I’ve become a fan of Kenny Barron in just the past few years, but he’s quickly become one of my favorite jazz pianists. So how excited am I with the reissue of his leader debut, 1973’s Sunset to Dawn? Very! Even better that the reissue is part of the initial offerings from Zev Feldman’s Time Traveler Recordings Muse Master Edition Series.
“Muse Records is really one of the great untapped record labels when it comes to reissues,” says Feldman. “Its catalog captured where the music was going in the 1970s. These Time Traveler reissues will have the best sound, production quality and packaging possible, with new inserts, new liner notes and new photographs.”
The digital files I got for review sound pretty great as it is. Barron’s Sunset to Dawn is both a treasured time capsule and a timeless record of the great American art form. It’s such a treat to get this glimpse into the roots of this pianist, composer and NEA Jazz Master.
The program combines solid acoustic jazz with lots of funky electronic grooves that testify to just how interesting the jazz scene was in the 1970s. It opens on some of the latter, the deliciously funky “Sunset” with Barron’s Fender Rhodes set to max reverb on a long ostinato intro, that eventually opens out into a jaw dropping solo of chorus after chorus, each more intense than the last. It’s one of my favorite jazz tracks of the year, actually. “Sunset” has a Brazilian feel that will be echoed more strongly later in the set, courtesy of bassist Bob Cranshaw, drummer Frederick Waits and conguero Richard Landrum, all of whom provide lots of added percussion that enhances the tropicality. Warren Smith also adds percussion in addition to his vibraphone on some tracks.
More intense yet is the aptly titled “Swamp Demon,” which opens right onto a Rhodes solo by Barron backed by lots of Brazilian percussion including the cuíca — that Brazilian friction drum that sounds like a moaning human voice (remember Paul Simon’s “Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard”?) and an uber funky groove from Waits and Cranshaw. The piece is basically one long piano solo, and the first place on the album for Barron to show off his fleet fingers and world class technique.
He ups the ante several fold on the next track, the lightning blues bop “Al-Kifha,” an utter tour de force on acoustic piano, which was and remains Barron’s first choice of instrument. Shout out to Cranshaw and Waits here, too, for their incendiary drive throughout and some fleet solos as well. Smith’s vibes make a welcome appearance for some colorful tones.
The album closer “Dawn” is a laid back cool jazz excursion on the Rhodes that I always want to hit “repeat” on. But before we get there, there’s a lovely version of one of Barron’s most well traveled compositions, the lush ballad “Delores Street SF,” with its simple melody and occasionally complex harmonics. Landrum’s just-right conga flourishes and other bits of percussion add just the right touch to what’s essentially a standard piano trio ballad, one that Barron has revisited numerous times in varied settings over the years.
Kenny Barron is truly a national treasure, and it’s great to have a collector’s quality vinyl edition of this leader debut in circulation for the first time. As someone who first got truly interested in jazz in the 1970s, these Muse reissues are a gold mine of great jazz and, well, just a wee bit of nostalgia.
(Time Traveler Recordings, 2025 / Muse, 1973)
