Kenny Werner - No Beginning No End (2010)

Throughout history, great tragedy has often been the sourcefor great art. This is certainly true of Kenny Werner's No Beginning No End, a work that began as a commission for the MIT Wind Ensemble, but changed in scope and nature after October 7, 2007, when his daughter was killed in a car accident. During his period of grief, the deadline began to approachfor delivering the commission, but he paid no attention. Werner, ever conscious of his spiritual practice, was inspiredto write a poem that became the lyric for this five-movement work, and enabled him to not only conceive the entire piece but finish it in time for its debut – which he admits in his heartfelt liner essay was ragged. The score was radically revised in 2009 and included sections for brass, strings, and percussion. It was recorded by a 37-piece ensemble and his piano. Vocalist Judi Silvano and saxophonist Joe Lovano overdubbed their parts onto the finished work. The poem that serves the root of this piece is gorgeously delivered, one note per word by Silvano. That note becomes the root on whichthe ensemble plays Werner's composition, and for Lovano's and Werner's improvisations. Elements of classical music – Western and Indian – dialogue seamlessly with jazz and structured improvisation for nearly 50 minutes, creating a work of transcendent spiritual beauty. It ends not with a conclusion, but an introduction to something beyond the confines of the work itself. In addition to "No Beginning No End" (comprised of five separate titles), there are three other pieces written related to it: "Visitation: Waves of Unborn" is a wordless a cappella for a 36-member choir that deals harmonically with the idea of music not as a noun but as a presence created by the souls dwelling between death and rebirth in the bardo. "Cry Out" was written as a simple, direct, and deeply emotive piece for a string quartet. Less than seven minutes in length, it is nonetheless one of the most memorable works Werner has ever composed; its entwining lyric lines willhaunt the listener long after it ends. "Coda" closes the disc; a spacious yet flowing six-and-a-half improvisation for piano, marimba, vibraphone, and harp, based in the E Mixolydian scale. Taken as a whole, No Beginning No End is a work for which there is no comparison, and few referents. Born of grief, it reflects only beauty, poetic and profound; it is Werner's master work.

TRACKLIST
01 Death Is Not The Answer
02 Loved Ones
03 The God of Time
04 Astral Journey
05 We Three
06 Visitation Waves of Unborn
07 Cry Out
08 Coda