[5] After leaving Gillespie, Barron briefly performed with Stanley Turrentine before starting a three-year stint with Freddie Hubbard.

[5] He graduated in 1978 with a BA degree in arts from Empire State College (Metropolitan Center, New York City).

[7] In May 2010, Barron was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music along with African-born singer/songwriter Angelique Kidjo, Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucia, and songwriting duo Leon Huff and Kenneth Gamble.

[8] For more than 25 years, Barron taught piano and keyboard harmony at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

His piano students have included Earl MacDonald,[9] Harry Pickens, Jon Regen and Aaron Parks.