Marcus Roberts and his Trio

There's something about a grand piano, solo and centre stage. So elegant, with its high gloss black finish. Even without a player the instrument makes a statement, but under the hands of a talented musician it breathes a life of its own. This particular piano must have loved its reincarnation with Marcus Roberts. He is one of the most accomplished jazz pianists in the world, and what a master!

Roberts went blind at the age of five, and didn't touch a piano until he was twelve years old attending a Florida school for the blind and deaf. He is now a world renowned jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and teacher.

He brought all those talents to Koerner last night. Although we didn't hear his original compositions, he brought his touch and improvisation to well known standards. He played solo for the first half of the concert, paying homage to jazz composer greats Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Thelonius Monk, and George Gershwin as he introduced their standards.

We all became students of Roberts as he shared  interesting facts about the pieces. Gershwin's first version of one of his most popular songs was at a fast tempo, and Roberts played a few bars, but I couldn't identify it. Once played at a slow tempo the melody was almost instantly familiar, and then when the refrain came,  the lyrics to 'Someone to Watch Over Me' popped right into my head.

I also gained new appreciation for Duke Ellington, both as a composer and band leader. He managed to keep his team together for more than fifty years, with many of the same players, which is something of a feat in the music business. Duke said he wrote 'Mood Indigo' in 15 minutes at his mom's kitchen table, and the familiar tune was played every night for almost twenty years straight.

Then there was Jelly Roll Morton, whose compositions started and ended the set. 'Jungle Blues' and 'New Orleans Blues.' I knew Morton was an early jazz innovator, however I didn't know he made the claim publicly to have invented jazz. Such bravado.

For the second half Roberts was joined by drummer Jason Marsalis and bassist Rodney Jordan as they performed 'Crescent' by Coltrane. Wow! That trio was tight! Roberts has played with Marsalis for more than 25 years and Jordan for more than ten. I absolutely loved watching them make music. The bassist was bending, stretching and embracing the curves of the wooden instrument in such a way I could imagine them as friends and lovers. All three had such an intimate touch with the instruments, it was almost a trio of six.