“Groundbreaking” (It’s Psychedlic Baby Mag) Trumpeter/Composer Earns Raves, Placements on Tidal, Pandora Official Playlists
Celebrated composer/trumpet player/multi-instrumentalist Darren Barrett is in the midst of a surge of boundless creativity. Barrett – who played on Esperanza Spalding’s GRAMMY Award-winning album Radio Music Society – released two albums simultaneously on Friday via dB Studios: The Get Down 4 Real: Step Step Steppin’, a jazz/funk album inspired by James Brown and the J.B.’s drum backbeats; and dB-ish: The Path To Our Truth, an experimental music project.
“The Clav Is In Order” from The Get Down 4 Real: Step Step Steppin’ (OK to share).
“Walking In Driftwood” from dB-ish: The Path To Our Truth (OK to share).
“The Get Down 4 Real” track was added to Tidal’s official playlist Out There: Best New Jazz. Pandora added “The Get Down 4 Real” to its official playlists entitled Funk Jazz, Jazzy Brunch —and “The Path To Our Truth” to its official playlists Horizons: Tomorrow’s Jazz and Avant Garde Jazz/Free Jazz.
Both album are earning rave reviews:
“You’re not seeing double; Boston-based trumpeter and composer Darren Barrett marks his 25th year as a recording leader with the simultaneous release of two new records. The Get Down 4 Real: Step Step Steppin’ guides a whimsical flow of jazz-funk, while dB-ish: The Path to Our Truth stretches into chewy, experimental instrumentals.”
–Victoria Wasylak, Boston Globe, July 9, 2024
“Groundbreaking and avant-garde project [by] the ever-exciting composer and trumpeter Darren Barrett… dB-ish: The Path To Our Truth, stands out for its experimental nature.”
–Klemen Breznikar, It’s Psychedelic Baby Mag, July 11, 2024
“In the midst of a surge of boundless creativity [he plans] a funk album with jazz accents around James Brown-inspired drum backbeats.”
–American Blues Scene, May 7, 2024
“Ride along with Barrett’s unending waves of inspiration, experimental and improvisational or funky and groovy. It’s quite a trip… The two albums Barrett releases on July 12 show off two different, but connected, sides of this talented musician… His jazz inspirations both funky and experimental are connected by a common thread of rhythm.”
–Abe Beeson, KNKX.org, June 28, 2024
“Serious funkified sounds… a jazz player cutting loose.”
–Glide Mag, July 1, 2024
“Funk-fueled.
–World Music Central, May 10, 2024
“Definitely worth checking out.”
–Twisted Soul Music, June 17, 2024
On the dB-ish project, using two Eventide H9 multi-effect pedals and an Eventide Micropitch Delay wired into his PiezoBarrel pickup and a band equipped with synths and a Mellotron as well as acoustic instruments; Barrett pushes the envelope with a synthesis of grooves, bop, and free jazz, of electronic and acoustic instruments. Stereogum and the New York Times have previously spotlighted the experimental dB-ish project and Jazziz called the project “exhilarating.”
Releasing simultaneously with dB-ish: The Path To Our Truth on July 12, The Get Down 4 Real: Step Step Steppin’ would make the J.B.’s proud. “The Clav Is In Order” conjures Stevie. “Step Step Steppin’” would be at home projecting out across a large jazz festival. “DSYWJ” starts from Bill Withers territory and extrapolates from there. “We Out No Doubt,” finds Barrett informed by hip hop sounds. The album features an incredible support cast: keyboardist Santiago Bosch (Donald Harrison, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Esperanza Spalding); Warren Pettey, who has performed at Newport Jazz Festival, on keys; guitar master Jeffrey Lockhart (Beyoncé, Dido); Clara Moser, who has been featured by Bass Musician Magazine, along with Youngchae Jeong and Paul Reinhold on bass; drummer Julian Miltenberger; and Judy Soberanes on percussion on “Flow Against the Flow.” Last month, Barrett shared the first single and title track from the project.
Picking up where Bitches Brew, Return To Forever, and Weather Report’s self-titled debut left off, dB-ish: The Path To Our Truth, his second album for this project, finds him leading the group to new places and soundscapes with his trumpet, abstraction with liquid playing. On the group’s previous foray into experimental jazz fusion, he employed hip-hop and hard bop as root elements. Here, he uses those forms sparingly, sometimes embracing the soulful slow build of D’Angelo, one of numerous stars with whom he has played.
On dB-ish: The Path To Our Truth, Barrett’s original compositions have an airiness and openness not frequently encountered in this genre. That’s as when the trumpeter hovers over the darkest tonalities such as when his muted playing mixes with Mellotron sounds on “Keep Your Ears Open.” Chick Corea’s dashing, room-warming chords on Fender Rhodes find new life in the playing of keyboardists Santiago Bosch and Warren Pettey on tunes including the expansive title cut. Powered by drummer Julian Miltenberger’s rock steady, wood-on-wood strokes, The Path to Our Truth is richly textured with sonic exploration on “Walking in Driftwood.” There’s also a remarkable series of exchanges on that tune with such an uncanny vocal quality, you feel like you’re eavesdropping on a fascinating conversation. Barrett saves his most lyrical, Miles-inspired playing and “Silent Way”-style musings for the final track, “As We Seek For the Sun Together.” Bass virtuoso Youngchae Jeong’s interplay with the band on “Follow Me In the Search Of,” which shifts from free floating to groove-based, is especially stunning. It’s music that, concerns about the world notwithstanding, makes the future look and feel bright.
Barrett has built a substantial following on social media, totaling over 75,000 followers across platforms. His Instagram account, @darrendbee, has 57.7k followers. His YouTube account is a deep dive into the musical territory of dB-ish and beyond, entitled All Things Brass and Technology.
The 2024 albums mark his twenty-fifth anniversary as a recording leader. Forthcoming albums are planned under different project names: Straight Down the Middle (modern jazz), Time For Romance (ballads), Trumpet Vibes (reggae/jazz mix), the EVI Sessions (the electronic valve instrument), with other projects, including future dB-ish albums themed to micro-tonality, reggae-dub, ‘90s hip-hop, and Afrobeat. Last year, he released the straight-ahead jazz album Live And Direct: Blue Harbor in August and the electronic, experimental All Things Brass and Technology in December.
Barrett has had an incredible career. He’s studied with Donald Byrd and performed or recorded with Wayne Shorter, Kenny Garrett, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Elvin Jones, Jackie McLean, Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove Big Band, Common, will.i.am, Tabou Combo, D’Angelo, Queen Latifah, The Baylor Project, and Antonio Hart. His first album as a leader, First One Up, which All Music called “vibrant,” came twenty-five years ago. He is a professor at Berklee College of Music.
