la Frontera In the News
Round Rock Leader
October 10, 2002
Autumn jazz on the green, Jon Barry style
by Doug Shea, Special to the Leader
In early fall in Central Texas, it’s hard to beat a performance of live jazz in the park for sheer musical entertainment.
One of the best opportunities locally for enjoying live jazz outdoors is coming up on Sunday, Oct. 13, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Central Green Park at La Frontera when contemporary jazz band the Jon Barry Project takes the stage for the final performance, free to the public, of a five-part concert series sponsored by the Round Rock Parks and Recreation Department and La Frontera.
Central Green Park, at the intersection of La Frontera Boulevard and Sundance Parkway, covers two grassy, landscaped acres in the midst of the La Frontera development. Designed to accommodate a wide range of community activities, it is an ideal setting for outdoor music.
Those planning to attend the October 13th concert are invited to bring blankets and lawn chairs for seating. Parking for the concert is easily accessible in the vicinity of the park.
The Jon Barry Project is an excellent, imaginative choice for the October 13th concert. The band’s smooth, instrumental, contemporary jazz style is ideal for the attractive, natural setting of Central Green Park, and the concert comes at a time when the band’s popularity and musical development are on the upswing.
In two-and-a-half years, since its formation, the Jon Barry Project has become one of the top contemporary jazz bands in Central Texas. Started by Round Rock resident Jon Barry, the group has been active on several fronts, performing often at clubs, concerts and festivals, and recording extensively.
The Jon Barry Project has opened shows for smooth jazz legends Boney James and David Benoit. In August, the group performed for an audience of 3,000 people at the Crossroads Jazz Festival in San Antonio. In September the band was booked to play again in San Antonio at the prestigious JazziSAlive Festival.
Closer to home, the group has become the virtual house band at Dan McKlusky’s at the Arboretum in Northwest Austin. Dan McKlusky’s talent booker, Mike Mordecai, says the Jon Barry Project’s “unique brand of sophisticated, melodic jazz has become so popular that audiences hardly want to see any other bands listed on the club’s entertainment calendar.
“The band is so good,” Mordecai continued, “that it makes my job that much harder, trying to find other artists for our club that measure up to the musical standard of the Jon Barry Project.”
Another facet of the band’s development is its growing presence on the internet. The group’s CD, “Friends Like These,” received 130,000 hits from listeners after its release on contemporary music website MP3.com, and four Jon Barry Project songs have reached the top spot on MP3’s jazz chart. As a result, the group is now selling its CD worldwide, in places as far away as New Zealand.
“With all the good things happening for the band right now,” Jon Barry said about the October 13th concert, “being able to play for a hometown audience seems like a reward for all our hard work.”
