Several weeks ago I was suffering a bout of jazz-on-the-brain while going through my morning ritual. One of the “whys” generated by my gray matter beckoned for a concrete answer. Since this was a rare occurrence, I bolted from the shower determined to seek the truth — actually, I bolted because my toddler kept flushing the toilet, which resulted in sporadic scaldings. Nonetheless, I was truly motivated to discover why Ron Barber, the quintessential Fort Wayne jazz pianist for over 40 years, waited until 2001 to record his first CD.

Suprisingly, what really makes the absence of a Ron Barber CD so remarkable is not the four decades that have elapsed but rather the fact that a musician of his caliber has not been kidnapped by his admirers and forced into a recording studio. Let me try to put this into perspective: talk to any serious jazz professional in town and the conversation can be summarized simply — Ron Barber walks on water! “He is the Godfather of Cool,” says keyboardist Dave Latchaw (quite impressive to hear from a man like Latchaw, who has created his own musical universe right here in Fort Wayne). Eric Clancy, a pianist admired by many for his jazz chops, takes lessons from Barber. “He’s the best,” reports Clancy.

If the endorsements of Fort Wayne’s busiest jazz pianists isn’t sufficient evidence of Barber’s near-deity status, just talk to Dave Sapp, a trumpeter considered by everyone to be the premier brass jazzer in town. There is no question that Sapp also worships at the shrine of Barber; in fact, I had to remind him I was writing a single article, not a coffeetable novel: “Ron makes you sound better than you are and puts you at ease with his sense of humor. I’ve been on some gigs and he’ll be tearing up a solo, and I get disappointed when his solo is over and it’s my turn to play because it won’t be anywhere near what Ron just did. Everything I play, he can play back exactly in the same key; I’ve yet to stump him! I know he can play with anybody on the planet. What an artist!”

Naturally, the first question I posed to Barber when I met with him and his wife Sue was why had he waited so long to make his first CD. “Good question” he replied. “I didn’t think making a CD was worth the effort. People have been asking me to make one for years; as I get older, I wanted to be sure to make something for people to remember me by.”

So, what finally convinced Barber to get into the studio? “Well, I would probably still be waiting, but my son talked me into it. Actually, he didn’t have to twist my arm too hard. Brian purchased a piano a couple of years ago and enjoyed playing it so much that he decided to get together with some friends in Cincinnati and cut a CD.”

In April of 2001, Barber had scheduled a trip to Austin, Texas to visit Brian. His son had recently met a guy who was starting up his own recording studio. Brian called Ron and told him that he could arrange to have him recorded at home during his visit. To prepare the Austin musicians who would accompany him, Ron sent a tape of his ideas and arrangements. The Saturday of his weeklong vacation in Texas, Ron, along with bassist Tom MacHalek and drummer Paul Garretson, spent three hours in Brian’s home studio and laid down the 14 tracks that would appear on the CD. The following day the trio reconvened to redo a couple of the tracks. “These guys knew what they were doing, so almost everything was a one-take. We only had to repeat three or four songs,” says Ron.

The result is Barber’s first CD, The Ol’Geezer Swings!, a straight-ahead collection of jazz standards and one Barber original, entitled “Crossover.” The title was a self-imposed creation. As Barber explains, “you reach geezerdom at 70, so I’ve been able to call myself that for several years.” The geezer label, however, is not without controversy. “When I was listening to Ron at Club Soda, Jamie Wise (his vocalist) referred to him as the ‘old geezer,’ and several people seated around me were really offended,” chuckled Sue Barber.

While choosing songs for the album, Barber was careful to choose a variety of his favorite standards, being careful to avoid sequential tunes in the same key or genre. One of the tunes, “Lush Life,” was originally planned as a trio piece, but the musicians decided that Barber should perform this standard as an unaccompanied solo.

The CD has had some local airplay on WBOI 88.7 FM and Sunny 106.3 FM. The album cover is a copy of an original oil painting by local artist and musician George Conner who presented Barber the portrait on this seventieth birthday. The Ol’ Geezer Swings! can be purchased at Premier Pianos or directly from Barber at any of his live performances.

As luck would have it, Barber finished the CD at a great time. Having successfully booked internationally acclaimed jazz vocalist Diane Schuur, the new director of the Embassy Theatre, Lori Lobsiger, was seeking a local jazz group to open for Schuur. Although Lobsiger is new to town, it didn’t take long for Barber’s name to be mentioned virtually every time she asked locals to name a favorite jazz musician. Lobsiger sent Barber’s CD to Schuur’s manager, who quickly gave the thumb’s up. As a result, the Ron Barber Trio (James Baker on bass and Steve Smeltzer on drums) will perform a half-hour set before Schuur takes the stage on Saturday, August 23. Barber reports that the trio will open the set with “Long Ago and Far Away,” the same standard that appears first on his new CD.

“I think the Diane Schuur concert is a great thing for me,” says Barber. “I’ve never done something like this before. What an honor!” He encourages all jazz lovers to support the efforts of Lobsiger to bring national and local acts to the Embassy’s stage.

What does the future hold for Ron Barber? Would you believe another CD? “I will probably do a Christmas album,” he says. Recently, the Embassy purchased a piano by local philanthropist Bob Goldstein. Barber hopes to record a solo CD on the piano and donate a portion of the proceeds to the Embassy Foundation. In addition to the Christmas CD, Barber will continue to perform at Club Soda, Chops (with friend and guitarist Joe Stabelli) and the Summit Club. The old geezer, like fine wine, just seems to be getting better with age. His wife Sue tells of a fan who tried to play a song he heard Ron perform one evening. The dejected gentleman returned the following evening, approached Ron, and said, “I can’t get that song to sound the way you played it. I must not have the same keys on my piano.”