It’s more than likely you’ve already heard Kenny’s music without it ever really registering; he’s a keyboard player with an impressive CV, appearing on albums from artists such as Shawn Colvin, Richard Shindell, Catie Curtis, Marc Cohn and Cheryl Wheeler. Being a keyboard playing singer/songwriter is obviously a tougher road then the traditional guitar route and this is reflected in the amount of successful artists in this field, but ‘Symphony in 16 Bars’ shows that it’s possible for an independent artist to produce an excellent keyboard based folky singer/songwriter disc.
White’s songs tend to focus on city life and relationships, and he paints his pictures in a startlingly direct manner, it’s not that there isn’t subtle wordplay or craft (the disc is full of both), but there’s little ambiguity here, he gets the stories, messages and emotions across with clarity and honesty, and in a manner that’s immediately engaging. This directness is demonstrated on ‘5 Girls’, a wonderful song firmly rooted in New York that is ostensibly about the balance between risk taking and playing it safe, but the way it gets there is superbly honest and suprising – it’s the centrepiece of the album and memorable song.
While Kenny’s keyboard work is present on every track (mainly piano with variety coming from Wurlitzer, Hammond, B3 and harmonium), this is a disc full of top quality musicians and a wide range of instrumentation – guests include Larry Campbell, Duke Levine, Merrie Amsterburg and Marc Cohn.
‘Symphony in 16 Bars’ has an urban, ‘big city’ feel that you don’t often see on traditional East Coast singer/songwriter discs, and while it’s the combination of lyrics and excellent production that give this sense of location, it’s White’s expressive and varied playing that really creates the atmosphere.
Lyrically strong, musically sophisticated and an excellent and individual singer/songwriter disc. Highly recommended.

£13.49