Thursday, February 21, 8pm
Steve Kuhn Trio
with Buster Williams & Joey Baron

PONCHO Concert Hall at Cornish College of the Arts
Kerry Hall, 710 E. Roy Street (Capitol Hill)

Tickets available at www.brownpapertickets.com and 1-800-838-3006.
Tickets are $20 general; $18 Earshot members and seniors; $10 for students w/current ID.

Steve Kuhn (p), Buster Williams (b), Joey Baron (d)

Poignant rhythmic chops blend seamlessly with harmonic cognizance and an esteemed fluidity of solos for Steve Kuhn, a mainstay in the jazz community for more than fifty years. Known in part for his capacity to get a full-bodied tone out of the whole range of the instrument, Kuhn’s ability to complement his lyrical right hand with rich, dexterous left hand lines is unparalleled.

Joey Baron, drums, and Steve Swallow, bass, join Kuhn on his recent Wisteria (ECM, 2012), an album evincing the intricate swing, lyrical grace and conversational group interaction for which Kuhn and his trios have come to be revered. His lastest trio includes Buster Williams on bass.

Buster Williams, one of the industry’s most seasoned and diverse bassists, most recently collaborated with Kuhn on the pianist’s Plays Standards (Venus, 2009), with Al Foster on drums. Providing unique takes on well-known, and a few lesser known, standards, Willams and Kuhn allow themselves to focus on playful interplay, clearly at home in the classic pieces. Williams’ extensive background ranges from the watertight funk and fusion of Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi Sextet to sharp-toothed hard bop, the whole time doubling on electric and upright bass. Williams has also released a dozen albums as leader, consistently recruiting some of the industry’s biggest names, including Kenny Barron, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock.

Joey Baron has appeared on two of Steve Kuhn’s last three albums – Mostly Coltrane (ECM, 2009) and the aforementioned Wisteria. No stranger to the Seattle scene, Baron has been a long-time collaborator with Bill Frisell, appearing on nine Frisell albums. Baron also worked with John Zorn, Wayne Horvitz and Frisell in the group Naked City in the late-eighties and early nineties, in addition to numerous other Zorn projects, including acoustic Masada, with Dave Douglas. Baron has carved out a large niche for himself as one of the most sought after drummers in the business. With a professional relationship dating back twenty years, Baron and Kuhn have had time to develop quite a strong piano-drum rapport.

– Brady Somers

Category:
Seattle Jazz