About

Originally released in 1973 on Muse Records, Sunset to Dawn marked Kenny Barron's stunning debut as a bandleader. Already a well-respected sideman with stints alongside Dizzy Gillespie and Yusef Lateef, Barron steps into the spotlight with an album that's both soulful and forward-looking, blending post-bop virtuosity with spiritual searching. The album unfolds like a journey — lyrical, bold, and emotionally resonant.

"Jazz Detective" Zev Feldman has launched his next endeavor, the archival label Time Traveler Recordings, with the Muse Master Edition Series, a run of masterpiece reissues from the historic Muse Records catalog.  vWith lacquers cut directly from the analog master tapes by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab in Salina, KS, plating and pressing at Optimal in Germany and deluxe Stoughton laminated "Tip on" jackets, the new Muse Master Edition Series is as deluxe as reissues can be.  — (via Label // Michael Fremer, Tracking Angle)
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Pianist and composer Kenny Barron had already enjoyed a career as a session, touring, and arranging musician when he recorded Sunset to Dawn for Candid in 1973, a few months shy of his 30th birthday. He's worked with top-shelf talent since the early '60s, including Yusef Lateef, Dizzy Gillespie, James Moody, Lou Donaldson, Roy Haynes, Lee Morgan, and others. Of the six selections here, he composed five, while Freddie Waits, his drummer on the date, composed one. The other members of the group included electric bassist Bob Cranshaw and percussionists Richard Landrum and Warren Smith. Even here, despite his inexperience as a headliner, Barron leads his quintet into a wildly diverse set of modern jazz that incorporates modal, Afro-Latin grooves, hard bop, funk, and the lyricism that has been a trademark of his playing ever since.

The set opens with "Sunset," one of three tunes on which Barron plays electric piano. The heavily reverbed instrument is given a solo for the first 90 seconds before percussion winds in and Cranshaw delivers a roiling funk bassline against Barron's brilliant solo. "A Flower" is a lyrical piano solo on which we hear the import of his primary influences, Tommy Flanagan and Hank Jones.

"Swamp Demon," driven by Cranshaw's pulsing bassline, joins Latin vamps to post-bop jazz-funk as Waits and the percussionists create a rhythm orgy. Waits' "Al-Kifha" joins high-flying modernist post-bop to frenetic modernist swing as Cranshaw speedily walks the band into the stratosphere atop Barron's blocky chords and upper register arpeggios. The pianist's solo here is nothing short of breathtaking in its facility, harmonic invention, and flawless technique. The striated waltz time in "Delores Street SF" is appended by syncopated percussion and drums while underscored by the bassline. Barron's melodic approach to the verses is threaded through with classical overtones and lush lyricism. 

Closer "Dawn" is another tune on which Barron plays electric piano, pursuing a slippery meld of complex harmony, a lithe yet funky groove, and modal investigation. The beauty in this track and the other two electric piano jams is how natural and easy Barron incorporates it into his sense of rhythm and flow. The I-IV-V blues rubs against the percussionist's Latin groove as Cranshaw and Waits get in behind the pianist and push him toward delivering a stellar solo that leans into a polished vamp. Barron reveals an easy rapport with the instrument as he creates something akin to Chick Corea's impressionism and Herbie Hancock's eternally soulful groove. 

This quintet's approach to these lovely, sometimes complex songs, strongly assists in supporting the bandleader's harmonic investigation and polyrhythmic invention. Sunset to Dawn is among the most enjoyable entries in Barron's vast catalog. — (via AllMusic)

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Label: Time Traveler Recordings / Muse Records
Series: Muse Master Edition Series
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Stereo, 180 Gram
Reissued: 2025 / Original Release: 1973
Genre: Jazz
Style: Post Bop

File under: Audiophile Jazz
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