With a dizzying musical vocabulary and an innate ability to speak directly to his listeners, the Ohio-based singer-songwriter blends 60’s and 70’s pop, jazz, American standards, soul music, and bossa nova, and he wraps everything up with careful songcraft that is precise, yet still conveys the spark of spontaneity. “I don’t know which genre my music fits in,” he says, “but I think it’s an honest reflection of who I am.”

Whatever its genre, his music is a powerful vehicle for connection. That becomes clear on “You’re Not Alone,” one of Barrett’s finest compositions, built from gentle piano chords, a soulful vocal, and a rapturous gospel choir. “Over the years I’ve come to understand that everyone has a story in their lives that they don’t necessarily share and that we don’t necessarily see. These stories can carry a heavy burden and yet we often shut out those who want to be there for us.”

Making music has been a lifelong journey since his earliest years growing up in Connecticut. “I can’t remember not playing guitar and singing, and making music with my brothers and sister.” Their mother was a poet and teacher, their father a clinical psychologist, and together they introduced their children to folk as well as to jazz, to theater, to classical music. Like so many of his peers, Barrett was mesmorized by The Beatles, and drawn to the voices and stories of Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, James Taylor, and Bonnie Raitt, along with the harmonies of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, The Eagles, and the inspirational funk of Sly and the Family Stone. His older siblings also made sure he embraced the Everly Brothers, Bob Dylan, and Sam Cooke.

Through this period and for years to come, Barrett immersed himself in his two serious passions, sports and music. In high school, he juggled the demands of being a three sport athlete while singing in every choral group possible. “Music and sports were never just hobbies for me. I was deeply committed to both – and I was fortunate to be in environments in high school and college where coaches and choral directors supported that craziness.” While playing on Brown University’s soccer team, the recurrence of a serious injury dashed some dreams but opened other doors, allowing him to focus more fully on his music.

At the urging of a beloved music professor, Barrett plunged headlong into his music, completing a degree in music to go along with his degree in history and began training more seriously in voice. An opportunity to train with a prominent classical voice teacher brought him to New York City after graduation, where he also taught history and music and coached soccer and baseball.

Although Barrett loved the classical repertoire, he gravitated towards his session work and the singer-songwriter community in Greenwich Village. His performances at Folk City, the Bitter End, and Kenny’s Castaways were among his first truly solo shows, featuring him onstage with only a guitar and piano. “It was a very exposed experience, being up there by myself and singing my own material. But I loved being on stage and in the studio. I was beginning to get some encouragement to move to Los Angeles to accelerate my music career. While that was exciting, it was becoming increasingly clear that there were aspects of the life that didn’t fit for me at that time.”

Barrett had reached a crossroads and his decision determined the course of his life, professionally and personally. Recognizing he wanted to explore a new path forward, he ultimately took a job with a small pharmaceutical company. The experience was illuminating: It allowed him to work in every aspect of the business, and he was genuinely excited about working in healthcare. His parents, however, were puzzled. “In my family culture our role models were artists, statesmen, and teachers – not businesspeople.”

Ten years later, he was the head of that organization and spent the next few decades leading global healthcare companies, a field in which he still plays an active role. “As I advanced in my business life, I became increasingly uncomfortable showing that side of myself. I thought it might suggest that I was less serious about my work. So I stopped performing publicly. But in reality, that musical journey never stopped, at least privately. I still played and sang virtually every day.”

It was, of all people, Roger Daltrey who unknowingly coaxed him back on stage. The legendary Who front man was playing a company event and Barrett was scheduled as the speaker for the event. When Daltrey learned that Barrett was a musician, he invited him to rehearse a song with the band. “When we finished, he told me: you’re going to perform tonight. It wasn’t a question. But I didn’t have anything to change into, just a pair of jeans. I made my debut in his cool Quadrophenia shirt. That got me back on stage.” And it opened the door.

With encouragement from the music community in Columbus, Ohio, he started playing more around town, sitting in with friends and performing with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, the Shadowbox Live band, the ProMusica chamber orchestra, and the house band of the Harmony Project, a choir dedicated to community service. Each demanded a different set of musical skills, but also reminded him how much he missed making music with great musicians. “I knew I wanted to do something again with my music. I wasn’t done with it yet.” He started writing songs again, singing stray fragments into his cell phone or writing out lyrical ideas on scraps of paper. He wrote new material and revisited old songs, bringing to both a lifetime of experiences and adventures.

Many of those songs will appear on Barrett’s debut album, “Not Alone,” produced by Brian Keane. In addition to being a Grammy- and Emmy-winning producer and composer, Keane is an old friend of Barrett’s. “When I reached out to him,” says Barrett, “I didn’t have picture of an album in my head. I just thought we’d get together and tinker a bit. Without really planning it, we started laying down some tracks. I love everything about being back in the studio, from marveling at the chops of my fellow musicians to finding the mic that fits my voice to watching the sound engineers at their craft. When I’m in the studio, I have no idea what time it is.”

Barrett worked with Keane who assembled an acclaimed group of players from the worlds of jazz, rock, and classical music – including his brother Dan Barrett on cello. “I hoped we could create music that reflected our wide range of influences, while not being captive to one genre. One of my heroes, Joni Mitchell, was able to create this incredible stylistic sensibility by setting in motion a collision of folk, rock, and jazz.” Barrett even covers Mitchell on his debut album: with its knotty time signature, cinematic fanfare, and Cyrus Chestnut’s dissembling, disintegrating finale on the piano, his interpretation of “Trouble Child” fits with the theme of his music, the idea that through art we might find points of connection with other people, no matter how different from us they might be.

“I know this is a funny stage to be doing this. When I started recording again, and began putting real effort into an album, I had to ask: Why now? I truly love making music. I’m inspired and energized by working with other musicians, and I sensed I still had something to say. And just maybe, this music helps build connections. How incredible would that be?”