Throughout history, great tragedy has often been the source for 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 approach for delivering the commission, but he paid no attention. Werner, ever conscious of his spiritual practice, was inspired to 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 which the 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 that were written in relation: "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 will haunt the listener long after it ends. "Coda" closes the disc; a spacious yet flowing six-and-a-half minute 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. [Editor's Note: Werner was awarded the 2010 Guggenheim Fellowship Award for Music Composition.] - Tom Jurek
Few tragedies strike as hard as that of a child's death preceding that of its parents, something that pianist Kenny Werner and his wife, Lorraine, know far too well. When their daughter, Katheryn, was killed in a 2006 car accident, it sent the couple into a downward spiral from which they were only capable of returning due to the profound strength of their relationship, and the enlightened teachings that, as Werner describes in the almost-too-painful-to-read liner notes to No Beginning No End, "offer us alternative ways to view our lives." The music of No Beginning No End was originally commissioned before Katheryn's passing, but ultimately gave the pianist—with Lorraine's touching support, staying up all night watching movies in the same room while Kenny composed—a real reason to return to music, and to life.
Few albums have ever so clearly demonstrated the healing power of music. The titular commission—a five-piece suite for a 37-piece chamber ensemble that features Werner, tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano and singer Judi Silvano—captures 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 score—conducted with veracity by Fred Harris Jr., who provided the pianist with greatly appreciated advice during the writing and final shaping of the suite—demonstrates a breadth of musical ability that shouldn't really be surprising to any who have followed Werner's career. Still, this album—too far to the classical side of the equation to even be considered as Third Stream, despite improvisation being a part of the picture—opens 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 grief—from denial, through acceptance and on to hope—its generosity and openness making Kenny and Lorraine Werner's journey an intimate, deeply personal and uniquely shared experience. - John Kelman
Tracks
1. Death Is Not The Answer
2. Loved Ones
3. The God Of Time
4. Astral Journey
5. We Three
6. Visitation: Waves Of Unborn
7. Cry Out
8. Coda
JOE LOVANO saxophone
JUDI SILVANO vocals
ALEX MASTRANDO·DANIEL ROCHA·JEREMY THAL·NATHAN KOCI french horn
KENNY WERNER piano
Music and lyrics by Kenny Werner
Half Note Records, Inc. – HN 4543