Barry Stephenson

“I asked my Dad for a bass in eighth grade and he said he’d see what he could do. I got my first electric bass on April 10, 2001 for my birthday, but no amp. My dad told me that I would have to show him that it wasn’t going to sit in the closet and collect dust before he bought me an amp. Without an amplifier, I had to learn to play with a sharp ear. I managed to figure it out, received an amp in December, and the rest is history.” Barry Stephenson is an in-demand bassist in the New Orleans music scene as well as the southeastern region of the United States. Originally from Miami, FL, Barry studied at Florida State University with jazz bassist Rodney Jordan as well as the classical bass professor, Melanie Punter, and the legendary Marcus Roberts. While in Tallahassee he served as house bassist in many different venues around the city most notably, B Sharp’s Jazz Café, where Barry took lessons with the clubs owner, bassist Clarence Seay, and served as house bassist during it’s inception as well as a leading his own groups and creating the “Composium” summer series which exclusively featured original compositions from Barry as well as the musicians that he called upon to be apart of Barry Stephenson’s Pocket. In addition to playing with his group Barry Stephenson’s Pocket, he also performed and recorded with the University Symphony Orchestra, wrote and arranged for the dub/reggae project DubHuman, performed and taught master classes around Southern Ireland with blues act Big Daddy and Red Hot Java, performed regularly with the Leon Anderson Quartet, and was the bassist at Prayer Temple Church of God in Christ as well as with the FSU Gospel Choir. After graduation, Barry was invited to participate, on a full scholarship, in the Centrum Jazz Workshop under the artistic direction on John Clayton. Stephenson has had the honor and privilege to swing out with such notable musicians as Albert “Tootie” Heath, Wynton, Branford, Ellis, Delfeayo, and Jason Marsalis, Marcus Roberts, Herlin Riley, Wessell Anderson, Victor Goines, Henry Butler, Shannon Powell, Troy Davis, Trombone Shorty, Aaron Diehl, Maurice Brown, Quamon Fowler, Kermit Ruffins, Ricky Sebastian, Irvin Mayfield, Marcia Ball, and Marlon and Stephanie Jordan. In April 2011, Barry was selected from 125 applicants from around the world as one of twenty young jazz musicians/composers to participate in 2-week residency in Washington D.C. at the Kennedy Center apart of the program Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead. There he studied with living legends such as Curtis Fuller, Nathan Davis, George Cables, Winard Harper, Chip Jackson, and Carmen Lundy and performed on the Millennium Stage located within the Kennedy Center. This experience not only enlightened him about himself and his craft, but also opened the door for many promising career moves down the road. Since moving to New Orleans, Barry has made his presence felt on the local music scene having played in most of the major venues such as Preservation Hall, Snug Harbor, the Mahalia Jackson Theater, House of Blues, the Spotted Cat, and the DBA to name a few. In January of 2011, he joined the Glen David Andrews Band, with whom he closed out both weekends at the 2011 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and did a live radio concert broadcasted worldwide on WWOZ 90.7 and wwoz.org as well as a performance on NPR in Rochester. Playing with Glen David Andrews has allowed Barry to play in venues and festivals across the United States including Rochester’s Party in the Park where he opened up for his bass idol Bootsy Collins, Funk Fest in Naples, FL where they opened for George Clinton and the P-Funk Allstars, the Houston International Festival, the Hoops City Jazz Festival, and many more. Barry also has performed around New Orleans with the Herlin Riley Quintet, Henry Butler Trio, Kermit Ruffins, Shannon Powell Quartet, Delfeayo Marsalis’ Uptown Jazz Orchestra, Jason Marsalis Trio, Ingrid Lucia, Matt Lemmler Trio, the Mario Abney Quartet, with whom he played the 2012 Rochester and Saratoga Jazz Festivals, and many other local bands in the Crescent City while managing to gig with his own groups Barry Stephenson’s Pocket and Troika. In November of 2011, he joined the band of Jeremy Davenport with whom he played at the Davenport Lounge located within the Ritz Carlton, performed in the Jazz Tent at the 2012 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and the French Quartet Festival, and traveled to Brazil to play in São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Campos do Jordão, Ribeirão Preto, and Rio de Janeiro. Stephenson finished his received his masters degree in jazz studies from the University of New Orleans, where he studied with Roland Guerin and was a recipient of the Ellis Marsalis Jazz Scholarship, which covers full tuition, books, and room and board. In the summer of 2011 Barry traveled to Medellin, Manizales, Periera, and El Carmen, Columbia apart of the UNO Jazz Ambassadors. While there he taught master classes and gave concerts with the ensemble while learning about Colombian music and culture. In the fall of 2011 he was awarded the ASCAP Foundation’s Louis Armstrong Foundation Scholarship for composition, and traveled to New York City to accept an award presented to him by Stanley Crouch. Barry is the first UNO student to perform at the ceremony that was held at the Allen Room in the Rose Theatre at Jazz at Lincoln Center. In his last semester at UNO, Barry won the Svenson Composition Competition for his original work “Louisiana and the Temple of Swing” and also performed at the 2012 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival with the school’s flagship ensemble the UNO Jazz Allstars. The week after the festival, Barry was invited by renowned composer, educator, and cellist David Baker to attend the Steans Music Institute Program at Ravinia where he studied with Mr. Baker, Rufus Reid, and once again with Curtis Fuller and Nathan Davis. This is an elite program to which only 15 young jazz artists are invited each year. The participants are hand-selected and have been identified as performers who show the potential for having major careers. After Ravinia, Barry participated in the first annual Catskills Jazz Factory under the artist direction of Aaron Deihl with his former FSU classmates Jamison Ross, Chris Pattishall, Alphonso Horne, and Ricardo Pascal. The programs aim was to develop up-and-coming bands by participating in a clinic with Joe Lovano and forums with Stanley Crouch and other speakers about important issues dealing with the music industry. This program led to the quintet playing the late night series at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, located within Jazz at Lincoln Center, for two weeks and a master class with Wynton Marsalis where he worked directly with the quintet’s rhythm section in the fall on 2012. The group was invited back to perform at Dizzy’s in January 2013. At the end of summer 2012, Barry returned to Brazil with Henry Butler and played the Bourbon Street Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Brasilia. He also was invited back to Colombia by the US Embassy to play at the first Mompox International Jazz Festival in October with the Dejan, Stephenson, and Ross Trio as the guests of honor playing on the same bill as Toto La Momposina. Recently was selected once again to participate in Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead during March 2013 under the musical direction of Jason Moran. The 2013 faculty members include Carmen Lundy, Peven Everett, Marc Cary, Dwayne Burno, Craig Handy, and Nate Smith. When he is not performing, teaching, composing, or practicing, Barry is playing with his funk band Barry Stephenson’s Pocket, his jazz trio Troika, and working on his debut album to be released in 2013.