Search - Kenny Werner :: Peace

A masterpiece with the energy of Miles Davis second Quintet

M. Rodriguez Frederic | 05/15/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"why is it that nobody has yet reviewed this wonderful cd !
I was in Marciac the other day (A French village in the South West) and I saw these guys (Kenny, Ari and Johannes) play a tremendous music. I was stunned by their performances (besides Gary Bartz joyfully and giftedly joined the group to play a favoured second set). I had already listened to Form and Fantasy and Beat Degeneration before. With Peace (from a Horace Silver's composition), they prove what we already knew : THIS TRIO IS A GREAT ONE such as Oscar Peterson's, Ahmad Jamal's, Bill Evans', Chick Corea's or Keith Jarrett's at some point... and to say it differently these guys play a music which has the same intensity and strength as the Second Miles Davis Quintet. For that matter, it's no surprise that the set (recorded live at the Blue Note in NYC) starts with Pinocchio and Fall (both from Nefertiti). Ari and Johannes put a subtle bossa nova spin underneath at the 6:33 mark and Kenny quotes offhand Erroll Garner's Misty at the 7:00 mark... Amazing !!! Stella By Starlight is a turn of a screw with a radical exploration... Johannes makes us think of Ron Carter at his best ! All things are you is a wink of an eye to the standard we all know (and we think of Charlie Parker's Bird of Paradise...) : But as Bill Mikowski put it, you'll need a road map to navigate through all the jagged, stop time statements that occur during the trio's detour...
Peace from Silver is a wonderful ballad and Thelonious Monk's Evidence is gorgeous as well. Werner's buoyant originals (Jabili, chach) are underscored by Hoenig's deft brushwork and the pianist luminous keyboard touch. Ari Hoenig is the dignified successor of Tony Williams indeed (listen to the passage between Nefertiti and Fall) and the group is never one with a soloist and two sidemen, but three real musicians, having mutual respect and trust, giving space to one another, reveling in the sheer joy of self-expression.
The fact that I dare say this group has the same energy that of Miles Davis Second Quintet should, I hope, entice you to get this cd anyhow."

The best trio ever

M. Rodriguez Frederic | 06/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This trio is so refreshing, so far from being boring (which is rare nowadays, listen to the Standard Trio + Brad Mehldau's "art of the trio" : both have lost (at least, to me) what used to be THE refreshing THING (Keith since his 1996 set in Tokyo and Brad since his volume 3...). Well, the REFRESHING THING, we got it here with this live in NYC at the blue note. No doubt the best trio recording since 2000 ! Groove(superb Monk's Evidence with a Monkish introduction with Johannes'double bass) , fantasy, soulfood (Peace : a rare and beautiful meditation) , disorientation (Magnificent Stella By Starlight, one had to dare this one !), latin jazz (Evidence again), and quotations here and there.
After hearing this wonderful set, your ears will feel over-satisfied.
A note to compare this cd with the previous ones : this one is really the best of the three lives he performed with the same killers : Ari (absolutely Fabulous) and Johannes (ab Fab too)
PS : the music that Amazon put on demonstration is not the right one. They made a mistake."

An important and beautiful album

Brian Donohoe | Austin, TX | 06/28/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Peace" is one of my favorite piano trio albums of all time, and one of the best examples of the innovative rhythmic development happening on the modern jazz scene. While Kenny Werner, Johannes Weidenmueller, and Ari Hoenig get into some seriously brainy and complex metric superimposition, the tunes never lose their elegant beauty. Selections from this record show how compelling music can be when its intellectual complexity is matched by its aesthetic substance. Kenny Werner's trio should serve as an excellent standard for all modern and progressive jazz musicians."