Bill Barron Quartet - Live At Cobi's, Vol. 1 (1987-88)

After studying Bill Barron’s discography, I realised I still hadn’t heard the sets he performed ‘Live at Cobi’s’ recorded between 1985 and 1988 and  released on CD nearly two decades later as two volumes by SteepleChase records. Any way the good news is here we have the first one with the second to follow. Bill’s playing on this date is outstanding; his quartet here is a very tight unit; with Fred Simmons on piano, Santi Debriano on bass and Ben Riley on drums. All players step up to the mark in supporting Bill’s excellent musicianship and lyricism. There is plenty of room for all to display their individual talents with the solos beautifully integrated into the tunes. Most of the compositions are written by Bill and few by his brother Kenny, the remainder being a couple of well-known standards. I ripped the disc to wav reassembling all tracks carefully removing where possible any excessive applause. Overall, if you are a Bill Barron fan like me you will want to have this in your collection. Enjoy!

SteepleChase Records, SCCD 31570, 2005

Recorded 24^th October, 1987 - 4^th March, 1988 at Cobi's, New York

Personnel:

Bill Barron - Tenor Saxophone

Fred Simmons - Piano

Santi Debriano - Bass

Ben Riley - Drums

Track Listing:

1. This One's For Monk {Bill Barron} (13:00)

2. Easy Does It {Bill Barron} (12:15)

3. Confirmation {Charlie Parker} (10:54)

4. Row House {Kenny Barron} (9:44)

5. Angel Eyes {Matt Dennis} (5:52)

6. Voyage {Kenny Barron} (8:40)

7. Until Further Notice {Bill Barron} (9:18)

Credits:

Producer, Mastering, Restoration, Photography - Nils Winther