Kenny Barron Alan Broadbent Dick Hyman Roger Kellaway Gerry Wiggins

((Ambassador Auditorium, Pasadena; 1,335 seats; $ 25.50 top))

Presented by Ambassador Performing Arts. Reviewed Dec. 7, 1994. If more is supposed to be merrier, then jazz piano enthusiasts were definitely in business Wednesday night, what with five major pianists moving their 50 fingers over a pair of Hamburg Steinways. As things turned out, Roger Kellaway and Dick Hyman -- the most eclectic and free-thinking pianists of the lot -- made the most interesting

All five have made solo piano albums for Concord Jazz's epic "Live at Maybeck Recital Hall" series, which has now reached its 35th volume and shows no signs of running out of gas. Their recordings were fairly good indicators of who would shine the most in this ruthlessly revealing format, where each pianist played two solo numbers in the first half, followed by four duo pairings on two pianos in the second.

Kenny Barron sounded subdued and mellow in "Body and Soul" and "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You," with a veiled tone and a monotonous dynamic range. Alan Broadbent brought a bit more of a feeling of time and classical technique to his work, but he too seemed locked into a generic bop-flavored solo piano manner, as did Gerry Wiggins in his very short set.

Hyman struck the first real sparks of the night with a "Sophisticated Lady" that joyfully roamed way beyond its chord changes and a witty, light-as-a-feather, super-stride workout on Fats Waller's "Bach Up to Me." Kellaway, whose playing was as deliciously flighty as his keyboard necktie, took "My One and Only Love" and "Here's That Rainy Day" through all kinds of moody and wild polystylistic turns.

Naturally, the post-intermission team of Hymanand Kellaway held the most promise -- and they didn't disappoint. They came out firing with a classical/jazz treatment of -- yes --"Chopsticks," where Milhaud and Stravinsky met Brubeck, etc., in a mad melange that was as much of a gas to hear as it must have been to play. By throwing in a few nimble screwball tricks, Hyman also managed to loosen Wiggins up in their duo treatment of "Satin Doll."

Elsewhere, the Barron/Broadbent team seemed almost interchangeable in style, and Barron/Wiggins offered a gently elegant boogie on the "St. Louis Blues." Partisans in the crowd gave Wiggins the home-field advantage in applause.

Music, together and apart.

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