Jonathan Barber and Vision Ahead
Friday, May 16, 2025, 2025 7:30pm GET TICKETS
Internationally recorded artist, composer, educator and bandleader Jonathan Barber was voted the #1 Up-and-Coming Drummer of 2018 in Modern Drummer. Barber has already recorded and toured worldwide with such artists as Pat Metheny, Terence Blanchard, Christian McBride, Erykah Badu, Nicholas Payton, Buster Williams, Jimmy Greene, Jeremy Pelt, Wallace Roney, Terrace Martin, Gretchen Parlato, Jennifer Holiday, Steve Davis, J.D. Allen, Walter Smith III, The Brooklyn Philharmonic and many more.
In addition to his first-call status as a sideman, Barber has stepped forth as a composer and leader with his band Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead. Even with Barber’s history of high-profile gigs and recordings taken into consideration, DownBeat magazine gave his album “Legacy Holder” 4.5 stars. Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead is a powerful declaration of intent for a band that’s been making waves on the modern jazz scene.
Barber’s blend of classic, swinging jazz with elements of gospel, rock, soul, and fusion is a compelling showcase of Barber’s broad stylistic range as a drummer, performer and composer. Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead was featured and headline the Rainy Days Jazz Festival held in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia, Hartford Jazz Festival, Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, Pittsburgh Jazz Festival as well jazz venues around the world. Since 2020, Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead have been completed three National tours across the United States.
Jonathan Barber tours extensively in jazz clubs and theaters in cities throughout the US. The band recently completed a tour of several cities in Europe this summer winning praise from the local press there. And he recently has been appointed as Jazz Drum Professor at the University of Connecticut.
Group Website: https://jonathanbarbermusic.com/
Reviews
Vision Ahead is Barber’s product of six years spent cultivating a distinct and immaculately tailored sound with like minded musicians. — Bandcamp
Jonathan Barber’s star has been on the rise since his auspicious 2018 debut, Vision Ahead, and a 2019 tour in Pat Metheny’s trio. The Hartford native’s sophomore release, Legacy Holder, [4.5 stars from Downbeat Magazine] more than fulfills his promise, showcasing powerfully slick drumming within the context of adventurous writing that bears the unmistakable influence of Atlantis-era Wayne Shorter — Downbeat Magazine
One cannot help but enjoy the delicacy of this drummer who, effortlessly, provides a complex rhythm on which the musicians take real pleasure in playing… Indeed, this album [In Motion, the most recent] is a story of balanced musical architecture. Jonathan Barber excels by paying careful attention to the melodic aspect of his compositions, ensuring a wider audience. — Thierry De Clemensat, USA correspondent – Paris-Move
Please contact the MAC Box Office Tuesday – Friday 12-4pm at 40 Railroad Ave. or 203-878-6647 with any questions.
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“The Milford Arts Council is a non-profit 501c3 visual and performing arts organization located in Milford, CT with a mission to provide audiences, students, and artists with opportunities and experiences in the arts that enlighten, enrich, and entertain. The vision of the MAC is to see creativity happening everywhere, making Milford CT a thriving destination community of culture for all.”
Milford Arts Council (the MAC), 40 Railroad Avenue South, Milford, CT 06460, 203 878 6647
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Information: https://milfordarts.org/event/jonathan-barber-quartet-vision-ahead/
