Nashville is losing, at least for now, another talented musician. Trombonist Roland Barber, one half of the remarkable Barber brothers duo, will be heading to North Carolina shortly to pursue getting his doctorate. But before he departs, he’ll be headlining one last concert at the Nashville Jazz Workshop. That event will be this Sunday, July 27, when a specially assembled quintet under Barber’s leadership will be performing.
Roland Barber has amassed an impressive resume both locally and nationally dating back decades. As a musician he’s played with a host of greats in jazz and popular music. That list includes the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center, Kirk Whalum, his brother Rahsaan, and the Saturday Night Live Band as well as The Wooten Brothers, Robin Thicke, and the Temptations. He’s performed in numerous prominent venues, from Carnegie Hall, Birdland, Lincoln Center and Madison Square Garden to world class international festivals. His television appearances include MTV’s “Making the Band,” NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” and “The Today Show,” and the ESPN Awards.
Barber’s credentials as an educator are equally extensive. He holds an M.M. in Jazz Studies from Manhattan School of Music (2005), as well as an Artist Diploma (2003) and B.M. in Jazz Studies (2001), both from Indiana University. He’s been an Adjunct Associate Professor of Trombone and Jazz Studies at the Blair School of Music since 2017. He’s also previously taught at the Manhattan School of Music, the Nashville Symphony, Vanderbilt University, Nashville Notes and the Nashville Jazz Workshop. Barber has given masterclasses around the country at such places as Vanderbilt University, University of North Carolina, University of Michigan, Middle TN State University, Tennessee State University, and others.
Among his past album projects are the Heart Expressed, Art Finessed in 2013, which featured a combination of musicians from the Nashville and New York jazz scenes, including drummer Ulysses Owens (Christian McBride Trio), pianist Gordon Webster, saxophonist Rahsaan Barber (Roland’s twin brother), and Nashville’s Jim Ferguson on upright bass. Sunday’s concert will include both selections from this release and some new music. Besides Barber on trombone and conch shell, others in the group include tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm, who first met Barber when both in New York years ago. This will be Frahm’s first appearance with Barber’s band. The rhythm section features Jack Aylor on bass, Alex Murphy on piano and Christian Burgs on drums.
This show is made possible by funding from South Arts’ Jazz Road Tours program. The Roland Barber Quintet featuring Joel Frahm, Sunday night at the Nashville Jazz Workshop’s Jazz Cave, 1012 Buchanan Street. Tickets are $35. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
