Kurt Rosenwinkel Quartet, Ronnie Scott's, 18 April 2011

Photo from Kurt's website - http://www.kurtrosenwinkel.com/

The last time I saw Kurt he was with his standards trio, focusing on in depth interpretations of classic jazz tunes with a focus on chordal improvisation. This larger format (Aaron Parks on piano, Eric Revis on bass and Justin Faulkner on drums) showcased Kurt's compositions, his virtuosity and expressiveness as a melodic improviser and his ability to lead a band from the front. If the trio is at the George van Eps end of Kurt's spectrum (virtuosic chordal soloing, minimal effects), this quartet is at the Allan Holdsworth end (virtuosic single note soloing, an array of pedals).

From the drum intro to Our Secret World we could tell the this was going to be an evening of focused, energetic and intense music. I love the way that Kurt reinterprest and reinvents his compositions. Our Secret World is one of the intriguing tunes that made its debut on Heatcore. Comparing it to the version that Kurt played on Monday and the recent big band recording, it has matured considerably. Kurt's soloing had a deep yearning quality and within a few choruses he was really soaring, lines just flowing out of him. It lifted the music and, even though the material was probably unfamilar to most, it took the audience with him.

Kurt followed this with Deja vu, Safe Corners, A Shifting Design (and then I lost track). With each tune you could tell that Kurt was clearly aiming at something that he head in his head. By the the communication with the rest of the band and his comments about the (seemingly minor) inadequacies of the sound, he has the ears of a bat and just completey inhabits his world of sound. I like the way each band member has clearly defined roles (not always the case). Eric Revis take care of the bottom end with his bass. He doesn't try to play the bass like a guitar player (he didn't spend a lot of time at the dusty end) and he has a great groove. The young drummer Justin Faulker brought a lot of energy to the music and made sure that the collective sense of direction had some power behind it. Aaron Parks on piano never tried to compete with Kurt. He provided a lot of harmonic interest when comping and he solos had lots of space in them and interesting intervals (I made a mental note to check out some of his recordings).

Arrayed on the floor in from of Kurt were about 20 pedals and from where I sat it was really interesting to see how he userd them. He mixes the effects with a clean signal and is able to do things like hitting a volume-type pedal to sustain a particular note or chord, taking his foot off and them playing lines over the chord. Its totally built into his playing, as naturally as McCoy Tyner might use a piano sustain pedal. Seeing Kurt with his foot on the pedal reminded my at times of Jimi Hendrix - not just in terms of the effects but also in terms of the use of the band. Jimi usually told Noel Redding what to play (a lot of Eric's bass lines were composed) and Mitch Mitchell had the freedom to provide a lot of energy and interest (as Justin did).

The evening was all originals, I think, with the exception of one Mark Turner tune. It's difficult to say what his compositions are like. The majority of them I know through repeated listening. One point of comparison are the Wayne Shorter & Miles Davis tunes of the mid-Sixties. At times, I also thought of some of Led Zeppelin's more esoteric outings (e.g. Kashmir from Physical Graffiti). Obviously they are not easy to classify but they certainly acknowledge the jazz tradition in terms of their conception (heads, solos, the roles of the instruments).

A fantastic gig and great to see Kurt having an impact in the UK. He always seems to have had much wider acceptance in mainland Europe and had just come from 5 nights in Paris. Hearing this great New York band in Ronnie's made it feel like the Village Vanguard and, hopefully, it provided some influence and direction to some of the British musicians in attendance. This music is fresh, exciting and deep too. It's music I love.

Here is a review of the same gig from today's Financial Times.

George Van Eps - I've Got a Crush on You

This beautifully illustrates the approach described by Kurt Rosenwinkel in the quote below. This is real "lap piano" stuff. Literally "marvellous"!

Kurt Rosenwinkel, George Van Eps and Bach's fugues

An interesting interview Kurt Rosenwinkel in the April 2010 edition of Downbeat. I am very intrigued by his playing of standards - both on the Reflections recording and having seen him live. He has a very dynamic approach to chord voicings, which he elaborates on in this extract:

Johann Sebastian Bach

Ask Rosenwinkel about his formative influences, and he’ll mention Kevin Eubanks, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Bill Frisell, Tal Farlow and rockers Alex Lifeson and Jimmy Page. But his first-among-equals role model seems to be seven-string guitarist George Van Eps, whom he cites, along with the “Lute Suites” of Bach, as his source for creating multiple independent lines. “The possibilities that Bach’s music contains for the left hand are astounding—how it’s possible to play a fugue with three lines going in different directions at the same time, all contained within the finger mechanics of the left hand. George Van Eps was also dealing with moving lines inside of chords and cadences within a voice through left-hand finger mechanics. What he and Bud Powell have in common is a thorough and deep knowledge of the way that harmony connects in terms of the inner voices.”

New Kurt Rosenwinkel record out next week!

