Ivory&Gold®
Praised by The L.A. Jazz Scene as a musical duo that can “draw out the beauty in the rich melodies and play the music with taste, sensitivity, and a real affection for the idiom,” Ivory&Gold® celebrates the greatest examples of American jazz, blues, ragtime, Broadway and hits from the Great American Songbook. The internationally renowned American musical performer and historian Max Morath hailed Ivory&Gold® as “musically flawless.”
The duo, consisting of Anne Barnhart (flute and vocals) and Jeff Barnhart (piano and vocals), was formed in 2001 to perform at the prestigious annual Jazz Festival in Sun Valley, Idaho. Subsequently, Ivory&Gold® has been invited to appear in hundreds of venues from coast-to-coast, including The Musical Instrument Museum in Scottsdale, AZ, Twin Falls Center for the Arts, The Tempe Center for the Arts, The Kerr Cultural Arts Center in Phoenix, AZ, The Tulsa Performing Arts Center, New Hampshire’s Wolfboro Friends of Music Concert Series, Music on the Divide in Georgetown, CA and an annual concert at the Reutlinger-Brune Victorian Palace in San Francisco, to name but a few.
Engagements outside the United States have included concerts and workshops in Kigali, Rwanda (at the request of the Swiss Ambassador), a feature in Caesarea, Israel, as well as the 400-year-old concert venue Zunfthaus Zur Waag in Zurich. Ivory&Gold® is well known in the United Kingdom, where annual tours include appearances in Selby Abbey in York, The CatStrand Theatre in New Galloway, Buccleuch Theatre in Langholm, Darlington Arts Centre and both Neal’s Yard and the Pheasantry in London.
Individually, Anne and Jeff could not have come from more disparate musical backgrounds. Anne is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and holds both bachelor and masters degrees in music. Following extensive master-class experience performing for world renowned artists Jeffrey Khaner and Goran Marcusson, Anne participated under Ransom Wilson in the Academie International d’ete de Nice held in Nice, France. Anne is a member of the International Who’s Who in Music and Musicians in the Classical and Light-Classical Fields. Anne’s teachers
include Vanita Hall-Jones, John Wion and Ransom Wilson. She is consistently lauded for her impeccable tone and phrasing and effortless virtuosity.
Jeff Barnhart is a highly regarded pianist, vocalist, arranger, bandleader, recording artist, composer, pedagogue and entertainer. He began his professional career at age 14 performing throughout New England at jazz clubs and restaurants, both as a soloist and with ensembles. He continued to maintain a busy performing schedule while earning a double bachelor’s degree in Music and English (Summa Cum Laude) from Connecticut College. He earned his Master’s in Education from the same school, but found that teaching English got in the way of his real love: performing, composing and teaching music! Jeff is on the road performing over 300 shows a year in all corners of the globe, many of them featuring Ivory&Gold®.
Ivory&Gold® has played to packed houses on six of the seven continents in every imaginable scenario. This husband-and-wife team continues to thrill audiences with music, history and humor, enjoying a hectic schedule of concert, festival and private home appearances. The Barnharts’ versatility and rapport create an incomparable listening experience for all ages and in all settings, from an intimate 20 person gathering to a 2000 patron event. Along with exciting concerts on land, Ivory&Gold® has performed at sea on cruises with, among others, the exclusive Peter Deilmann, Regent, and Crystal Cruise lines.
A typical concert features a wide variety of styles from Ragtime to Swing, Blues to Broadway, and Folk to Gospel, coalescing in a presentation they have coined “Eclectic Americana.” As a duo, Ivory&Gold® boasts nine recordings, with their latest album, Bridges. In addition, both Anne and Jeff appear on the prestigious USA-based Arbors Records label with jazz stars Bob Wilber and Bucky Pizzarelli.
Band Members:
Jeff Barnhart – piano, vocals
Anne Barnhart – flute, vocals