The Melody marks the latest chapter in pianist Kenny Werner’s long running trio explorations. 

Fans will recall Werner’s trio with German bassist Johannes Weidenmüller and Philadelphia-born drummer Ari Hoenig begun at the end of the 1990s. Their records together go back to Beat Degeneration at the beginning of the new millennium and With A Song in My Heart more recently. 

Highly influential both as a player, often to be heard performing with Joe Lovano for instance, and teacher – his former pupils include luminaries such as Brad Mehldau – the New Yorker’s 1990s book Effortless Mastery is one of the most-read guides to the technical, creative and spiritual aspects of jazz performance.

Tunes on The Melody are old Broadway number ‘Try to Remember’, ‘Who’, ‘Balloons,’ John Coltrane’s ‘26-2’, an outtake from Coltrane’s Sound, ‘Voncify the Emulyans’ [there's a version of this piece on Beat Degeneration], Dave Brubeck’s ‘In Your Own Sweet Way’ and ‘Beauty Secrets.’

Werner was one of the tutors and performers at the Sligo Jazz Project a couple of years ago and at one gig he played some of the tunes now on this album including ‘In Your Own Sweet Way’ and ‘Balloons.’ The latter Werner original owes its name to this story that he told the audience at the Hawk’s Well that sunny week in Sligo and repeated often when he introduces the tune: “When my kid had a birthday party, my wife would buy 50 helium-filled balloons. The house would be filled with those balloons. After the party was over, the balloons would stay in the house until they all died. The song charts the trajectory of the balloons from when they were bouncing against the ceiling until the depressing point when they were hovering just off the floor.” It’s a memorable offbeat unusual image that stays long in the memory just like Werner’s way with a song throughout his career. SG

The Melody is released on the German Pirouet label. UK release date is 22 June. Above, the trio.