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Opening the concert, Pete Douglas announced that in the February issue of DownBeat Magazine that its editorial staff chose the Douglas Beach House (aka the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society) as one of the top 150 internationally known great jazz venues.

This honor is bolstered by the quality of the jazz musicians who are booked into the Douglas Beach House like the Josh Nelson Trio. With Nelson on piano, Dave Robaire on bass, Dan Schnelle on drums and with featured guest Dayna Stephens on tenor sax, they made their appearance on February 20, 2011.

From the opening number and all of the way through the nearly two hour long concert, clearly this was a tight, well rehearsed band. They played originals by Nelson along with standards that the band gave a fresh twist to.

The opening number, "Discoveries" (by Nelson), set the tone for the evening as he opened with a piano solo. As the piece developed, Nelson seemed consumed with its power as he explosively ran the keyboard and at times rose from off the bench to add even more emphasis than there would have been from a lesser pianist.

In contrast, the third number of the concert, "Theme From Chinatown" by Jerry Goldsmith, highlights Nelson's sensitive play with the keyboard. These two tunes presented the breadth of the chart that he chose to perform.

At age 32, not only is Nelson an accomplished pianist, he also has the unique ability to pick the right team to back him and that's most especially true of his drummer Schnelle. Some drummers bang their drums but others like Dan hold just in the background, making himself known but not overwhelming the rest of the group. He plays with a sensitivity that supports the others while keeping impeccable time.

Bassist Robaire kept the strings on his acoustic bass working the background rhythm and came on strong and sure during his solos.

Finally, Nelson's featured sax-man Dayna Stephens proved to the audience that he and Nelson could have fun especially on bassist Robaire's composition that was so new that it had no name. On that tune Nelson and Stephens called back and forth through a portion of the piece.

Nelson is a sensitive pianist with a great deal to give not only to his present audiences but those in the future as well. Clearly we will see more of this young man as he makes an indelible mark on the jazz scene.

The appreciative and seasoned audience at the Douglas Beach House supported this. Their sincere applaud was not just casually polite. It is clear that we will hear more from Nelson and his wonderful style of jazz. This concert was truly one of the high points of this season.