Darren BarrettDarren Barrett at All About Jazz
Accessed October 4, 2010. is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

jazz musician who won the 1997 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition,Steve Graybow
"The Billboard spotlight: Jazz: Indie Labels at Work"
''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'', June 10, 2000, Vol. 112, No. 24, pp. 63, 68. ISSN 0006-2510. Accessed October 4, 2010.

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles a ...

''The Trumpet Kings: the players who shaped the sound of jazz trumpet''
(Hal Leonard Corporation, 2001), pp. 40-41. . Accessed October 4, 2010. and is a professor at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

.For examples of Barrett's work at Berklee, se
Ensembles Week: Jazz, Avant-Garde
an
Ensemble Showcase: Middle Eastern, Jazz
at Berklee website. Accessed October 4, 2010.

Life and career

Canadian Grammy Award winning trumpet player Darren Barrett was born to

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

n parents. Darren remembers that, "the first time I heard Miles Davis was on the record ‘Round About Midnight, and when I heard Miles’ sound and approach, I knew that the instrument I wanted to play was the trumpet." Upon graduating high school, Barrett attended

Humber College The Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, commonly known as Humber College, is a public College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has two main campuses: the Humber North c ...

's Jazz program in Toronto, Ontario and eventually spent a year there and won the Boddington's Music Brass Award for excellence in performance. In 1986, Darren Barrett attended

on a full scholarship, receiving a BA in Professional Music in 1990. He went on to receive an MA in Jazz Performance in 1993, and an MS in Music Education from

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

in 1995. It was there that he came under the influence of Dr.

Donald Byrd Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop ...

, who became something of a father figure for the young trumpeter. "My quest for a Doctorate degree was interrupted by a special program that was being developed, called the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, at the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on H ...

." In 1997, Barrett earned a Diploma in Jazz Performance from the

Thelonious Monk Institute The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz is a non-profit music education organization founded in 1986. Before 2019, it was known as the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, but was then renamed after its longtime board chairman, Herbie Hancock. The in ...

, where he was a member of the inaugural class and "studied with

Barry Harris Barry Doyle Harris (December 15, 1929 – December 8, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style. Life and career Harris was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December ...

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Award ...

, and

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–51), Duk ...

, getting the opportunity to perform alongside

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he hel ...

and

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles D ...

". In 1997, Barrett entered and won first place in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, the biggest jazz competition in the world, which highlights a different instrument each year. Barrett went on to release his first album as a bandleader, ''First One Up'', in 1999, followed by ''Deelings'' in 2001, ''The Attack of Wren: Wrenaissance Volume 1'' in 2004, and ''A Very Barrett Christmas'' in 2011. He has most recently released ''Energy In Motion: The Music Of The Bee Gees'' (2014) and ''Live And Direct 2014''."Coming June 17: Trumpeter Darren Barrett Releases Two Albums"
Fully Altered Media. Barrett has performed or recorded with

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...

Jackie McLean John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their deat ...

, Roy Hargrove Big Band,

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally ...

, Will.i.am,

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

Esperanza Spalding Esperanza Emily Spalding (born October 18, 1984) is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Award, and a Soul Train Music Award. A native of Portland, Oregon, Spalding ...

and

Antonio Hart Antonio Hart (born September 30, 1968) is a jazz alto saxophonist. He attended the Baltimore School for the Arts, studied with Andy McGhee at Berklee College of Music, and has a master's degree from Queens College, City University of New York. H ...

, among others. Barrett is currently a Professor in the Ensemble department at his alma mater, Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. "I'm working on my craft, trying to be as professional and proficient as I can be. I'm just trying to reach people with my music, trying to concentrate on myself as a performer, bandleader and composer. I have many different bands but they all give me the musical platform to pursue anything possible. I want to continue exploring music and the trumpet by being open to the gamut of creativity, incorporating electronics into live shows, and realizing that one must have a great product and a great live show. These are my key principles."

Education

* BA in Professional Music from Berklee College of Music, 1990 * MA in Jazz Performance from Queens College, 1993 * MS in Music Education from Queens College, 1995 * Diploma in Jazz Performance from the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, 1997

Teachers

* Donald Byrd * William Vacchiano * William Fielder * Bill Adam * Charles Schlueter * Don Johnson

Awards

* Lennie Johnson Scholarship 1987 * Lennie Johnson Scholarship 1988 * Lennie Johnson Scholarship 1989 * Thelonious Monk International Trumpet Competition 1997 – 1st place

Discography

As leader

* ''First One Up'' (J Curve Records, 1999) * ''Deelings'' (J Curve Records, 2001) * ''The Attack of Wren: Wrenaissance, Volume 1'' (Nagel Heyer Records, 2004) * Darren Barrett ''A Very Barrett Christmas'' (dB Studios, 2011) * Darren Barrett & Energy In Motion ''The Music Of The Bee Gees'' (dB Studios, 2014)Mark F. Turner
"Darren Barrett Energy In Motion: The Music Of The Bee Gees (dB Studios, 2014)"
All About Jazz, August 1, 2014. * Darren Barrett & dB Quintet, ''Live And Direct 2014'' (dB Studios, 2014) * Darren Barrett & Trumpet Vibes, ''Trumpet Vibes'' (dB Studios, 2015) * Darren Barrett & Trumpet Vibes, ''The Music Of Amy Winehouse'' (dB Studios, 2016) * Darren Barrett & dB-ish, ''The Opener'' (dB Studios, 2017) * Darren Barrett & Time For Romance, ''But Beautiful'' (dB Studios, 2018) * Darren Barrett & The EVI Sessions, ''Mr. Steiner'' (dB Studios, 2019)

As sideman

With

*'' The Truth: Heard Live at the Blue Note'' (Half Note, 1999) * Roy Hargrove Big Band: ''Emergence'' (Emarcy, 2009) *

: '' Radio Music Society'' (Heads Up International, 2012) *

Myron Walden Myron Walden (born October 18, 1972) is a jazz saxophonist, flutist, and bass clarinetist. Biography Born in Miami, Florida, Walden moved to The Bronx at the age of 12. His interest in the alto saxophone developed when he witnessed the close att ...

: ''Momentum: Our Sound'' (Demi, 2013)

References

External links

Official website

Berklee College Faculty Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Darren 1967 births Canadian people of Jamaican descent Black Canadian musicians Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States Canadian jazz trumpeters Male trumpeters Canadian jazz bandleaders Musicians from Boston Musicians from Toronto Humber College alumni Queens College, City University of New York alumni Berklee College of Music alumni Living people 21st-century trumpeters 21st-century American male musicians Canadian male jazz musicians