SFJAZZ presents the Kenny Barron Quintet featuring Johnathan Blake, Christian McBride, Mike Rodriguez, & Immanuel Wilkins
Robert M. Miner Auditorium
SFJAZZ Center, 205 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA
Thursday, April 10, 2025

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[4:25 PM] {Pre-show talk by Rebecca Mauleon: It's time to see how the magic gets made! We enter the hall at exactly 4:30 PM and I zip down the stairs to claim a seat dead center in the 8th row}
[4:31 PM] {soundcheck ambience: noodling and off mic discussion from the band members; aud arrival and chit-chat}

1. [4:34 PM] Baile (Kenny Barron)
   [4:35 PM] {KB comments to band; JB asks about tempo; 'Let's try that a little faster'}
   [4:36 PM] Baile (take 2)
   [4:39 PM] {KB: I can't hear the bass; pause to fix things}
   [4:41 PM] Baile (take 3)
   [4:42 PM] {KB introduces the next tune as 'Smart Set in 5/4'}
2. [4:43 PM] the Smart Set (false start) (Ray Brooks)
   [4:43 PM] {false start: CM interrupts to ask about the bass part; hands his lead sheet to KB, who keeps it and says 'just play this' and feeds him a bass line. Once they resume playing CM has an 'oh shit' look – better be ready for those changes!}
   [4:43 PM] the Smart Set (take 2)
   [4:47 PM] {KB ID's the next tune; pause after KB drops something (a pen?) into the piano: pause to retrieve it; MR swaps from trumpet to flugelhorn}
3. [4:49 PM] Elm (false start) (Richie Beirach)
   [4:49 PM] {pause for KB to give instructions to CM: 'yeah - just play whole notes'}
   [4:49 PM] Elm (take 2)
   [4:52 PM] {KB comments about how solos will follow the head}
   [4:52 PM] Elm (take 3: from A to the coda)
   [4:54 PM] {KB comment to the band: follow me on the ritard at the end}
   [4:54 PM] Elm (take 4: conclusion from the coda)
   [4:55 PM] Elm (take 5: conclusion from the coda; by IW request)
   [4:56 PM] {IW/MR discuss coordinating on the concluding ritard; MR swap back to trumpet}
   [4:56 PM] {KB moves on to the next tune}
4. [4:56 PM] Thoughts and Dreams (false start) (Kenny Barron)
   [4:56 PM] {KB stops to check if CM is alright; CM asks about annotation on his sheet}
   [4:56 PM] Thoughts and Dreams (take 2) (Kenny Barron)
   [5:01 PM] {KB wants more monitor; JB suggests that the monitor guy raise it higher like his; pause for that to be done}
   [5:01 PM] Thoughts and Dreams (take 3 - solo piano while waiting on monitor placement adjustment)
   [5:01 PM] {KB: That's better!}
   [5:02 PM] {KB passes out fresh sheet music; CM asks about the name of the tune}
5. [5:03 PM] DPW (Kenny Barron)
   [5:09 PM] {tune ends; band members yacking off mic until KB introduces the next tune}
6. [5:10 PM] Tragic Magic (Kenny Barron)
   [5:14 PM] {KB gives instructions for the next one}
7. [5:14 PM] Well You Needn't (Thelonius Monk)
   [5:17 PM] {KB: 'Let's do one more … Footprints'; JB: 'No Voyage'?; KB: 'This is in 4/4'; CM: 'Huh, OK' (Footprints is normally in 6/8)}
8. [5:17 PM] Footprints (Wayne Shorter)
   [5:20 PM] {KB interrupts things to give CM direction: you just vamp while I solo (for the next two hours or so…)}
   [5:21 PM] {MR & JB calling for Voyage}
9. [5:21 PM] Voyage (Kenny Barron)
   [5:22 PM] {KB aborts: Alright… that's it!}
   [5:22 PM] {RM tells us to give the band a hand}
   
