Beau Barry

When I was 22 years old I studied yoga and mysticism with Goswami Kriyamanda for a year. At the end of the year he asked us to have the courage to discover what we most wanted to do with our lives. Long story made short, I took up the saxophone.

I thought my vision of playing music was grand and romantic. It turns out that the reality of playing is more challenging, multi-faceted and exciting that any imagining. Music, to me is not just about music. Music is about passion, dedication and ecstasy.

The Beau Barry Quartet plays music ranging from Ellington and Coltrane to originals. I believe jazz, by its nature, is not wed to any idiom. The guiding light to this music is improvisation. Of course nothing helps an improvisor like a good song. Funky waltzes, ballads, blues, bossanova, etc. are all areas of interest.

I have played in over one hundred bands from World Music groups, Ulele and Malukosamba to 1930's swing music with Yves Francrois to years on the blues scene with the likes of Little Al, L. C. Walka, and Liz Mandville. Besides the jazz line-ups I've been involved with, my greatest influence has been 20 years playing on the streets of Chicago. Alone, or with five piece drum ensembles, the street is where I found my own sound.