From the first sparkling notes of his intro to Luiz Bonfá's "Manha De Carnaval", originally recorded for the soundtrack to the classic film, Orfeu Negro ("Black Orpheus"), it was clear that Kenny Barron is a master pianist who plays with soul, grace, wit, and technique. His first set on Saturday at the Kennedy Center's Family Theater saw him play 90 minutes of polished jazz that was pleasing to the ear, but there was something missing. While there is no fair criticism of what the audience heard, we did miss what was unheard, and that is any sense of adventure from the music. Barron and his highly skilled rhythm section of Japanese bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and Cuban drummer Francisco Mela gave a polished performance, but these musicians are capable of taking the music anywhere, and they didn't. The result was a show that was very good, but fell short of being truly memorable.

The lack of fire coming from the stage might have to do with the trio's setlist. The first four tunes of the six song set were all subdued performances. After opening with the oft-played "Carnaval", the band went into the standard "How Deep is the Ocean", Barron's own "Lullabye", and Thelonius Monk's "Ask Me Now". All are beautiful compositions with rich harmonies and gorgeous melodies, but offered little variation in terms of tempo and energy level. Had the group played even one uptempo number near the beginning of the set, the entire tone of the performance would have changed.

This is especially true given the talents Barron, Kitagawa and Mela, who are totally fluent within the jazz idiom and first-rate instrumentalists. They obviously would have been capable of delivering more open performances that did not feel so staid. Barron has explored a wide variety of music over the course of his brilliant career and Kitagawa's rich tone and strong rhythmic approach would work well in any context. Mela in particular gave hints of his mastery of Latin jazz rhythms, but the material did not allow him to explore any real variety.

During "Calypso," the show's penultimate song, the band finally opened up. The delightful melody and groove gave way to an extended drum solo that showcased Mela's musicality, economy, and understanding of the dance of drumming. The set concluded with the sentimental "Cook's Bay", a composition written to commemorate a vacation Barron took with his wife to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. Barron returned to play a solo encore that left the audience cheering, but also left us wondering how magical the night could have been had the band delivered that same passion and sense of play throughout the performance.

Photo courtesy of Kenny Barron