   [5:22 PM] {Begin Q&A Session}
   [5:22 PM] {Q1 (to KB): How long did the quintet rehearse?}
   [5:23 PM] {Q2 (to KB): Is Kiyoshi (KB's regular bass player) OK?}
   [5:24 PM] {Q3 (to KB): Who were your inspirations?}
   [5:26 PM] {Q4 (to all): When did each of you begin playing music?}
   [5:33 PM] {Q5 (to KB): How often do you find yourself playing outside your comfort zone}
   [5:35 PM] {Q6 (to CM): Was your two-feel on Isfahan written out?}
   [5:36 PM] {Q7 (to KB): What is he looking for when hiring a rhythm section?}
   [5:37 PM] {RM lauds Billy Hart, who has been listening from the entrance of the hall}
   [5:38 PM] {Q8 (for IW): Where did you get your boots?}
   [5:38 PM] {IW: These are Rick Owens (a designer brand)}
   [5:38 PM] {RM wraps things up; final applause; break!}

[7:31 PM] {lights down; announcements and introduction by Justin Esposito}
[7:35 PM] {end JE introduction; enter band}

1. [7:38 PM] Footprints (Wayne Shorter)
   [7:56 PM] {KB introduces the next tune}
2. [7:57 PM] Tragic Magic (Kenny Barron)
   [8:08 PM] {KB introduces the next bit as an Ellington-Strayhorn medley; band exits}
3. [8:09 PM] (4-tune medley – titles TBD) (Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn)
   [8:15 PM] {band back; MR swaps to flugelhorn}
4. [8:16 PM] Elm (Richie Beirach)
   [8:28 PM] {MR swaps back to trumpet}
5. [8:29 PM] Thoughts and Dreams (Kenny Barron)
   [8:38 PM] {KB introduces the next tune}
6. [8:39 PM] Well You Needn't (Thelonius Monk)
   [8:52 PM] {KB identifies the final tune of the set}
7. [8:53 PM] Baile (Kenny Barron)
   [9:01 PM] {final applause; Kenny introduces the band once more; all bow}
   [9:04 PM] {KB reveals that his thumb is inflamed}
   [9:05 PM] {show ends – no encore tonight}

• Kenny Barron: piano;
• Johnathan Blake: drums;
• Christian McBride: contrabass;
• Michael Rodríguez: trumpet, flugelhorn;
• Immanuel Wilkins: alto saxophone.

Busy days go by quickly! Today was nuts: up at 2:45 AM in order to drive Ting to OAK for her 5 AM flight to Boston. Back home by 3:45 AM for a few more hours sleep, then up again by 8:15 AM to get dressed and ready to ride my bike down to UC Berkeley to teach martial arts. Although the weather forecast is for another warm sunny day, it's grey and drippy this morning, so I'm layered up in tights, wool socks, long sleeve jersey, fleece lined wind coat and full finger gloves for the ride down the hill. Turns out that the clouds are only hugging the hill tops, and by the time I'm half way down to Berkeley it's nice and sunny.

I make my usual stop at Peet's, sip a bit of dark roast to keep my cup from leaking, then head on across North Berkeley to Cal. Only one student in class today, so they get a private lesson. 11:45 AM and I'm loading up my bike for the ride back home. Warm enough that I don't need tights or jacket… Should have doffed the former while I was inside! …

Soundcheck is great: it's really fun watching and listening and seeing how the group puts things together: as we find out later during the Q&A, while everyone has played together in other combinations, tonight will be the first performance by this particular quintet.

It's a beautiful evening when the session ends, and with about two hours until the evening show, I opt to stroll out Hayes to Souvla to avail myself of their new smoked trout sandwich. I was expecting beige flesh, but tonight's offering is pink enough to pass for salmon: yum! Could have used more tzatzki and fewer capers IMHO, but I'm salt avoidant when given the choice.

An hour later I'm strolling again: out to Laguna, then up to Grove and around to Polk, ending up at Beer Hall. When you got time to kill, it's nice to have a good beer in your hand! Tonight's selection is a hoppy Faction Spring IPA. Except for the fact that my goblet is already half empty, it's just about perfect. Makes me think i should run me think i should run out to Alameda and pick up some cans for the fridge: gotta stick up while the pickings are fresh, right? Note to self: add Faction to my Saturday task list! With a start, I realize that time's a-wasting, and I need to hustle over to SFJAZZ for the evening show: good thing I'm a fast walker!

I make it to my seat (whew!) and two minutes later it's lights down: time for more music. The show covers many of the sound check tunes, but the order is scrambled roughly backwards from this afternoon's practice, and the individual performances are all significantly longer. I dig it! And I'm looking forward to watching it again on tomorrow night's video stream!

Today's photo gallery comes from ol' squinty!

Whoa! This section is incomplete for now, sorry!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2025 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2025 event list! ☸ On to the next event!