Search - Kenny Werner :: Beat Degeneration

Be sure to pick up this Album of wonderful Trio Music

gat999 | Warren, MI USA | 01/14/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"All songs are originals and written by Kenny Werner. He is a very talented writer. The set starts out with "Little Big Man", a very nice mid-tempo vamp. His piano does this start / stop musical thing. Musical shifts and changes continue thru this tune. It's a very enjoyable song."Trio Imitation" starts out with a classical sounding solo piano spot. Then the tempo changes. Musically we are back to a jazz feeling. It's a very lovely mid-tempo groove. "Yump" is a high energy tune that cooks. "Guru" starts out slowly but again the tempo builds as Kenny does some musical change-ups in the song. This is a beautiful piece. Some Keith Jarrett style "sing along" can be heard in the background but I don't find it distracting."Voncify the Emulyans" is a medium tempo piece with some nice single line piano runs. "Melodies of 2002" starts out slow to mid tempo but the pace quickens as the tune builds. The set closes with "Beat Degeneration", another high energy piece.Kenny and his trio loosely remind me of the Keith Jarrett Standards Trio. However, they have a voice all their own. The sound is lyrical, modern, clean sounding, and very creative with their tempo shifts and volume change-ups. They play very quietly one second and suddenly the volume has doubled only to quiet down once again.I DO NOT purchase "Live" sets for two reasons (1) I find the crowd noise very distracting and irritating and (2) I find the recording quality sub-par compared to studio efforts.But these obstacles have been removed for the most part. Hand clapping has been limited to two spots on this recording and the irritating claps between tracks has been edited out (except at the end of the album). Kenny does some "sing along" on one song and some crowd noise (bottles) is heard briefly but that is it. Otherwise you would not know this was a live set.The sonic qualities of this recording are very rewarding. It has a "warm" sonic sound. Kenny and the crew paid close attention to capturing each instrument cleanly and clearly. I very much enjoy the recording quality. They have done a fine job in this area also.The bottom line: If you like trio music I believe you will enjoy Kenny Werner and his band mates. This guy has chops. His playing style is very lyrical. He presents original music that is interesting and exciting. I can't wait to hear more from this artist. Perhaps I'll check out some of his older albums."