging professionally with the Oliver Lake Big Band, Roy Hargrove, and David Sanchez. By 2007, Johnathan received a Master’s degree from the Rutgers University, studying with Ralph Bowen, Conrad Herwig, and Stanley Cowell, primarily focusing on his compositional skills. Johnathan is currently a member of the Tom Harrell Quintet, the Russell Malone Quartet, and he performs regularly with Kenny Barron, Avishai Cohen, and Omer Avital.

REGINA CARTER - violin
Regina Carter’s immersion in music began at the age of two when she took up piano, followed by violin at the age of four. Forever indebted to the Suzuki method of music teaching, the approach freed her from the rigid restraints of solely reading music and opened her to the wonders of improvisation. Though her original focus was classical music, with the hope of being a soloist with a major symphony, the pull of Detroit’s rich soul music legacy and the discovery of jazz broadened her horizons. 

Regina attended Detroit's prestigious Cass Technical High School. Upon graduating, she departed for the New England Conservatory of Music, only to return to Michigan’s Oakland University, seasoning her chops by gigging with several local musicians. She later joined the attention-grabbing all-female quartet Straight Ahead which recorded two albums for Atlantic Records. Carter departed the band in 1994, recording two solo albums for Atlantic while also making the most of her newfound New York connections by working with the likes of the String Trio of New York, Muhal Richard Abrams, and Greg Tate and the Black Rock Coalition.

Carter joined Verve Records in 1998 and has since recorded five critically acclaimed works of astounding maturity and variety: Rhythms of the Heart;  Motor City Moments (produced by John Clayton); Paganini: After a Dream (for which she made history by being the first African American and jazz musician to travel to Genoa, Italy to perform and record with the legendary Guarneri del Gesu violin owned by classical music virtuoso Niccolò Paganini); a duet project with pianist Kenny Barron entitled Freefall; and I'll Be Seeing You: A Sentimental Journey.  Her playing has also graced work that includes filmmaker Ken Burns’ soundtrack for the PBS documentary, Jazz; Wynton Marsalis’ opera Blood on the Fields; Cassandra Wilson’s tribute to Miles Davis, Traveling Miles; and the queen of hip-hop soul Mary J. Blige, and Latin Jazz pianist Eddie Palmieri on his Grammy® award-winning Listen Here.

KURT ELLING - vocals
Kurt Elling is the preeminent young male jazz singer today. A ten-year stretch saw Elling earn seven Grammy nominations for six Blue Note albums, six consecutive years at the top of the DownBeat Critics and Jazz Times Readers' polls, three Jazz Journalists' Association Awards for Best Male Vocalist and the Prix Billie Holiday from the Academie du Jazz in Paris. His quartet has toured the world, performing to critical acclaim in Europe, the Middle East, South America, Asia and Australia, and at jazz festivals and concert halls across the North America.

In addition to working with his own quartet, Kurt Elling has spent recording and/or performing time with an array of artists that includes Terence Blanchard, Dave Brubeck, The Clayton -Hamilton Orchestra, Benny Golson, Jon Hendricks, Fred Hersch, Charlie Hunter, Al Jarreau, David Liebman, Joe Lovano, Christian McBride, Marian McPartland, The Bob Mintzer Big Band, Mark Murphy, John Pizzarelli, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and The Yellowjackets.

With a rich baritone voice that spans four octaves, and with an astonishing technical facility and emotional depth, Elling often sounds more like a virtuoso jazz instrumentalist than a mere singer. His repertoire ranges from his own compositions to modern interpretations of standards, both of which can be the springboard for free form improvisation, scatting, spoken word and poetry. Elling has written scores of his own compositions and set original lyrics to songs and solos of many jazz masters -- the art of vocalese -- and is a contemporary voice who has interpreted solos of Wayne Shorter, Keith Jarrett, Dexter Gordon, Pat Metheny, and others to his own deeply spiritual and compelling lyrics.

In 2004, Elling was invited to perform and record a groundbreaking work by pianist and composer Fred Hersch, based on the cycle from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, performed by a 10-piece chamber jazz ensemble of voices, brass, woodwinds, strings, and rhythm section. In 2006, acting as artist-in-residence at the 49th annual Monterey Jazz Festival, Elling teamed up with composer/bassist Jon Clayton to create Red Man/Black Man.

