Kenny Werner
No Beginning No End
Half Note Records
www.halfnote.net
By George W. Harris

Educator, composer, pianist and musical/philosophical stirrer of the pot, Kenny Werner presents here a provocative and ambitious musical collaboration with Joe Lovano/ts , Judi Silvano/voice, and an elaborate collection of strings, winds and percussion. The message and lyrics are deeply personal and reflective, as it concerns a personal family tragedy, that works favorably with the music that goes from gentle rhythms and stringed passages to edgy dissonances, quirky voicings and free form blowing from Lovano. Elliptical tunes like “The God Of Time” and “Cry Out” still have moments of pastoral tenderness, with each piece seeming like a part of a thought provoking movie. Yearning, creative, and resonant for all of us that have lost precious jewels.