Book of Intuition

Last updated
Book of Intuition
Kenny-Barron-Trio-Book-of-Intuition.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 4, 2016 (2016-03-04)
RecordedJuly 3–4, 2015
Studio Avatar, New York City
Genre Jazz
Length66:00
Label Impulse!
Producer Jean-Philippe Allard, Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron chronology
The Art of Conversation
(2014)
Book of Intuition
(2016)
Concentric Circles
(2018)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Daily Telegraph Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Irish Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Jazzwise Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Observer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [5]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Tom Hull B+ [8]

Book of Intuition is a studio album by jazz pianist Kenny Barron with bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake. [9] The album was released on March 4, 2016, via Impulse! Records label. [10]

Contents

Background

The album contains 10 tracks, of which seven are Barron's original compositions written in a period of time. Two pieces, "In the Slow Lane" and "Prayer", were featured in the soundtrack for 2010 film Another Harvest Moon . [11] [12] Book of Intuition is Barron's first trio album in 20 some years—since Wanton Spirit with Charlie Haden and Roy Haynes. [13] Barron has performed onstage with Kitagawa and Blake for 20 and 10 years, respectively, yet he had never recorded an album with his long-time trio until this album. [14]

The album earned the trio a Grammy Award nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. [15]

Reception

John Fordham of The Guardian noted: "Barron has absorbed an encyclopaedia of jazz methods from a life on the road with legends such as Ella Fitzgerald and Stan Getz, and it pours out in these tracks. Magic Dance, with its glistening chords and Latin-jazz tick, sounds smooth at first but unleashes an impulsive torrent. Ballads such as In the Slow Lane display his impeccably light touch and Thelonious Monk’s Shuffle Boil isn’t Monkishly lateral but swings furiously. The jangling Lunacy is a collective bustle prodded by bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake, while Nightfall is delicate drift through slow chords. There might be too many notes for some on this record, but it’s almost all affectingly musical just the same". [2] Dave Gelly in his review for The Observer wrote, "It has everything – attractive melody, unbuttoned swing, virtuosity and enough rhythmic sleight-of-hand to keep you wide awake. Among the dozen or so most admired pianists in jazz today, Kenny Barron strikes me as the one who wears his mastery most comfortably." [5]

Cormak Larkin of The Irish Times wrote: "Barron’s latest trio, with the impeccable rhythm team of bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Jonathan Blake, is as assured and authoritative as you would expect, here emphasising the Latin side of the trio tradition with a deeply grooving set of originals (and a couple of Monk tunes) that sparkle like cut glass". [3] Fred Kaplan writing for Stereophile commented, "The session ... has a warm, crisp sound with plenty of air and thump, though the drums are a little bit two-dimensional." [13] Mac Randal of JazzTimes wrote, "For some strange reason, the trio that Kenny Barron has been leading for the past decade, featuring bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake, had never cut an album until now. We should all thank the deity of our choice that they finally entered a recording studio, because Book of Intuition is a total delight." [16]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Magic Dance"Barron7:51
2."Bud Like"Barron5:28
3."Cook's Bay"Barron6:00
4."In the Slow Lane"Barron6:34
5."Shuffle Boil" Thelonious Monk 6:55
6."Light Blue"Thelonious Monk4:09
7."Lunacy"Barron5:09
8."Dreams"Barron5:59
9."Prayer"Barron4:43
10."Nightfall" Charlie Haden 7:06
Total length:1:06:00

Personnel

Band

Production

Charts

Chart (2016)Peak
position
French Albums (SNEP) [18] 184

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References

  1. Hewitt, Ivan (30 March 2016). "Kenny Barron: the master of old-fashioned swing is back". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  2. 1 2 Fordham, John (3 March 2016). "Kenny Barron Trio: Book of Intuition review – joyful extravagance of execution". The Guardian . theguardian.com. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  3. 1 2 Larkin, Cormac (March 18, 2016). "Kenny Barron Trio – Book of Intuition: Assured and authoritative". The Irish Times . irishtimes.com. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  4. Pristley, Brian (June 2016). "Review Search". Jazzwise . Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  5. 1 2 Gelly, Dave (6 March 2016). "Kenny Barron Trio: Book of Intuition review – easy, seamless mastery". The Observer . Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  6. Waring, Charles. "Book Of Intuition (*** Impulse!)". Record Collector . recordcollectormag.com. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  7. Pearson, Chris (4 March 2016). "Kenny Barron Trio: Book of Intuition". The Times . Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  8. "Tom Hull: Grade List: Kenny Barron". Tom Hull . Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  9. "Kenny Barron Trio – Book Of Intuition". Discogs . discogs.com. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  10. da Gama, Raul (May 2, 2016). "Kenny Barron Trio: Book of Intuition". Jazz Da Gama. jazzdagama.com. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  11. "The Kenny Barron Trio to Release New Project "Book of Intuition" on March 4th, 2016, Announces Tour Dates 2016". The Urban Music Scene. news.theurbanmusicscene.com. February 10, 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  12. Randall, Mac (May 14, 2016). "Kenny Barron Trio: Book of Intuition". JazzTimes . jazztimes.com. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  13. 1 2 Kaplan, Fred (April 30, 2016). "Kenny Barron Trio, Book of Intuition". Stereophile . stereophile.com. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  14. Weber, Carol Banks (March 9, 2016). "Kenny Barron finally records album with longtime trio on 'Book Of Intuition'". AXS TV . axs.com. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  15. "2017 Grammy Awards: Complete list of nominees". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2016-12-06.
  16. Randal, Mac (25 April 2019). "Kenny Barron Trio: Book of Intuition". JazzTimes . Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  17. "Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  18. "Lescharts.com – Kenny Barron Trio – Book of Intuition". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2020.