Lawn Chair Society

Kenny Werner | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 23, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: BLUE NOTE
• ASIN: B000MX7SW8
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,685 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. New Amsterdam

2. The 13th Day

3. burble_burble_splerk

4. Uncovered Heart

5. Inaugural Balls

6. west_coast_variant

7. Lo's Garden Suite

8. Loss

9. Kothbiro

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Jazz is characterized by democratic group improvisation, so it's natural that artists like the Brooklyn-born pianist//keyboardist/composer Kenny Werner offer insightful and inventive critiques on American democratic society. On his Blue Note debut, Werner's impressive "cabinet" includes trumpeter/cornetist Dave Douglas, drummer Brian Blade, bassist Scott Colley, and saxophonist/clarinetist Chris Potter. With Tower of Power's Lenny Picket in the production chair, Werner's take on the unreality of American life is manifested in techno-savvy computer grooves, acoustic swing, strong contrapuntal exchanges, and genre-bending idioms. "Lo's Garden," "Inaugural Balls," "New Amsterdam," and "Lawn Chairs (and Other Foreign Policy)" are syncopated soapboxes ringing with Kraftwerk/James Brown/Herbie Hancock Headhunter-type rhythms and angular melodies, contrasted by the mournful aura of "The 13th Day," written for his late daughter, and "Kothbiro," from the film The Constant Gardener. Werner's bop, beats, and bytes will live on long after the polls close. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

Product Description

Active for nearly three decades, Kenny Werner has earned a reputation as one of the most inventive pianists and composers in jazz. With Lawn Chair Society, he joins the illustrious roster of Blue Note Records and unveils the most thrilling and unorthodox statement of his career thus far. He is joined by some of the best players in the world- Dave Douglas, in a rare sideman appearance, on trumpet and cornet; Chris Potter on tenor sax and bass clarinet; Scott Colley on bass; and Brian Blade on drums. With the aide of producer Lenny Pickett, Werner and the band conjure a subtle blend of acoustic and electronic elements. The results are melodically rich, sonically futuristic, offhandedly virtuosic, and politically resonant.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transcendent jazz, March 6, 2007

By 

Jan P. Dennis "Longboard jazzer" (Monument, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lawn Chair Society (Audio CD)

Kenny Werner, long a mainstay on the ultracompetitive NY scene, here produces not only his finest disc but one for the ages.

First off, he's assembled perhaps the Ultimate Jazz Band: reigning postmodern trumpeter Dave Douglas; Sonny's heir on sax, Chris Potter; Scott Colley, bassist extraordinaire (with his own great 2007 release, Architect of the Silent Moment); and drum monster Brian Blade. Some of these musicians, I venture to say, here turn in their finest performances on record. Chris Potter, especially, seems fully on his altogether formidable game (check out, e.g., his mesmerizing solo on "The 13th Day).

Second, he's on Blue Note, and he gets nothing but the finest treatment as regards promotion, packaging, and, most significantly, production--Lenny Picket doing his best Tucker Martine electro-acoustic imitation, and coming up with stunning instrumental clarity and imaging.

Third, and this is impossible to adequately express, but it graces the proceedings with the profoundest pathos: Kenny lost his lovely daughter, Katheryn, sometime within the timeframe of this recording. How tragic for a parent to bury his offspring! One wonders how he could even proceed under such grave and tragic circumstances. The lovely ballad, "Uncovered Heart," one of the most poignant and beautiful ballads ever composed, first recorded on a Sunny Side disc of the same title as a tribute to his new-born Katheryn, here takes on an almost unbearable pathos with her untimely death. There's a simplicity and, one might almost say, holiness, about this recording that nearly rends the heart. I regard this as perhaps the absolute high-point of my nearly thirty years of jazz listening experience. For me, this tune conjures up my most beloved memories: the Santa Ynez Valley outside Santa Barbara at sunset, the hills bathed in golden loveliness, scrub oak and native grasses all aglow.

Fourth, Kenny has written a handful of brilliantly quirky tunes, brimming with impossibly infectious rhythms and wacky harmonies, to engage even the most jaded jazz warrior. Weirdly, they're perfectly accessible, even when they go way out as on "Inaugural Balls." Kenny Werner has here certainly found his compositional métier.

