Up Close & Personal with Trumpeter Darren Barrett

Canadian Grammy Award winning trumpet player
Darren Barrett was born to Jamaican parents. Darren
remembers that, "the first time I heard Miles Davis
was on the record 'Round About Midnight, and when I
heard Miles' sound and approach, I knew that the
instrument I wanted to play was the trumpet."
In 1986, Darren attended Berklee College of Music on
a full scholarship, receiving a BA in Professional
Music in 1990. He went on to receive an MA in Jazz
Performance in 1993, and an MS in Music Education from Queens College
in 1995. It was there that he came under the influence of Dr. Donald Byrd,
who became something of a father figure for the young trumpeter. My quest
for a Doctorate degree was interrupted by a special program that was being
developed, called the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, at the
New England Conservatory of Music." In 1997, Darren earned a Diploma in
Jazz Performance from the Thelonious Monk Institute where he was a
member of the inaugural class. In 1997, Darren entered and won 1st place in
the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, the biggest jazz
competition in the world, which highlights a different instrument each year.