Mac Rebennack's life, which has often seemed to be a state of permanent Mardi Gras, has been spent creating a fusion of styles heady even by the standards of his native New Orleans.

In the late-Sixties and early-Seventies, he blended gospel, Cajun, blues and psychedelia to produce a voodoo sound of his own.

Much of this older material was written with a ten-piece band in mind and it suffered from the lack of accompaniment in this solo show.

There was none of the skittering percussion, wailing horns and call-and-response vocals which characterise his best work.

The concert was still often a joyous affair, but In The Right Place without The Meters' languid funk backing or I Walk On Gilded Splinters without the gospel choir were lesser glories than they might have been.

Instead, he was merely the finest boogie woogie pianist you had ever seen. He is the musician Jools Holland dreams of being but we shouldn't hold that agaiinst him.

Lately, he has gravitated towards smoky readings of jazz standards by the likes of Duke Eillington.

Come Rain Or Come Shine from his latest album, Mercenary, a collection of interpretations of the songs of Johnny Mercer, showed him continuing this trend.

That wonderful, rasping voice, old before its time, has aged well and his interpretative gifts are strong, but the results were hardly unique.

Dapper as ever in a pink suit, even a musician of his immense (in every sense) stature seemed a little dwarfed at times by the huge venue. A smaller hall would have been better suited to a solo show.

The relative lack of between-song banter, especially given his extraordinary accent, was also a little disappointing.

But his propulsive, exuberant piano playing is one of the most infectious sounds around and, even if not at the peak of his powers, we should be grateful he made the trip.