Upon graduating high school, Barrett attended Humber College's Jazz program in Toronto, Ontario and eventually spent a year there and won the Boddington's Music Brass Award for excellence in performance.

He went on to receive an MA in Jazz Performance in 1993, and an MS in Music Education from Queens College, City University of New York in 1995.

[6] "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."

[8] Barrett has performed or recorded with Elvin Jones, Jackie McLean, Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove Big Band, Common, Will.i.am, Talib Kweli, Esperanza Spalding and Antonio Hart, among others.

[8] Barrett is currently a Professor in the Ensemble department at his alma mater, Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.