Cheery and relaxing, clarinet player Bill Barner traverses through a myriad of melodic patterns including soul, funk, blues, bebop, fusion, and free style jazz on his new CD, Ten Tunes. Fusing European and American elements, Barner's combos are melodically-bound ribbed in tendrils of improvisation. He endeavors to show that the clarinet is a versatile instrument able to enrich melodic textures and adapt to a wide scope of genres.

~Susan Frances, Yahoo! - Full Review…Click Here

 

This enjoyable and always interesting session highlights the versatility of the clarinet—and also the high level musicianship of Barner and his band mates—but also breaks it free from the narrow niche to which the instrument, unfortunately, is often relegated to in modern music.

~Hrary Attarian, All About Jazz - Full Review…Click Here

 

Ably assisted by longtime cohorts Stan Smith (guitar) and Roger Hines (acoustic bass), as well as Brazilian drummer Danny Aguiar. Barner himself sticks entirely with his original instrument, the clarinet, and is an economical, affective and melody-minded player on this disc, allowing his crack guitarist Smith to soar on his solos, and Hines does as well (who shines on tunes like “Charm Offensive” and “Barbaro”). But what I enjoy most about  Ten Tunes is Barner’s willingness to take his clarinet to music other clarinet players might not dare go. Songs like “Flying Monkeys,” (Youtube below) “Charm Offensive,” “and “Squeaky Rico” are such a seamless assimilation of styles, it’s often hard to spot the influences. The music, all composed by Barner, is fresh and contemporary without anyone but Smith plugging in, a testament to Barner being so in tune with so many styles of music that he doesn’t need to take any shortcuts.

~ S. Victor Aaron, Something Else Reviews

 

Jazz music allows for the exploration of many avenues of creativity. Clarinetist Bill Barner wrote these ten tunes while thinking of music from various continents. Accompanied by Stan Smith (guitar), Roger Hines (bass), and Danny Aguiar (drums), the Virginia-based musician is blessed with a smooth touch that moves effortlessly from one emotional note to the next.

~Joe Ross, Roots Music Report - Full Review…Click Here

 

Ten Tunes is a loose and playful recording. The band hints at a multitude of styles; they touch on rock, country and funk, as well as Middle Eastern and Latin music, all within a jazz context. Despite the group's eclectic influences, Ten Songs works well as a cohesive whole. This can be attributed to two reasons. First, the group assembled here—leader Bill Barner on clarinet, Stan Smith on guitar, Roger Hines on bass and Danny Aguiar on drums—establish in the pocket grooves on each track, so that each song has an easy rhythmic appeal. Secondly, though the context of the songs may change, Bill Barner always writes around simple, singable melodies.

~Eric Prinzing, Jazzreview - Full Review…Click Here

 

On Ten Tunes, clarinetist Bill Barner sets out to showcase the diversity of his instrument, presenting original themes and improvising through a variety of jazz-influenced styles from funk to flamenco. Barner, a resident of the Washington, D.C. area, possesses a sleek, warm sound on the clarinet, shaped by years of study and freelance work throughout the United States. With the aid of an equally diverse cast of sidemen—bassist Roger Hines, guitarist Stan Smith and drummer Danny Aguiar—, Barner explores an enticing, accessible batch of music.

~C.J. Bond, The Jazz Word

 

“Opening Gambit” would be far more than just “another clarinet player”… ‘coz Bill (& his pals Stan Smith on guitar, Roger Hines on bass & Danny Aguiar on drums) know what the KEY ingredient in any jazz CD is – FUN!  You don’t have to know them in person, they will have you rapt in only moments!  Ten all-original tunes that will warm the cockles of any woodwind listener who loves jazz… just listen to the different vibe on the 4:30 “Squeaky Rico” & you’ll catch Bill’s vibe!  If you love high-energy jazz clarinet, then you’ll certainly agree that this is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

~Rotcod Zzaj, Improvijazzation Nation

 

Bill Barner presents the versatility of the clarinet with a wide variety of music on Ten Tunes. It is a collection that traces his experiences with klezmer, funk, bebop, and big band jazz.  Barner selects his band mates well with guitarist Stan Smith, Roger Hines on bass and drummer Danny Aguiar. We preferred the funky taste of soul on "Wide Stance Dance", "A War of Words" and "Squeaky Rico".

~D. Oscar Groomes, O's Place Jazz Magazine

 

TEN TUNES has an unusual clarinet-guitar front line working in light jazz-rock territory with leader Bill Barner playing serpentine clarinet.  The music covers funk, reggae, and Mediterranean and Arabic sounds all propelled by Danny Aguiar's drumming. Barner really excels on the dreamy lines of the ballad “Barbaro” as he intertwines with Stan Smith's melting guitar and “Connecting Dots” is a crisp jazz-rock raga with delay effects that evolves into a musical spinning dervish with Roger Hines' bowed bass prominent.

~Jerome Wilson, Cadence Magazine