The adage about marching to the beat of a different drummer took on new meaning Friday night at the Folly Theater. The drummer in the Kenny Barron Trio provided a beat appropriate for a band very different from the one sharing the stage with him.
The two-hour performance often resembled a drum clinic rather than a showcase for master pianist Kenny Barron. The youthful exuberance of drummer Francisco Mela sabotaged Barron's tasteful work with incessant cymbal crashes, inappropriate drum rolls and a tendency to speed up even the most delicate of Barron's ballad work.
When the music's partisans refer to jazz as America's classical music, they're thinking of the immaculate elegance typified by Barron. The 63-year-old's refined playing over several decades has elevated him to the ranks of jazz's premier practitioners.
Trouble was evident on "Embraceable You," the evening's first offering. Even as Barron conjured a perfectly conceived cascading solo, his lyrical flight of fancy was shattered by Mela's intrusive banging. The restrained work of standup bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa was a stark contrast to Mela's unsympathetic accompaniment. Each note Kitagawa plucked was a careful response to Barron's sensitive aesthetic. Mela never followed the bassist's example.
"That was a case of whoever finishes first, please play the ending," Barron said apologetically after a particularly disastrous song conclusion. Mela.had simply refused to stop playing.
Barron combated his drummer's unrestrained enthusiasm by extending each song's unaccompanied introduction. The lengthy rumination that opened the original composition "Cook's Bay" was the evening best moment. Barron's graceful unspooling of the evocative melody was ravishing. His exquisite work on deceptively simple "All God's Children (Got Rhythm)" provided an additional example of Barron's brilliance..
The Cuban-born Mela may very well become a star musician. His bright smile and exaggerated body language were well-received by many in the audience of approximately 600. For the sake of his future bandmates, however, he'd do well to achieve success with a propulsive dance band.
Before the concert began, Doug Tatum, executive director of the Folly, dedicated the concert to Jay McShann, the legendary Kansas City pianist who died December 7. He noted that McShann played in the Folly's Jazz Series on eight occasions.
"It's a great loss," Tatum said. "It represents the passing of an era."
McShann's bluesy style was very different than Barron's delicate work, but the concert was a fitting way to acknowledge McShann's passing. Even with that drummer.
| Bill Brownlee, Special to The Star
Well put, Bill. Mela's performance reminded me of a cross between Buddy Rich and a short-order cook who thinks he owns the diner.
Posted by: Lee | December 16, 2006 at 03:55 PM
I really enjoyed the drummer. Prior to the song with the questionable ending Kenny Barron explained that the band had played it for the first time earlier that day during warm-up.
By-the-way, Mela is not just some overly exuberant kid, he is an assistant professor of percussion at Berklee. I think he gave the performance some much needed energy.
Kenny Barron was a music professor at Rutledge for 27 years. Are you saying he does't know how to choose a drummer or lead a trio?
Posted by: jazz lover | December 18, 2006 at 09:03 AM
I meant to say Kenny Barron was a music professor at Rutgers for 27 years.
Posted by: jazz lover | December 18, 2006 at 09:08 AM
Jazz Lover-
Thanks for your comment. You aren’t alone- Mela elicited hearty applause a few times Friday night.
Even so, I felt that Mela’s intrusive performance spoiled Barron’s sublime playing throughout the evening.
And yes, Barron’s decision to hire Mela strikes me as a profound lapse of judgement.
-Bill Brownlee
Posted by: Bill Brownlee | December 18, 2006 at 09:44 AM