"I'm primarily interested in making what I do inviting and fun. I'm not trying to impress people with how good I can play the drums or displaying my virtuosity as my main thing."
- Joey Baron to Gino Robair, Pulse,  August 1994

"If I had to describe my sound, I'd call it loose and slow, the way Southerners are slow. And soulful, hopefully. What stirs me is some sort of soulful move - hearing a singer sing a phrase that's just - pow! - and trying to get that kind of emotion out of the drums."
- Joey to Musician May 1992

"I think a trade-mark of my style involves my getting a lot from a minimal arsenal of equipment. I just have hi-hats, a ride, a crash, a sizzle and a four piece kit... Number one, what I want to do is play music that is fun, that invites people in. If a person walked off the street into a performance of mine, he or she wouldn't need to understand the history of music to enjoy it. That's my job."
Joey to Modern Drummer July 1996

Drummer Joey Baron was born into a Jewish working class family in Richmond, Virginia. He is largely self-taught by means of watching others play and listening to recordings, radio and television. His early influences ran the gamut from Ed Sullivan show guests, to "The Wild Wild West" television show theme to records by Art Blakey, Ray Charles, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, James Brown, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. As a teen Joey was a Buddy Rich freak and capable of "playing Buddy" better than Buddy, himself, a fire kindled and stoked by his "older brother in jazz", Tom Rodman.

Besides being a member of the Bill Frisell Band for ten years until 1995, he has performed and recorded with an impressive list of musicians - including Carmen McRae, Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett, Hampton Hawes, Chet Baker, Laurie Anderson, Art Pepper, Stan Getz, Jay McShann, David Bowie, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Big Joe Turner, Philip Glass, John Abercrombie, Mel Lewis, Pat Martino, Harry Sweets Edison, David Sanborn, Al Jarreau, Jim Hall, Randy Brecker, Marian McPartland, John Scofield, and The Lounge Lizards.

He also co-lead the group "Miniature" (with Tim Berne and Hank Roberts) and was a member of "Naked City" (with John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Fred Frith and Wayne Horvitz). He currently works in John Zorn's group, "Masada" with Dave Douglas (trumpet) and Greg Cohen (bass) and leads his own trio "Barondown," which features Ellery Eskelin (saxophone) and Steve Swell (trombone).

Joey's most recent release as a leader is Down Home, October 1997), part of the Songline / Tone Field series on Intuition. The project features all original tunes by Joey Baron played by an all star band consisting of him with Ron Carter, Arthur Blythe and Bill Frisell,

Michael Ross wrote in JAZZIZ,

"In his work with John Zorn and in his own band, Barondown, it is drummer Joey baron's deep sense of groove and greasy funk that lends weight to his witty dances with chaos. On "Down Home," Baron flips the coin and brings his Southern roots to the fore, with eight melodic, soul-jazz tunes full of groove. At first, it sounds very familiar - the bluesy alto, the chunking rhythm guitar, the James Brown vamps... What sounds at first like another typical jam proves to be in a non-standard time signature: James Brown with the hiccups. On the disc, Baron may eschew the falling-down-the-stairs percussion style that has made him the darling of the avant-garde, but he is still composing melodies that are as daring as his chops. Ron Carter's acoustic bass lends an acid-jazz attitude to the proceedings. And to ensure that the familiar never becomes commonplace, Baron has employed the like minds of saxophonist Arthur Blythe and guitarist Bill Frisell, both of whom work well in this "out there-meets- "down home" context."

Joey Baron also performs duo with Bill Frisell, in a solo setting and in 1999 will play dates with organist John Medeski and guitarist Marc Ribot billed as The Joey Baron Trio. A recorded solo piece can be heard in the track entitled "Alfie" on Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach (Knitting Factory Works).

Barondown: (L-R) Joey Baron, Ellery Eskelin and Josh Roseman.