Kenny Barron - Green Chimneys (Criss Cross, 1983)

This post is by Dan

Kenny Barron (p); Buster Williams (b); Ben Riley (d)

Recorded July 9, 1983

Kenny Barron's recording career now spans almost 50 years. During that time, he has led approximately 100 albums and appeared on over 100 others. One could argue that he is the dominant figure on the keyboards for the last half century, but the point of a favorites blog is not to proclaim who is best. There are simply too many excellent jazz artists, many of them pianists, to waste time trying to declare a winner. Contrived rivalries do not advance the state of jazz art. We'd rather write about our 300+ favorites as part of an appreciation fest rather than a competition.

Green Chimneys is an album not solely devoted to Thelonious Monk's tunes, although Monk is covered on two numbers, the title track and "Straight No Chaser." Barron would later concentrate on Monk with his group Sphere. The other tunes on Green Chimneys are all standards. I've always liked Barron's approach to standards. He's one of a handful of favorite pianists who always make sense with even the most familiar material. Another "no wrong notes" guy, in my opinion. The communication among the trio is palpable, each listening to the others and complementing what they hear. 

Barron's prowess at the keyboard is revealed throughout, but special mention needs to be made of "There Is No Greater Love." At 11:42, it's clearly the longest number on the album, which might lead you to expect some filler or overlong solos by each member of the trio. That's not the case. Instead, we hear Barron reel off chorus after chorus of sparkling ideas, never repeating himself or losing forward momentum. Yes, there is an excellent solo from Williams, but Barron owns this song from beginning to end. It's quite remarkable!

This is another early Criss Cross release recorded in the Netherlands and released on vinyl just as digital music was gaining traction. A CD version released in 1988 contains three bonus tracks, including Barron's "Morning Blues" and a second take of "Time Was." See the tray card image. For me, bonus tracks are usually a distraction, but I realize that many people see them as value added.

The CD is marked ADD, meaning that the original analogue was digitally mixed before transfer to disc. I don't hear any audible reason to remaster the tapes that the vinyl was pressed from. Recording engineer Max Bolleman appears to have gotten everything right the first time, especially Williams' highly individual bass sound.

While my personal choice is the original analogue vinyl, Green Chimneys in either analogue or digital format is clearly a favorite album of the decade.