Pianist Kenny Werner has been plunging into deep waters on his latest few albums. This time around, he teams up with gentle toned vocalist Peter Eldridge in a mixture of originals and standards, teamed with luscious and dreamy atmospheres.
Along with Werner, Eldridge is framed by a jazz team of Yoron Israel/dr, matt ARonoff/b and The Fantastical String Orchestra conducted by cellist Eugene Friesen. The result is soft pastels of piano segueing to voice and strings on material such as the deep “That Which Can’t Be Explained” the elliptical “Minds OF Their Own” softly brushed “Untitled Lament” and long shadowed “Difficult.” George Garzone brings in his tenor for a hip and thoughtful “Ballad For Trane” while Eddie Arnold’s “You Don’t Know Me” sounds gloriously sorrowful. Their version of the famed Bernstein title track is part of a dream-like medley that ties together with “A Time For Love,” but starts off with a heart on sleeve duet between the two gents. Eldridge and Werner went for deep purple hues on this one, and it works wondrously.