Josh Nelson Trio @ The Jazz Bakery 07.17.08
By George W. Harris

It was fitting that pianist Josh Nelson closed his well paced and creative set at the Bakery with Brad Mehldau’s “London Blues”, since he seems to be the guy to give Mehldau a run for his money as the leading young jazz pianist of this generation. Along with his working unit of Kevin Kenner (drums) and Hamilton Price (bass), Nelson displayed not only his formidable piano chops, and his impressive compositional skills, but his ear for bringing new sounds and ideas into the jazz idiom.

Opening with a selection of his own tunes from his release “Let It Go”, Nelson and company displayed lyricism and airtight cohesiveness on the free flowing “Loose Ends” and the boppishly Bill Evans (or is it Bill Evansly boppish?) “Requited.” Nelson’s two handed harmonic work, trading off with Kenner’s snappy brushes, was something only capable of being accomplished by a team that has worked together for a long time. Nelson’s Chopinesque “The Change In The Wind” featured Price’s yearning bass work weaving in and out of Nelson’s prickly piano nuances. Nelson kept one foot in the jazz catalogue with a hard driving reading of “I Hear A Rhapsody” and Monk’s “Evidence” More importantly, however, he demonstrated his desire to bring new tunes into the jazz canon, by featuring a medley dedicated to the music of the late indie rock artist Elliot Smith. piece, a capella in opening, slowly undulating into a brooding and dramatic trio piece, was captivating. Likewise, he did an evocative treatment of the “Theme From Chinatown” that makes one wonder why it has never been attempted before in a jazz environment. Get on the ground level, and invest in this guy now; with music like this, he’s going to the penthouse.