In addition, Elling has written more broadly-based literary and artistic events, most notably in works commissioned by Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater. In 1998 he undertook a critical, multi-dimensional exploration of the life and work of Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, and was commissioned one year later to create an event fusing jazz and modern dance, this time featuring his wife, professional dancer Jennifer Elling.

In 2007, he signed to Concord Records, recording Nightmoves, a noir-ish musical exploration of life lived between dusk and dawn. With guests Howard Levy, Romero Lumbambo, Christian McBride and Bob Mintzer, the recording featured Elling’s own writing alongside that of Duke Ellington, Betty Carter, and A.C. Jobim.

KIYOSHI KITAGAWA - bass
Bassist and composer Kiyoshi Kitagawa is an integral part of today's jazz scene. Soon after moving to New York City from Japan, he met Winard Harper at Blue Note’s jam session and joined the Harper Brothers. The group’s live recording Remembrance: Live at The Village Vanguard was extremely well received.

Kiyoshi has toured and recorded with the alto great Kenny Garrett with drummer Brian Blade. He has gone on to work with many of the leading names in jazz including Steve Turre, Tommy Flanagan, and Kenny Kirkland just to name a few. In 1996, he formed “The Trio” with a versatile Japanese pianist, Makoto Ozone. They have released four albums together.

His live recording of solo performance at the Big Apple jazz club in Japan was released from Music Information Records. Most recently, Kiyoshi has been touring the world with bands led by three jazz greats: the Jimmy Heath Quartet, the Kenny Barron Trio and Quintet and the Andy Bey Quartet.

RUSSELL MALONE - guitar
Born in Albany, Georgia, guitarist Russell Malone grew up playing a variety of music. Eventually, he made jazz his main focus, but he never lost his appreciation of other styles. Malone, who now lives in New Jersey, was 25 in 1988 when he was hired as a sideman by the seminal organist Jimmy Smith. He went on to back the popular pianist and vocalist, Harry Connick, Jr. from 1990-1994. Malone first recorded as a leader in 1992, when he provided his self-titled debut album for Columbia, Russell Malone, which quickly went to #1 on the radio charts and was followed by Black Butterfly in 1993, and Wholly Cats for Japan’s Venus label in 1995.

Malone joined pianist and vocalist Diana Krall in 1995, contributing to Krall's first three Grammy-nominated albums. In addition to winning for Jazz Vocal Performance, When I Look In Your Eyes (1999) was the first jazz album since 1976 (George Benson’s Breezin') nominated for Album of The Year. Diana Krall's label, Verve Records, came calling next and released three albums by Malone: Sweet Georgia Peach for Impulse! in 1998, and Look Who’s Here for Verve in 1999, and Heartstrings, also for Verve in 2001.

Malone has had the honor of launching the “Strings Series” for the Maxjazz label with his 2004 label debut Playground, which was followed by 2006’s Live At Jazz Standard, Volume One, and 2007’s Live At Jazz Standard, Volume Two.

MJF/52 All-Star Band - MJF History

Pianist Kenny Barron has performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival five times. He appeared with Dizzy Gillespie’s Quintet in 1963 and 1964, with the all-star “Eastwood at Monterey” band in 1999, in duo with violinist Regina Carter in 2001, and with his trio in 2007.

Violinist Regina Carter has performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival three times. In 1999, she participated in the “Eastwood at Monterey” band. In 2001, she appeared in duo with pianist Kenny Barron. In 2004, she was the Artist-In-Residence for MJF/47, performing several times with her quintet and with the Monterey Jazz Festival High School All-Star Big Band.

Vocalist Kurt Elling has performed at Monterey three times. In 2003, he performed with Jon Hendricks, Mark Murphy and Kevin Mahogany as “Four Brothers” and with the Laurence Hobgood Trio. In 2006, Kurt acted as the Artist-In-Residence for MJF/49 and performed with the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, the Yellowjackets, played leading roles in both Dave Brubeck’s Cannery Row Suite and the Clayton-Hamilton Big Band’s Red Man/Black Man,and performed with his own group. In 2008, he presented Dedicated to You, which featured saxophonist Ernie Watts, ETHEL, and the Laurence Hobgood Trio.

Guitarist Russell Malone has performed at Monterey three times. In 1999 he played with the “Eastwood at Monterey” group and with his Quartet; he next appeared onstage with his group in 2001. In 2005, he performed in a duo with pianist Benny Green (who acted as Musical Director for the MJF/50 All-Star Band in 2007-8).