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Kenny Werner: No Beginning No End
ByFew albums have ever so clearly demonstrated the healing power of music. The titular commissiona five-piece suite for a 37-piece chamber ensemble that features Werner, tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano and singer Judi Silvanocaptures the emotional turmoil that ranges from sheer devastation and grief to reconciliation and peace, coming from Werner's realization that, as Silvano sings in the tranquil and redemptive conclusion, "We Are Three":
Death is not an ending,
Nothing's ever lost
To the God of time.
You are always in my heart.
There are individual performances that elevate the suite, in particular from Lovano, whose cathartic solo during the suite's midpoint, "The God Of Time," vividly conveys emotional upheaval as Werner's scoreconducted with veracity by Fred Harris Jr., who provided the pianist with greatly appreciated advice during the writing and final shaping of the suitedemonstrates a breadth of musical ability that shouldn't really be surprising to any who have followed Werner's career. Still, this albumtoo far to the classical side of the equation to even be considered as Third Stream, despite improvisation being a part of the pictureopens an entirely different window into a pianist who, through his Effortless Mastery books, has become a leading facilitator in the challenging area of getting past distracting hindrances to allow the creative spirit and true spontaneity to flow.
Nowhere is Werner's own effortless mastery more evident than on the closing "Coda," one of three tracks that follow the five-part suite, including a brief but dramatic choral work ("Visitation: Waves Of Unborn") and poignant string quartet ("Cry Out"). An improvisation for piano, vibraphone, marimba and harp that was recorded as an afterthought at the end of the session, based on but the slightest of instructions from Werner, its transcendent serenity is not unlike some of Harold Budd's early work like The Pavilion of Dreams (EG, 1978).
Plenty of records are dedicated to loved ones lost, but few so explicitly work through the emotional rollercoaster. A rare masterpiece, No Beginning No End conveys the stages of grieffrom denial, through acceptance and on to hopeits generosity and openness making Kenny and Lorraine Werner's journey an intimate, deeply personal and uniquely shared experience.
Track Listing
No Beginning, No End: Death Is Not The End, Loved Ones, The God Of Time, Astral Journey, We Three; Visitation: Waves Of Unborn; Cry Out; Coda.
Personnel
Kenny Werner
pianoKenny Werner: piano (1-5, 8); Joe Lovano: tenor saxophone (1-5); Judi Silvano: voice (1-5); Fred Harris Jr.: conductor (1-5); Rose Rutledge: piccolo (1-5); Domenica Fossati: flute (1-5); Alison Crossley: flute (1-5); Melissa Labuda: flute (1-5); Karen Kupferberg: oboe (1-5); Rob Jacoby: oboe (1-5); Jennifer Hood: oboe (alt.) (1-5); Tiffany Robinson: English Horn (1-5);Michiko Chiba: clarinet (1-5); Adam Zagor: clarinet (1-5); Patrick Medina: clarinet (1-5); Jonathan Kantor: clarinet (1-5); Connell Thompson: bass clarinet (1-5); Carly Andriaccio: bassoon (1-5); Matt Rosenberg: bassoon (1-5); Murray James Morrison: alto sax (soprano) (1-5); Geoff Countryman: alto sax (1-5); Lenart Krecic: tenor sax (1-5); Jonah Parzen-Johnsen: tenor saxophone (1-5); Dan Rocha: French Horn (1-5); Jeremy Thal: French Horn (1-5); Nathan Koci: French Horn (1-5); Alex Mastrando: French Horn (1-5); Mat Jodrell: trumpet (1-5); Jon Lijoi: trumpet (1-5); James Zollar: trumpet (1-5); Sean Reed: trombone (1-5); Raymond Mason: trombone (1-5); Jeff Nelson: bass trombone (1-5); Ron Caswell: tuba (1-5); Joe Exley: tuba (alt.) (1-5); Riza Hequibal: harp (1-5, 8); Donny Albro: bass marimba (1-5); Rey Soriano: timpani (1-5); Sean Statser (principal percussion): mallets (1-5), vibraphone (8); Justin Doute: percussion and mallets (1-5); Kae Reed: snare and cymbals (1-5), marimba (8); Paul Frucht: small instrument percussion (1-5); Mark Sherman: small instrument percussion (1-5); 38-piece choir, conducted by Brian P. Gill (6); Todd Reynolds: first violin (7); Caleb Burhans: violin (7); Nadia Sirota: viola (7); Clarice Jensine: cello (7).
Album information
Title: No Beginning No End | Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: Half Note Records