Toots Thielemans & Kenny Werner

1	Dolphin Dance / Kenny Werner 7:08
2	The Dolphin / Kenny Werner 7:00
3	Sinatra Medley: All the Way/My Way / Kenny Werner 5:57
4	Tender Is the Night / Kenny Werner 3:35
5	Legrand Medley: You Must Believe in Spring/Windmills of Your ... / Kenny Werner 8:34
6	Smile / Kenny Werner 4:38
7	Inspiration / Kenny Werner 4:01
8	Sicilienne / Kenny Werner 4:32
9	Windows / Kenny Werner 3:37
10	Bill Evans Medley: Time Remembered/Very Early / Kenny Werner 7:11
11	Autumn Leaves / Kenny Werner 6:05
12	Disney Medley: When You Wish Upon a Star/Someday My Prince Will Come / Kenny Werner 5:40
13	What a Wonderful World / Kenny Werner 3:33

Barnes & Noble

Documenting more than an hour of inspired musical conversation between the maestro of jazz harmonica and his favored pianist of recent years, Toots Thielemans & Kenny Werner is destined to test the durability of the repeat function on CD players around the world. Adjectives like "introspective," "intimate," and ""creative" define the atmosphere on a free-associative program that spans J. S. Bach, Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Michel Legrand, Herbie Hancock, Charlie Chaplin, a Sinatra medley, a Disney medley, and a Werner original. Thielemans, 79, projects an enormous sound, extracting the uncannily warm timbre that is his signature, more warmth than you'd think a harmonica could offer. Deferential, proactive, and immaculate, a virtual encyclopedia of harmony, Werner is the dream accompanist on piano and synth, complementing every bon mot that Thielemans utters and unleashing solos that match the elder statesman's for feeling and emotional projection. Both play throughout with total commitment to the truth, and the flow is continuous from bar one to the final chord. Ted Panken

All Music Guide

The pairing of Toots Thielemans and Kenny Werner for several live duo concerts in mid-June of 2001 (although there is no audible audience response) is a dream come true for fans of ballads. Whether Werner sticks exclusively to piano or adds the lush strings from his synthesizer as well, he provides the perfect complement to the always lyrical harmonica of the veteran Thielemans. Although Thielemans was 79 at the time of this recording, he has lost none of the daredevil spirit he has demonstrated in the past on up-tempo romps such as those through an exciting "Autumn Leaves" or capturing the emotion within a gem such as Charlie Chaplin's bittersweet "Smile." The songs include beautiful interpretations of classic jazz compositions by Herbie Hancock ("Dolphin Dance"), Chick Corea ("Windows"), and Bill Evans (a medley of the moody "Time Remembered" and the upbeat "Very Early"). Medley salutes to Frank Sinatra, Michel Legrand, and music from Disney movies (a medley of "When You Wish Upon a Star" and "Someday My Prince Will Come") also earn high marks. Too many releases of this nature turn to mush because of repeated overdubs and splicing in of additional keyboard parts; the live nature of the recordings and the inspiration provided by the various audiences (even if listeners never hear them clap, cough, sneeze, or talk) clearly brings out the best in both Thielemans and Werner's playing. This warrants a follow-up date. Ken Dryden