Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead Bring Thunder to JHL
©Steve Roby
Jonathan Barber’s opening strokes snapped the Joe Henderson Lab into focus, making the room dense, attentive, and physically close. With the bandstand only feet from the front row and the house filled to capacity, rhythm shaped the atmosphere from the first moments of Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead’s sold-out early set last Saturday.
Barber, a Hartford-born drummer and composer whose career includes work with Terence Blanchard, Pat Metheny, and Christian Sands, framed the evening as both a return and a declaration. “Four years ago, I was here performing with a certain artist… Terence Blanchard,” he told the crowd, recalling Blanchard’s SFJAZZ residency around Fire Shut Up in My Bones. “And now I’m here with my band. So yeah, we’re celebrating a lot of things. We’re celebrating life, the fact that we have the opportunity to live through our instruments.”
That sense of purpose shaped the night’s arc. Barber opened the performance as a celebration of original music and Vision Ahead’s 15-year history, positioning the ensemble as a long-standing musical family. With his hand to his chest, he smiled and said, “These are my musical brothers,” naming guitarist Andrew Renfroe, pianist Cameron Campbell, bassist Matt Dwonszyk, and saxophonist Matt Knoegel. “It’s just such a treat to make music with these people for many years, and we can see each other grow and develop.” The cohesion he described was evident in the sound: grooves that settled quickly, internal balances that shifted without disruption, and transitions that felt guided rather than cued.
Barber used the early portion of the set to introduce the audience to Vision Ahead’s expanding songbook. He promised “a variety… a plethora of our catalog,” then traced the opening pieces through the band’s recorded history. “Seconds and Seasons,” from Legacy Holder (2020), set the foundation. “Radar,” the opener from In Motion, followed. From the bandstand, Barber emphasized authorship as a collective value. “Yes, drummers can write music too,” he joked. “We don’t just make beats; we can compose.”
Jonathan Barber. ©Steve Roby
That framing aligned with the identity of In Motion, Vision Ahead’s fourth album, and with the tour’s aesthetic center. Conceived as a cohesive body of work, the record reflects Barber’s philosophy of motion as discipline—writing and performance as ongoing acts of development. “I am loving the artist that I’m becoming,” Barber has said of the project. “I’ve accepted all my experiences as stepping stones, allowing myself to stand tall and speak on what is in my heart.” That orientation infused the SFJAZZ set, where pacing, transitions, and emotional contour carried as much weight as individual features.
Barber’s stage commentary consistently returned to service, lineage, and intention. “With this band, I think as a composer first,” he told the crowd. “Most of the time, I’ll think of my involvement as a drummer last.” That orientation sits at the core of In Motion, which prioritizes long-form cohesion and ensemble dialogue over sectional display. Even moments that might traditionally foreground the drum voice appeared as structural devices—entries that redirected the flow, reframed the texture, or reset the emotional temperature.
The introduction of “Dove,” presented as an upcoming single, marked the first explicit step toward what Vision Ahead is building next. Barber framed the piece with humor and symbolism. “ ‘Dove’ is about the bird, not the soap,” he laughed, then clarified that the composition drew on the dove’s cultural meaning and would be released later this year, positioning the audience as early witnesses to its development.
The performance opened with Cameron Campbell shaping a dark, looping figure on the Nord as Barber entered on toms and muted snare, with Dwonszyk anchoring the low end beneath a restless undercurrent. The music soon burst open in a cymbal-washed lift toward the first guitar statement, then unfolded in rising waves—bass, keys, then tenor sax—each voice adding altitude and tension.
The set’s emotional center arrived with “When Love Calls,” a ballad Barber composed during the pandemic and later recorded on In Motion. Before playing, he spoke about response and empathy. “We live in a society where we sometimes don’t know how to respond to love,” he said. “Love comes in many forms… and sometimes it’s important to respond to love even when it’s not being given.” He invited the audience to let the song groove and “let Andrew speak on guitar,” positioning the composition as both a meditation and an offering.
Andrew Renfroe. ©Steve Roby
Renfroe guided the ballad’s arc with a Freeze pedal, suspending tones beneath his lines and shaping a resonant, cello-like voice that blurred the boundary between guitar and bowed instrument. Barber reduced his palette to essentials—snare and hi-hat, light and deliberate—creating an open field where melody could breathe, and harmony could hover. The effect felt less like accompaniment than atmosphere, a shared suspension of time.
Throughout the evening, Barber’s emphasis on long-term collaboration proved foundational. He introduced Dwonszyk as a friend for more than twenty years. He framed Vision Ahead as shared authorship rather than a drummer’s vehicle. That framing surfaced musically in the ensemble’s responsiveness: in how figures circulated, how grooves breathed, and how transitions emerged from within the texture rather than from outside it.
The set closed with “Haikus,” a moving composition by Dwonszyk that extended the night’s theme of collective voice. The crowd rose for a standing ovation as Barber reintroduced the band and offered a final benediction: “Thanks so much for being here, and God bless you.”
Jonathan Barber. ©Steve Roby
By the end of the night, Barber had positioned Vision Ahead as a living catalog—its sound shaped by long-standing relationships, compositional intent, and a sustained commitment to growth. As the early-show audience filed into the lobby to make way for the second set, listeners lingered at the merch table, gathering the last copies of In Motion and signed drumsticks, carrying the night’s momentum forward with them.
Program Notes
Genre: Jazz, Soul & Fusion
Band: Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead
Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026
Showtime: 7:00 p.m.
Venue: Joe Henderson Lab (SFJAZZ Center)
Personnel: Cameron Campbell (piano/keyboard), Andrew Renfroe (electric guitar), Matt Dwonszyk (acoustic bass), Matt Knoegel (tenor saxophone), and Jonathan Barber (drums)
Setlist: “Seconds and Seasons,” “Radar,” “Dove,” “In Motion,” "When Love Calls,” “Haikus”
Jonathan Barber’s official website: https://jonathanbarbermusic.com
