I was *starting* to think that recenty.
after seeing the Louisville show, and seeing everyone else do incredible solos, kamal let it down to much.. (although he does always rip on Melting Pot)
but Kamal stepped it up in Nashville 3 weeks later.. he's added a little more virtuosity into his solo recently, instead of just the covers and the normal shit he does..
in conclusion, he's a very important part of the group... sure they could find a *better* keyboardist... but any band could really (except Medeski, Martin, & Wood).