Twenty-first century jazz of the absolute highest accomplishment: edgy, hip, profound, and stone brilliant.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Discover Kenny, now is the time and this is the place, March 22, 2007

By 

James Lamperetta (Upstate, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lawn Chair Society (Audio CD)

Kenny Werner has been a mainstay on the scene for almost thirty-years now. During this time he has been an in-demand sideman who has also gigged regularly and recorded albums as a leader for a few different labels.
With his new disc "Lawn Chair Society" the pianist joins forces with Blue Note and delivers his masterpiece to date.
Comprised of ten tunes that are as hip and intelligent as they are idiosyncratic, Werner offers up an invigoratingly fresh spin on "tradition" as he traverses the modern jazz spectrum.
Augmenting his piano duties with keyboards and computer, assistance is provided by the jazz equivalent of a dream team- reedman Chris Potter, bassist Scott Colley, drummer Brian Blade, and trumpeter Dave Douglas in a rare sideman appearance.
Opting to sculpt a "studio" album as a departure from the more "performance" oriented nature of his previous outings, the pianist expertly wields a broader compositional and sonic palette.
A trio of vignettes spotlight Werner's playful yet artistic knack with integrating technology into the jazz milieu. "burble_burble-splerk" features Douglas' at his rubbery best, "west_coast_variant" is a springboard for an inspired foray by Potter, and the aptly titled "Loss" features Blade's inimitable minimalist shadings against a wash of mournful keyboard swells.
"The 13th Day" and "Uncovered Heart" form the disc's emotional and artistic centerpiece, the inspiration for both being Werner's daughter Katheryn who was tragically killed in a car accident last fall at the age of 16.
The previously recorded "Uncovered Heart" (which Werner had already intended to reprise before the accident) was composed the day his daughter was born in 1989. "The 13th Day" refers to the pianist's spiritual belief that the souls of the departed remain on Earth for twelve days before moving on to other realms on the 13th.
Celebratory as opposed to maudlin, Werner turns what must be the unwieldy weight of a broken heart into a tribute in which his many emotions are vivid and palpable. Even as the ensemble chimes in with heartfelt empathy these tunes resonate with a highly personal touch. Movingly poignant and hauntingly beautiful, the goose-bumps and lump in your throat remain long after the music ends.
Werner's previous two discs were "Democracy" and "Peace." Here he continues to address political themes with the confident strut of "Inaugural Balls" and the cool-detachment of "Lawn Chairs (and Other Foreign Policy)."
The delicate disc-closing "Kothbiro" is the only tune not to spring forth from Werner's pen. Heard during the closing credits to the movie "The Constant Gardner," the pianist notes that, "Though it is a somber piece, it's not just about sadness. It's about consciousness, awareness, hope, and joy."
This is highly recommended listening.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Merits the buzz, April 12, 2008

By 

Olukayode Balogun (Leeds, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lawn Chair Society (Audio CD)

There was a buzz about this CD online, in jazz magazines and here on Amazon, long before I finally decided to give it a try. I'd never heard of Kenny Werner before but I took additional heart from the fact that some of my favourite people are on this album - Dave Douglas on trumpet and cornet, Chris Potter on tenor sax and bass clarinet, Scott Colley on bass and most of all, my man Brian Blade on the drums.

I felt like a lot of previous reviewers did when I played it for the first time (I was like, what the..?) and by the time I'd listened to the first two tracks, I actually began to think that I'd made a huge mistake. They just sounded like computer-programmed gobbledegook. But then, "The 13th Day" started and I began to relax. Maybe this won't be so bad after all, I thought to myself.

After the tune finished, I actually went back and listened to "Lo's Garden" and "New Amsterdam" again and it might sound strange but I suddenly heard them in a new light. I found myself playing those two songs again and again and the more I played them, the more they made sense. By the time I finally got to "burble_burble_splerk", another computer-based intriguing number (that at 2mins 29 secs, was over before I could really get my head round it until I'd listened to it at least three or four times), it was as if a light had come on in my head and I finally got where Werner was coming from. This keyboardist (and computer programmer) has a very unique and totally unconventional approach to composition and improvisation but he's incredibly exciting once you get used to him. He seems to use the computer mostly to create sound effects, including voices. Give this a couple of listens and the magic in it becomes crystal clear. Now I know why he's held in such high regard in jazz circles.

It's not all experimental or avant-garde stuff though. There are a couple "traditional" jazz tunes - "The 13th Day" (12mins 25secs of pure rhythmic fun and a real head-nodding, toe-tapper); "Uncovered Heart", a beautiful ballad penned by album producer Lenny Picket; "Inaugural Balls", another joyful kicker of a tune (and the "voices", when they come in, are a really interesting idea); "Lawn Chairs (and Other Foreign Policy)", another beautiful ballad in two movements; "Loss" is as it suggests and "Kothbiro" is also slow and mournful, and like a jam session where all the musicians involved get to say something on the one song. A brilliant album closer.

I'm glad I picked this one up. It totally merits the buzz.