Short Sweet Concert Review

'Twas a full house at Crowell Concert Hall last night (7/07) for the Kenny Barron Trio.  Messrs. Barron (piano), Kiyoshi Kitagawa (bass) and Lee Pearson (drums) did not disappoint.  Barron, introduced by former student Noah Baerman (a fine pianist in his own right) seemed to be having so much fun, spurred on by his fine rhythm section.  Pearson, subbing for regular drummer Johnathan Blake, fit right in and really did a splendid job of both supporting and driving the music.  Long-time associate Kitagawa is quite a musical bassist with a big, thick, tone and great facility.  Barron pushed them quite hard on the first 2 songs and they responded marvelously. Among the highlights was the pianist's solo medley of 4 songs from the Duke Ellington-Billy Strayhorn catalog and Pearson's creative drum work on the pianist's "Calypso."

The audience, filled with a good portion of young folks from CCY, the high school-age Summer arts program, cheered throughout the evening.  And, it sure looked from the smiles on the faces of the Trio, the band had plenty of fun.
  
Next Tuesday (July 12), Professor Neely Bruce (another fairly impressive pianist) comes to Crowell to "Play the Music of William Duckworth" at 7:30 p.m. To find out more, go to www.wesleyan.edu/cfa.