Teenage pianist Eldar displays skill, passion beyond his years

The future of jazz looked bright Thursday night at Scullers, where 18-year-old piano phenom Eldar packed the house with an audience ranging from teens younger than himself to folks in their golden years.

Eldar, who dispenses with his last name (Djangirov) professionally, sauntered onstage in blue jeans and an untucked black shirt, its sleeves unbuttoned at the wrist, and launched into ”Point of View.” The piece, a fiendishly fast and challenging original performed with sax virtuoso Michael Brecker on Eldar’s debut album, showed off the pianist at his best.

”Point of View” is a tune requiring technical wizardry, and Eldar carried it off breathtakingly. Brecker wasn’t with him at Scullers, but the tune didn’t lack much for his absence, and Eldar’s trio mates — bassist Marco Panascia and drummer Carmen Intorre — stayed tightly alongside the young leader despite it being Intorre’s first night on the job.

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