Jeff Barnhart

Born in Connecticut, USA, Barnhart took up the piano in his earliest years and turned professional at fourteen, directing his income toward formal studies. While some engagements involved serving as house pianist in a neighborhood eatery, he also performed with groups such as the Galvanized Jazz Band; as his name grew, additional associations followed with the Hot Cat Jazz Band, the Titan Hot Five, Hot Jam, the New Reformation Jazz Band and the Draga-Vax Connection. Several of these ensembles took him to festivals across North America. He has maintained a balance between ensemble work and solo appearances ever since.

His current groups include the UK-based Fryer-Barnhart International All Star Jazz Band, which he co-leads with longtime brass-playing colleague Jim Fryer, and the trio We Three alongside clarinettist Bob Draga and drummer Danny Coots. With his wife, flautist Anne Barnhart, he appears as the duo Ivory And Gold, occasionally joined by Coots, and the pair have issued multiple albums on their own Jazz Alive Records imprint. The couple also belong to the quartet JAS’M, completed by Sherrie Colby and Matt Bottel. Barnhart has shared two-piano dates with Neville Dickie, John Hallam, Brian Holland, Tom Hook, Louis Mazetier, John Sheridan and Ralph Sutton, and he has performed as a member of Tony Parenti’s ragtime band.

On numerous live and recorded dates he adds vocals to his piano playing. His overall style draws from ragtime, early jazz, stride and swing-era idioms, while he and his wife additionally present classical repertoire. Beyond concerts, Barnhart leads seminars and workshops.