This review is for the sheet music from Kevin Kern's 2024 album, Winter's Lullaby. Downloads for all nine piano solos from the recording are available, but there are no plans for printed songbooks. I've included all nine pieces in this review, and you can pick and choose the ones you'd like to buy.

Winter's Lullaby is Kevin Kern's first full-length album since 2016's When I Remember, and I think it indicates more of his jazz background (he was mentored by jazz great George Shearing) rather than being strictly "new age." Kevin transcribed all of the pieces and then I proof-read them, ensuring that they are as close to the recordings as possible. The album has a total of fourteen tracks, and these are all nine of the piano solos, listed alphabetically.

AULD LANG SYNE - Key of F (1 flat) and Db (5 flats) - 3 1/2 pages
This piece is appropriately at the end of the album since it is traditionally for New Year's Eve. It is moderately slow and can be played very expressively. It is not difficult to play, although there are some wide reaches on the left hand

BRING A TORCH, JEANETTE, ISABELLA - Key of G (1 sharp) - 5 1/2 pages
This is one of the easier pieces in the collection and is bright and fun to play.

DECK THE HALLS - Key of Eb (3 flats) - 5 pages
This arrangement is in what I would call a jazz waltz rhythm and has a lot of jazz chords that are on the discordant side, offering some surprising harmonies. Even more surprising is the insertion of a sampling of Erik Satie's "Gymnopedie #3" near the end. Fun to play, and somewhat challenging.

GOD REST YE MERRY, GENTLEMEN - Key of Fm (4 flats) - 5 1/2 pages
This one also has some jazz chords and harmonies, giving it a different "flavor" from other arrangements. I found that some of the chords didn't immediately fall under my fingers since they are "different," but that was remedied with playing it a few more times.

O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM - Key of G (1 sharp), Eb (3 flats) 4 1/2 pages
This is a beautiful arrangement the Christmas classic - very peaceful. There are a few wide reaches on the left hand that can be rolled or changed to octaves to fit your hand.

SING WE NOW OF CHRISTMAS - Key of Dm (1 flat) - 4 1/2 pages
This is one of the easier pieces and is a lot of fun to play.

TOYLAND - Key of Dm (1 flat), Db (5 flats) - 5 1/2 pages
A lively waltz, there are some big chords on the first page and in the closing section, but most of the chords are very easy to reach and to read.

WE THREE KINGS - Key of Fm (4 flats) - 8 pages
This one is a bit more challenging and is fairly long, but is well-worth the time it takes to master it.

WINTER'S LULLABY - Key of F (1 flat) - 4 pages
This is Kevin's original composition and is a real charmer. It starts out in the upper octaves of the piano and sounds like a toy piano. It gradually moves into the "normal" playing range on the piano keyboard while maintaining the feeling of childhood innocence. It is also quite easy to play.

The pieces of sheet music are available to download from SheetMusicPlus.com, SheetMusicDirect.com, and MusicNotes.com.