Review - Jeff Barnhart

The Time: 7:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m., Friday, March 11, 2011
The Place: The Porch Club, 4th and Howard Streets, Riverton, NJ
Jeff Barnhart, piano and vocals; Anne Barnhart, guest musician, flute

Great piano artistry continues with the TSJS piano series. On Friday night, Jeff Barnhart gave an outstanding performance. In the first half of his piano concert he played medleys of songs by three composers: Hoagy Carmichael, George Gershwin and Fats Waller.

Flautist Anne Barnhart was invited to accompany Jeff on Gershwin’s "Summertime,” Anne soloed at the start of the tune by leaning underneath the piano lid, playing over the piano strings, which caused the strings to echo, creating a haunting effect (A similar routine was performed when the couple performed as part of the Barnhart-Midiri Quartet, back in November, 2009). The pair concluded the Gershwin segment with a rip-roaring version of Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm."

Fats Waller, whom Jeff called his patron saint, was celebrated in the performances of "Honeysuckle Rose" and “Hold My Hand." Jeff explained that in the latter piece Fats introduced an ABCD pattern in place of the AABA approach universally being used. It isn't heard often today, but Fats loved the tune so much that he both opened and closed each of his performances with it during the early 1940's.

The intermission was a pleasant social interlude with snacks provided by former TSJS President Pete Peterson. One of the attendees was a native from Scotland, Helen Campbell, who said she just had to come to hear Jeff.

To open the second set, Jeff made some short educational comments about stride piano and played James P. Johnson's "The Mule Walk" and Jelly Roll Morton's "The Pearls." He followed up by informing us that TSJS member Jay "JazzBo" Schultz had sent him a song titled "Red Hot Mama" to play, which Jeff first turned into a short educational interlude about the workings of Tin Pan Alley, after which he performed the song as it might have been played by several pianists in varying styles, such as boogie woogie.

Jeff next featured three tunes by Eubie Blake. The first one, "I'm Just Wild About Harry," had been written as a waltz which was rejected by Tin Pan Alley publishers, so Eubie changed it the next day into a fox trot which succeeded wildly.

The memorable concert concluded with "Blue Skies" by both Anne and Jeff. – Mike Mudry