One of the most prolific composers and recording artists in modern piano jazz, Kenny Werner has proven over and over again to be a master of many ensemble configurations, from his famed series of trios to his big band escapades, and most recently (via a Guggenheim award) his epic tribute to his late daughter, No Beginning, No End, featuring woodwinds, voices and strings. Working here with a volcanic quintet of Randy Brecker, David Sanchez, John Pattitucci and Antonio Sanchez, Werner has arguably assembled his most versatile ensemble yet, and Balloons surely ranks with the best of his sessions on record. Recorded live at the Blue Note in New York, the CD boasts four expansive, original works, creating a suite filled with beauty and collaborative energy.  

“Sada” opens the set, an offering of exquisite lyricisim and melody, a sweeping composition that could serve as the soundtrack to a romantic film epic. The close harmonies of the horns and the deep thumping of the bass drum set the stage for Werner’s meditative piano soloing above the seemingly bottomless well of Pattitucci’s bass tones. David Sanchez’s tenor solo sails gloriously over the rhythm section, warm and wistful with a slight edge, his phrasing more than tone reminiscent of Charles Lloyd’s incantations. As they work toward the finish, Brecker’s trumpet flows in and out with Sanchez’s sax, ultimately dissolving over Pattitucci’s assertive vamp. 

A more up-tempo piano introduces a lively horn duet on “Siena.” Brecker solos with clarion authority and reverence for Werner’s majestic melody; David Sanchez as well takes care with the melodic elements while spiraling and cartwheeling freely above Antonio’s thundering percussion and Pattitucci’s driving bass. Werner himself refocuses on the primary theme while taking some side journeys into ever-elegant territory before the horns return home. 

The title track begins as a soulful solo piano reverie, darkly introspective in a Brad Mehldau-ish vein with a dirging bassline vamp and crisply delicate tracings in the upper register. Enter Pattitucci, then the rest, the horns calling out a repeating melodic motif. A marvelous bass solo carries into Brecker’s elegant far-flung flight on flugelhorn. Stepping in seamlessly, David Sanchez flutters and scrambles, waxes poetic one moment and whines mournfully the next on an extended journey that sets down softly into Werner’s light interlude; the piano gives way to Pattitucci’s quiet, final affirmation. 

Werner manages bouncy and rambunctious musings on “Class Dismissed” without spinning out of control, Pattituci and Antonio Sanchez keeping him tethered. Drummer Sanchez gets his own flight of fancy midway through, deftly using space as much as propulsive energy, his rhythmic improvisations providing a master class for any aspiring drummer and a delight for any listener. Simply put—class dismissed! 

Balloons seems to be a summation of all that we have come to love in Kenny Werner’s music—the soft and lyrical, the exciting and assertive, always an effective fusion of inventive mind and searching soul.

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