JAZZ REVIEW : A Mixed Bag From Pianist Chestnut at the Jazz Bakery

Cyrus Chestnut, the much heralded young pianist, produced a mixed bag of music in the opening set of a two-night run at the Jazz Bakery on Monday.

Although Chestnut has moved beyond the stage of promising talent toward the arena of high-level mastery, his playing was only occasionally as impressive as his work as a sideman with other acts and as a leader on his own recordings.

When he was good, he was very good indeed. A rotund, smiling performer, colorfully dressed in a multihued jacket, Chestnut seemed eager to reach out to an enthusiastic, near-capacity crowd. On some of the tunes, this apparent desire to please resulted in first-rate jazz improvising. A brisk reading of “East of the Sun” managed to blend a solid, foot-tapping rhythmic drive with a stretched-out, fast-fingered Chestnut solo. And “Baroque Impressions,” a variation on one of the Bach two-part inventions that is quickly becoming a Chestnut trademark, spawned some complex, two-handed improvising perfectly suited to the work’s source.

But as Chestnut moved deeper into his program, an Ahmad Jamal- like tendency to modularize every piece into same-sounding segments of rhythm and harmony began to minimize the musical qualities of his presentation. “If I Should Lose You,” for example, started favorably with a strong bass solo from Steve Kirby, but soon diminished into repetitious, riff-type chording from Chestnut. “In a Sentimental Mood” had similar problems, obliging drummer Ali Jackson to lay aside his more adventurous skills and simply generate a steady flow of time.

Every artist obviously has ups and downs, even within a given set. But on this night Chestnut’s playing suggested a need for more musical focus and a greater sense of personal creative clarity.