Beat Degeneration

Ok. Beat Degeneration is the shit. it is. I admit it. Kenny Werner sounds amazing. Ari Hoenig sounds amazing. The bassist(i know, i am remiss) is amazing. the composition and execution of the tunes in a piano trio format is nothing short of revolutionary. The other piano trios that come to mind with the same amount of originallity are the Mehldau Trio and the Esbjorn Svenson Trio. But neither of those are approached quite like Kenny's. His charts are basically little big band charts played on piano. One of the most refreshing aspects for me was the intensity of Kenny and Ari's phrasing. In some places, at the end of a line from Kenny, Ari actually completely stops playing, and then starts in again(often with a slightly different shade) with the next line. It really is one the more exciting things i've come across musically in at least 2 weeks. In some places you hear some Jarrett influence in Kenny's playing. One of the tunes is very Koln Concert-ish.

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On a different note.....
I've had realization fairly recently that the biggest limitation on technique is uncertainty. This may sound obvious, but it's often not talked about in this way. Look at Sonny Rollins' recordings of those annoying tunes, Be Swift and Be Quick. He doesn't have especially jawdropping chops, but changes are so under his fingers that he makes it through. Another aspect of uncertainty is time. You can't play clean double-time if you're not exactly clear about where the 16ths are falling. By the time any attention goes to time, your technique is another notch down. Of course, the most important key to having perfect access to your unflawed technique(other than working it up in the first place) is complete relaxation, and complete relaxation is impossible when any uncertainties are present.