1991 · Album
But Beautiful
Recorded August 1991 · SteepleChase Records · Produced by Not specified in available documentation
Two Voices Singing Without Words
Both musicians sing on their respective instruments, turning ballads into intimate conversations.
When Kenny Barron and Joe Locke entered the studio in August 1991, they set out to make something deliberately understated — an album of duets built on instrumental ballads, each musician treating their instrument like a human voice. But Beautiful arrived quietly on SteepleChase Records and found its audience among listeners who already knew both men's work. AllMusic reviewer Ken Dryden called it a high-priority acquisition for fans of either artist, and the response was immediate enough among the cognoscenti: this was a meeting of equals, not a guest appearance.
What made it land was Barron's ear for collaboration. Gene Rizzo noted that Barron is at his best in these kinds of encounters, where his post-McCoy Tyner instincts — those sharp harmonic angles and unexpected voicings — could push against Locke's melodic intelligence without overwhelming it. The album never rushes. These are standards and originals played at ballad tempo, sometimes slower, with space between the notes. Locke's vibraphone has that natural singing quality anyway, but here Barron matches it phrase by phrase on piano, neither player soloing in the traditional sense. Instead they're trading melody, reharmonizing each other, completing thoughts.
This isn't a record that tries to impress through virtuosity or density. The strength is in listening — really listening — to how two musicians can make a conversation out of silence. For anyone who thinks jazz ballads need strings or a singer to work, this proves otherwise.
Who's playing
Kenny Barronpiano
Joe Lockevibraphone
