Still grateful for his boost into professionalism here, Paul Cornish returns to the Jazz Kitchen

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 With his current trio putting a fresh stamp on the familiar combo of piano-bass-drums, Paul Cornish paid a return visit to the Jazz Kitchen Saturday night behind his just-issued CD, "You're Exaggerating!"

The house was packed for the first set, and outbursts of fan ardor were frequent. Part of the pianist's  appeal is clearly his calm and welcoming stage presence. The charm of his comments between selections was infectious, and may have helped confirm the integrity of music that is remarkably free of cliche, given the familiarity of the jazz piano trio. I felt certain he was focused even when I wasn't sure I was quite catching it. 

Paul C'ornish Trio at the Jazz Kitchen

As I said about his finalist appearance with the American Piano Awards' bassist and drummer in November 2022, "Cornish is evidently a player who has no hesitation in ranging across a wide spectrum of sonority and expression and making it all come across as uniquely his own." 

There can be few quibbles about how well Nick Tucker and Kenny Phelps adjusted then to Cornish's artistry in that phase of the  competition (which was won by Isaiah J. T'hompson). Video samples are available online.

But what came through with his choice of sidemen in this appearance was a full flowering of Cornish's musical personality. He incorporates spoken clips and electronic background to add extra flavor to the gumbo that the trio concocts live. His application to the keyboard varies from nuanced and fragmentary on one hand to repetitive, funky and hypnotic on the other. 

What Jermaine Hall, bass, and Jonathan Pinson, drums, contributed to this spectrum was crucial. Whether the playing field was a fast-paced  romp or an introspective tone poem, it was level all around. Generously acknowledging his debts to Mary Lou Williams and Geri Allen, as he did when I first heard him, Cornish  takes up an obligation to forge a personal style that generously depends upon the relative independence of bass and drums. His style doesn't prioritize ensemble blend in the manner of many piano trios extensively documented on recordings.

The next-to-last piece on offer in the first set (I didn't catch the title) folded into an unaccompanied piano opening brief interruptions from Hall and Pinson. Then something unified emerged with everyone in the mix. Showing that they could be individualistic as well, Hall and Pinson went through a delightful episode of exchanges that were as witty and playful as Cornish can be on his own.

The set ended with an extensive tour through Cornish's tribute to Allen (1957-2017), "Queen Geri." Expanding upon his composition by meditating on "Lift Every Voice and Sing" as introduction and coda, the leader inspired the trio with a carefully heated rendition.  Pinson paved the way with a fascinating display of patterns on drum rims, making the performance's emerging full force seem like a logical followup.

Nearly three years ago, I celebrated the aptness of both Cornish's soft-spoken manner and his well-applied flamboyance. Those remain features of his artistry, and his evident belief in the power of piano-bass-drums to represent him in toto still carries the day.


[Photo by Rob Ambrose]


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