Jeff's new CD, "Open Up" is now available on the Jazzed Media Label
(co-produced with Jack Wilkins).
It features Joe Magnarelli, trpt; Mike Dubaniewicz, alto;
Jeff Barone, electric and nylon string guitar; Ron Oswanski, B-3 organ;
and Rudy Petschauer, drums; Jack Wilkins, guitar.
Jack Wilkins Trio -- Downtown Music at Grace Church
Wed, Jan 21
12.30 till 1.30
33 Church Street
White Plains, N.Y
Short afternoon concert (12.15 till 1pm) at Grace Church
featuring Jack Wilkins(Guitar),Jeff Barone(Guitar) and Chris Berger(Bass).
Third concert for us and we will be exploring the "Great American Songbook"(Part 3)
20th Century Guitar Magazine
October 2008 issue
Jeff Barone—Open Up (Jazzed Media)
In addition to featuring performance and production by jazz guitar ace
Jack Wilkins on a pair of tracks, the 2008 CD from NYC guitarist Jeff
Barone features him in the studio backed up by a number of fine
players. Featuring twelve instrumental tracks, Open Up is uptown jazz
at it's best. The CD matches technique and Barone's smokin' instro jazz
guitar improvisational skills. Growing up in the Upstate, N.Y. Syracuse
area, Barone grew up on a musical diet that featured Oscar Peterson and
Joe Pass. On Open Up, Barone masterfully combines original instrumental
compositions with covers of masters like Herbie Hancock, Denny Zeitlin,
Frank Loesser and Jacque Brel. www.JeffBarone.com
--Robert Silverstein
Vintage Guitar Magazine review by Eric Shoaf
September 2008 issue
Jeff Barone—Open Up (Jazzed Media)
What happens when a classical guitar player goes jazz? If it’s Jeff Barone, the answer is he brings a classical sensibility to the jazz and creates one of the most listenable and accessible CD’s of this decade.
There’s no real secret here. Barone surrounds himself with a cream-of-the-crop list of studio vets who have played with the likes of Maynard Ferguson, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Herb Ellis, and Herbie Hancock. Then, he writes fine original compositons and mixes tasteful covers. Most of all, though, he brings a startling, effortless guitar style.
While much jazz is a little busy, the tracks here offer instrumentation that is complex, yet easy on the ears-melodic rather than fast notes, grooving and tasteful. Some of the best tunes are Barone’s originals that show a maturity that belies his age and experience. Of course, an education at the Manhattan School of Music (and the city’s clubs and bars!) doesn’t hurt. This is a guitarist on the rise!
Videos of Jeff Barone's Trio From YouTube.com
"You Are So Beautiful"
"Falling in Love with Love"
"Blues Excerpt"
"Here's That Rainy Day"
"I Hear Music"
"If You Go Away"
New Review @ Allaboutjazz.com
August 2008
Allaboutjazz.com
Open Up
Jeff Barone | Jazzed Media
By Nicholas F. Mondello
New York first-call guitarist Jeff Barone's Open Up creates a platform that covers a range of song types for the leader/composer and his colleagues--all aces--to work both as a terrific team and highly inventive soloists. There's everything here from Barone's beautiful solo strums to hard-swinging, straight-ahead jazz.
Barone's “Duban's Groove,” written for alto saxophonist Mike Dubaniewicz, kicks off with a nice call-and-response with trumpet master Joe Magnarelli filling in and soloing beautifully. Dubaniewicz, a standout with Maynard Ferguson's Band is an inventive alto voice who blows nicely on this eponymous tune. “New Samba” keeps up the momentum with B-3 organist Ron Oswanski, another Ferguson alum who seems perfect on this date, shining by playing bass lines and comping nicely behind the ensemble and solos. With a tasteful, understated approach, his wonderfully constructed solos show his respect for the power of his instrument.
Barone is generous on this first session for the group, giving everyone room to stretch out. His own first extended solo feature is Jacques Brel's “If You Go Away,” a tune that provides Barone the opportunity to display his awesome technical, harmonic and melodic chops. The title track possesses shades of Chuck Mangione, with Dubaniewicz and Magnarelli blowing energetically in ascending crescendos. Drummer Rudy Petschauer plays with taste, never stepping on toes and keeping things swinging nicely throughout the session.
”Jenna's Song,” a beautiful ballad written years ago, but dedicated here to Barone's now five year-old daughter, brings in Chopin “Nocturne” quotes, by way of guest guitarist/co-producer, Jack Wilkins, before displaying Barone's wonderful compositional sense. The moving piece is touching without being saccharine or sentimental, thanks to Barone's sensitive touch and melodic feel. There are two versions of “Falling in Love with Love,” with the alternate take at the album's end extraneous to the final, more up-tempo take heard earlier on--the most straight -ahead track of the session and it cooks.
The classic “Here's That Rainy Day” shows Barone's impeccable sense of time and phrasing as he sets up the melody and ensuing solos. Magnarelli's glorious tone and lyrical take are sublime, never placing technique ahead of taste. “I Hear Music” swings straight-ahead, with Barone and Dubaniewicz taking off on energetic solo rides and the saxophonist proving that he can go “Birding” with the best of them. “My Funny Valentine” displays Barone's fine technique, harmonic chops--and atomic clock timing. “Toys,” a quirky Herbie Hancock original, lets the group blow over an extended Thelonious Monk-like melody before Magnarelli opens up into a bluesy, swinging solo. “Quiet Now” is just that, with Barone's tone and touch impeccable and Wilkins once again guesting.
Open Up should definitely do just that--open up more creative avenues and opportunities for Barone and these wonderful solo artists. It is solid, swinging stuff.
New Review by Zan Stewart
July 25, 2008
NJ.com
GUITAR FIESTA: "Open Up" Jeff Barone (Jazzed Media)
NYC-based guitarist Jeff Barone will make new fans with this wide-ranging, imaginative release. Most of these modern mainstream tracks feature organist Ron Oswanski and drummer Rudy Petschauer -- including an oh-so-slow "If You Go Away," with Barone on acoustic guitar issuing tender lines and stretches of alluring chordal melody over soft, creamy organ chords and quiet, thack-a-whack drums. "Falling in Love with Love" is faster, with the leader on electric; it has a funky feel at points, as it cooks along. The title track has a hip-hop-ish beat and spirited work from Barone, trumpeter Joe Magnarelli and saxophonist Mike Dubaniewicz, all of whom also lay down solid stuff on the opening blues, "Duban's Groove." Magnarelli is enticing on "New Samba," another deft mix of acoustic guitar and organ, with more A-1 Barone. He and guitarist Jack Wilkins offer two duos, including a beguiling ballad, "Jenna's Song," with Wilkins' distinctive, ringing sound a standout.
-- Zan Stewart
New Review @ JazzReview.com
July 2008
JazzReview.com
Article @ JazzReview.com
May 29, 2008
JazzReview.com
Open Up -- Review
April 29, 2008
eJazzNews.com
No Longer a Well Kept Secret
by Jeff Krow (
Jeff Barone—Open Up (Jazzed Media)