Farid Abdul-Bari Barron, piano, synthesizer

Pianist Farid Barron was born and raised in Philadelphia. Following his breakout success in the band of acclaimed trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, Barron studied with piano guru Barry Harris, served with the US Air Force Band of the West, and toured with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orquestra. Barron then succeeded Philadelphia icon Sun Ra in the keyboard chair of the Sun Ra Arkestra, with whom he toured internationally. As his resume indicates, Barron's playing easily traverses the jazz tradition from straight-ahead to extra-terrestrial. Tomas Peña writes, "Barron's exceptional sense of timing, phrasing and timbre puts him on the same level as piano players such as Art Tatum".