Barry D.           
born to play

Barry D. is at the forefront of a new generation of instrumental performers. With one of the most distinctive musical styles in the industry, he pushes the boundaries of conventional jazz, expands the repertoire of gospel jazz and creates shimmering, modern jazz standards.

Throughout his career, pianist/producer/singer/songwriter, Barry D. has been celebrated for a surprisingly wide variety of impressive accomplishments, beginning with his stunning piano work as an eight year-old child prodigy.

“I was sitting in church one morning,” Barry recalls, “and I heard a voice say, ‘I want you to go play the piano.’ We were a very small church and didn’t have the resources to hire a regular musician, so there were many times that we did not have music for our worship services. God put it on my heart to go play the piano for the service and gave me the ability to play songs that I had never played before. It was an overwhelming experience; one that I knew was from God. From that point, I worked to enhance the gift God had given me.”

A genuine child prodigy, Barry D. progressed quickly from lessons, to practice, to rehearsal, to production. Before long, the small fingers of this young boy found their groove, producing a sound so unique that people began to listen and wonder, “Where did that music come from?” Before his fourteenth birthday, he had already written, financed and produced his first demo album.

Discipline and inspiration combined to blow open the doors for Barry D. to attend Florida’s prestigious New World School for the Arts, and his discipline propelled him to the top of his class. After making a name for himself in Miami, Barry D. moved half a continent away to the world-renowned Berklee School of Music in Boston. It was there that he learned to merge the theoretical with the practical. It was also a wake-up call for the prodigiously talented young man, because for the first time he found himself surrounded by a class full of musicians whose innate abilities equaled his own including Grammy Winner Roy Hargrove, Lalah Hathaway, Delfeyo Marsalis, Geoff Keezer, Paula Cole and many others.

The combined diligence and inspiration that had propelled Barry D. through his younger days molded him into the quintessential sideman in Boston’s burgeoning jazz and R&B scene. After graduating, he tackled some of New York’s hottest music halls, who soon became intimately acquainted with the rising star’s mesmerizing music that tickled the imagination with elements of light jazz, R&B, pop, rock and gospel. He shared the stage with such superstars as Phil Collins, Steven Curtis Chapman, 4HIM, Sounds Of Blackness, Sister Sledge, Mint Condition, Mary Mary, Third Day, Jaci Velasquez, Natalie Grant, and Helen Baylor and others; recorded with industry giants like R. Kelly, David Foster, Mario Winans, Linda Eder, Gordon Chambers, and Donna Summer; and wrote songs for such popular recording artists as gospel legend Marvin Sapp. Major labels pursued him for his scintillating ability on the piano. Off-Broadway theater companies wanted him for his cinematic musical sensibilities. And after an appearance in a national TV commercial, Barry was courted by one of New York’s hottest talent agencies, hoping to represent him.

Instead of following the money, Barry D. chose to follow that still, small voice, and it led him into the inner city, where the 23 year-old accepted the role of worship pastor for a 1,200-member congregation. Lest anyone think this was a position to puff up the ego, Barry is quick to point out that his task was to build a cohesive, unified choir out of the fiercely individualistic members who not only did not know who he was, they did not care.

 “It was difficult, but God had to get that pride out of me. He had to show me that it is not about my gift—it is about the Giver of the gift. It is about His purpose and what He has called me to do, which is to minister the Gospel to the lost. It really helped me to understand what true ministry is. True ministry is not just about showing up, playing the piano and thinking you are the best. True ministry is being humble and putting yourself in the position to bless others. True ministry is taking what God has invested in you and investing it in others.”

Now armed with inspiration and discipline and with some lessons in humility under his belt, Barry D. was finally refined enough to embark on his true calling—to write, record and perform music for God’s church. But for Barry D., it is not about simply making music. It is about communicating with God and being a conduit of communication for God’s people. Indeed, Barry D.’s music is more like a conversation than a concert.

“When I sit down to play, the music takes on many dimensions,” he explains. “Especially with this new album, Born to Play, I’m telling the story of my life—my hardships, my pain, my triumphs and victories. It is a conversation I am having with God, and I am inviting the people who hear the music to enter into that conversation as well.”

“The conversation can take on as many forms ,” he says. “He uses our testimony, spoken and unspoken. When I play the song, ‘I Want To Know What Love Is,’ I’m really telling my story. In this life, I’ve seen heartache and pain. I don’t know if I can face it again. Can’t stop now, I’ve traveled so far to change this lonely life. That’s my story. I didn’t have a typical family. I grew up without knowing the love of a father. I was lonely. I wanted to know what love is. I found it through God. That’s my testimony.”

While Barry D. is not afraid to take other artists’ material and make it uniquely his own, he is just as adept at crafting fresh expressions of worship, ex nihilo. Such was the case with “Fresh Wind,” a song he wrote to remind himself of his constant need to live in the moment.

Never one to stand still, Barry D.’s constant desire to grow and evolve musically has earned him admiration and recognition, including a Dove Nomination for his critically acclaimed Handprint CD.  In addition, Barry is the past winner of the gospel category in the prestigious Billboard Songwriting Contest and a finalist in the distinguished John Lennon Songwriting Contest.  Additional Nominations include 2007 Independent Music Awards and 2007 Los Angeles Music Awards. So it should come as no surprise that his latest offering, Born To Play was nominated for a 2009 Stellar Award and a 2009 GMA Dove Award.  More Recently Barry was ask to provide music for the entire 2 hour Pre-Telecast of the Dove Awards.

Born to Play defies categorization. With its hip sophistication, soulful swing, exquisite musical phrasing and depth of emotion, Born To Play sounds more like a conversation than a performance.