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Review of the Kenny Werner Trio Performance at Cappers Restaurant (919) 787-8963 Raleigh, North Carolina Wednesday July 10, 1996 Accompanying Kenny were bassist Scott Lee and drummer Tom Bailey |
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Raleigh, North Carolina restaurateurs Keith Fogleman and Karl Ritz are charting new territory in the club scene in North Carolina. They have instituted jazz policies at their two popular upscale restaurants. Cappers and the Black Marlin have long been known in the area for their great food and atmosphere, but now the owners have added another dimension. Both feature live jazz on a regular basis. This appearance of the Kenny Werner Trio inaugurates the Icons of Jazz Series at Cappers. Other artists in this series include Jane Ira Bloom, Stanley Jordan, Sonny Fortune and Phil Woods. As in any other jazz venture, having major artists perform in areas such as North Carolina can be a risky business. I urge you to stop by these places and buy a sandwich, hold a business lunch for 20, or just spread the news to your friends about what these two guys are doing. This is an activity that deserves our continued patronage as dedicated jazz fans. Cappers Restaurant The Black Marlin Restaurant Note: Who is Kenny Werner? Kenny Werner is a jazz pianist who has dedicated his music making to pure spontaneous melodic creation, serving no special jazz agenda other than that part of the tradition he is personally involved in. Others will often pander to the audience, providing blues clichés, and other musical "hooks" in order to take them by the hand and lead them down a well-trodden path of what has come to be known as "the familiar jazz music." Mozart realized that this is not the real essence of making music. A few jazz pianists in the past, such as Bill Evans and Lenny Tristano also followed these Mozartian tenants, even though they ran the risk of appealing mainly to a purest audience. The essence of music making is a very sincere, ritualistic activity for Werner. He takes time readying himself and his fellow musicians for this powerful music-making in intimate and pensive ways. ("See Playing For The Right Reasons," an article by Kenny Werner in the Letter From Evans back issue set which can be ordered from this web site.) Werner uses standard forms of the jazz repertoire as well as personally structured vehicles for his spontaneous creation. But, like Mozart at his best, there will be no acknowledgment of the audience's musical wishes or preconceptions. Werner always plays from the heart, without any scheme to make an audience follow his intentions in any preconceived way. The music he makes is always entirely personal and does not show any specific homage or abeyance to the historical masters, except in those he finds commonality. If you really listen to Werner's music, you get the unique opportunity to follow him through his own psyche, taking the twists and turns of his existence, his family, his immediate circles of influence. You can experience his reactions to the events of his life, spoken through that most personal, yet readily understandable language of the "Universal Mind" of music, (see Bill Evans). He does this utilizing a good piano, and the traditional and conversational roles of the bassist and drummer, contributing, supporting, and prodding the particular jazz vehicle at hand. This is not music to chew food by, talk business, or make love with. This is a journey directly to Werner's mind and heart. As I whispered to the young lady sitting directly across the table from me after the trio finished "Stella By Starlight," "this is better than sex!" So, take Werner's music in the way is was intended, in the Mozartian Absolute Music model, without any condiments or "salt and pepper to taste," applying your most dogged attention and concentration. You'll be rewarded with a rare personal glimpse into a very gifted musician's art and will appreciate the process much more than just another jazz cliché group re-creating someone else's art. Werner's music is always from a unique vantage point. Detailed Review: First Set: "Stella By Starlight" standard Second Set: "Whisper Not" Benny Golson The first set could have been called the "Kenny Werner Set" as he played very personal interpretations of standards. The second set showed more allegiance to his many influences including, most notably, Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk. Werner gave "Stella" a long rubato introduction. One of Werner's major contributions to the art is his ability to carefully weave several "threads" of motific development throughout a tune, keeping each one independent, yet making all sound integral to the form and/or melody of the tune. I heard at least three different threads which were all developed yet the tune retained everything that one thinks of when playing "Stella." Werner was doing this back when I first heard him six (or so) years ago but now he has refined it to something very individual. It seems that now he concentrates on developing fewer threads and ideas to a higher musical degree instead of introducing more threads and ideas but developing them less. His chops are phenomenal, easily executing any particular energy route he wishes to take, whether it be flurries of fast notes, or coaxing subtle tones out of the instrument. At one point in the set, I heard sounds as if he were stroking the strings inside the cabinet, like many of the newer players do to achieve a particular sonic effect. Werner's consummate pianistic ability (along with the good instrument) enabled this and many other tones and shadings from the keyboard itself. Another highlight of the first set was Werner's treatment of Chick Corea's "Windows." Most are content to let the tune just float along on it's own compositional merits. Werner breaths a different life into the tune, playing it in a bright, but laid-back, three but then doing some overt time overlays, at one point breaking into a very bright, burning 4/4 for a few minutes. Werner has really turned this tune into a true jazz vehicle rather than just another pretty waltz. Benny Golsen's perennial "Whisper Not" started the second set. Werner chose to give a relaxed reading, letting Benny's music speak for itself. There is a section of the tune, a turn-around area that lends itself to playing the first five chords of Coltrane's "Giant Steps." Werner chose not to do this, staying faithful to the original. (I haven't heard this done before - it just dawned on me at the time, making a mental note to check it out further.) Werner did an original (and probably impromptu) treatment of "Forest Flower," going into the tune "In Your Own Sweet Way," then playing the tune "Poincianna" in the A-flat seventh interlude section each time. It provided melodic interest and yet another instance of "threading" but in a more defined method. Alternation between the three tunes became more heated and then Werner finished in a very humorous eight bar ending, quoting a tune whose title I will not repeat here. (You have to have been there folks!) If I had to choose a singular highlight of the evening (for me anyway) it was the playing of two Bill Evans tunes, "Time Remembered" and "Blue In Green." Werner is one of the very few pianists who gives a very personal treatment of these tunes, injecting his own persona into the mix. In many respects, these tunes become better vehicles for jazz in Werner's hands. When Evans played them, they were new - more compositions than jazz vehicles. Werner puts his own thing into these tunes in a way which I think Bill would have really dug if he were alive today; perhaps in the same way that Bill put new life into the tune "Quiet Now" by Denny Zeitlin. Very few trios know "Time Remembered" well enough to do this. To my knowledge, the Werner trio has been the most successful. I hear new things in the tune when Werner plays it. In many respects, I enjoy him playing it more than listening to Bill's many recordings. In summary the Kenny Werner Trio remains one of the few jazz trios to be reckoned with, on the level of musicianship of the Bill Evans/Scott LaFaro genre. Listen to this guy! |
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