A live club date from last year's Montréal Jazz Festival, this reminds me in some ways of the Werner solo set I reviewed in Galway a few years back (Jazzwise 127). Here, the piano work is equally commanding and equally varied and, though comprising mainly of the most hackneyed of standards such as ‘Round Midnight’ and ‘Giant Steps’, it covers a huge amount of ground stylistically. Everything from modern ‘classical’ references to elements of the existing jazz tradition makes for an absorbing recital. Variety is also shown in the material through the use of Joni Mitchell's ‘I Had A King’ and Werner's one original, the waltz ‘Balloons’, which goes through a number of different feels and textures, including high-register right hand in unison with off-mike whistling. There's almost zero noise from the audience, apart from applause but, if you pick up the sound of the sparsely (but expertly) used sustaining pedal, that can be a bit annoying. The longest track of all is entitled ‘Blue Is Green’ but, playing like this, Werner could make you believe anything.