John Eaton, Sprinkling Stardust

Pianist, vocalist and pop music scholar John Eaton opened his 21st season of concerts at the Wolf Trap Barns on Saturday night with "Indiana on Our Minds: The Music of Cole Porter and Hoagy Carmichael," a program first introduced at the venue in the mid-'80s. More people knew who these fellow Hoosiers were back then, Eaton cracked before exploring each composer's legacy with a blend of affection, insight and wit.

As Eaton sees it, neither Carmichael nor Porter is well served by widely held views of their work these days. Carmichael, for all his charming melodies, was nothing short of a pop rebel -- a misunderstood "anarchist." During the first half of the program, Eaton demonstrated how the composer's work evolved from jazz-based arrangements into structurally innovative songcraft that still leaves musicians shaking their heads with wonder. As always, seldom heard gems and amusing anecdotes peppered Eaton's performance, but some of the most familiar Carmichael tunes, including "Stardust" and "Rockin' Chair," inspired glowing and affecting interpretations. Eaton refrained from singing some songs, "shamed" by the memory of too many great vocalists, yet his craggy tone and ruminative phrasing proved wonderfully soulful at times.

Indeed, Eaton's poignant vocal rendering of "Just One of Those Things" easily ranked among the evening's highlights when the focus shifted to Porter's genius. Porter's music isn't about sophistication, it's about drama, Eaton insisted, and he offered as proof a rhapsodic version of "Night and Day" and an emotionally stirring take on "Love for Sale."

-- Mike Joyce