I'm very excited by the prospect of a new Kurt Rosenwinkel record which showcases his compositions in an orchestral setting. Kurt is a brilliant guitarist but what I like most of all is the  depth and originality of his tunes. The influences are almost untraceable - european classical and folk, science fiction, hip-hop, pop, world music and jazz. They just seem to be the product of a massive musical imagination, intelligence, intuition and a big heart. Admittedly, his style may not be as easily accessible as, say Brad Mehldau, but I've found it rewards repeated listening.

The album was recorded with the Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos (OJM), a Portuguese big band, and is released on the independent WOM label. You can catch some pre-release excerpts here. From what I've heard so far, it sounds great and is probably one of Kurt's most accessible recordings.

Kurt Rosenwinkel: "Reflections" reviewed

This is Kurt's first trio recording since his debut East Coast Love Affair on Fresh Sound in 1996 and is interesting because of its focus on Kurt the guitarist, rather than Kurt the composer or bandleader. I"ve listened to this most days since it arrived a couple of weeks ago and will probably continue to listen to it over the coming weeks as it is so rich and there is so much to listen to.

What intrigues me so much about Kurt's playing is that there are so many dimensions to it. Listening to, say, the opener Monk's Reflections, he is articulating the melody, accompanying the melody with chords, improvising with both chords and melodic lines, capturing a certain mood and striving to say something new. This is a pianistic approach and, it there is any obvious difference to his debut over ten years ago is that he has extended his harmonic range and technical facility in order to fully embrace this pianistic approach. It was George Van Eps who pioneered this approach to the guitar and provided an comprehensive set of studies (Harmonic Mechanisms for Guitar) for guitarists wishing to play what he called "lap piano". Kurt sounds as though he has dug deep into these studies in order to master this approach. I've often marveled at how Charlie Hunter can sustain a bass groove with chords and single-note lines. Kurt goes one step further, as he adds in harmonic improvisation. To my ears, this sounds like several chains of musical thought happening in parallel.

For this recording Kurt is joined by my favourite contemporary drummer, Eric Harland, with Eric Revis on bass. That said, the focus is on the guitar with the rhythm section primarily playing a supporting role. If the there is a theme it's that, overall the tunes are ballads - a mix of standards, Wayne Shorter, Monk and just one Kurt original, a re-interpretation of East Coast Love Affair.

Following the statement of the theme, Reflections swings through a set or improvised variations ending with a solo statement of the tune by Kurt in which the subtleties of his harmonic approach are to the fore. You Go To My Head consists of an intro followed by a statement of the theme with Kurt embellishing the spaces between the lines with some nice, pianistic flourishes, bringing to mind Bud Powell, and some rich harmonies remiscent of guitarist Johnny Smith.

Fall is a radical re-working of a Wayne Shorter tune that appears on Miles' Nefertitti album. Beginning with a loose, funky-ish drum pattern, the tune has no head as such. Kurt takes it's circular form and varies it subtly from one chorus to the next, moving the melody and accompanying harmony in a variety of directions. It's a tune I've played over again on several occasions just because I like its mesmerising effect. East Coast Love Affair begins with composed intro that imagine has developed over the ten or so years he has played the tune. The first solo is from Eric Revis, Kurt then plays several choruses that really sing and include some flashes of virtuosic brilliance that we would expect on any of his recordings.

The solo guitar intro to Monk's Ask Me Now is pure George Van Eps. Eric Revis plays a really tasteful solo. The next tune is perhaps my favourite, Wayne Shorter's Ana Maria - an interesting up-tempo bossa nova. I like it because the tune is beautiful and is not one I know. It has that nice mix that we would expect from Jobim's finest bossa novas - melancholia, thoughtfulness and an uplifting quality. The head of More Than You Know is another opportunity for Kurt to show how he can state a theme, provide interesting chordal flourishes and some spectacular double-time ornamentation. During the soloing, he plays some extraordinary lines but, wherever they go, he has a chord ready to provide some support. It's this kind of performance that sets Kurt apart from the crowd.

The final tune if You've Changed, a torch song that I always associate with Billie Holiday. Like You Go To My Head, it's primarily a nice arrangement of the tune, though it does not have the emotional depth of Billie Holiday's version.

Overall, very satisfying album. In contrast to his debut, it has a loose, unhurried feel, with less of a sense of urgency. Though restrained, it is illuminated by flashes of brilliance and it is certainly very expressive. Kurt's last album, The Remedy, highlighted his composing and the contributions of band members like Mark Turner; this album focuses on Kurt, the instrumentalist, but is as rich, diverse and satisfying as any of his albums.

Kurt Rosenwinkel - new website

I really missed Kurt's website after the discussion forum was taken due to "hacking by Russians" (What is this? The Cold War?!). The forum was a great place to discuss Kurt's work and to chat directly with Kurt.

Kurt's website is now back: http://www.kurtrosenwinkel.com/

And he has a new CD out - playing standards, mostly ballads. This is the repertoire I saw him playing in London earlier in the year (see review below). What's more it stars my favourite drummer - Eric Harland. Kurt is no longer with Verve and this CD release is out on his own label. I've ordered it and look forward to reviewing it here.

Video of Kurt Rosenwinkel Trio playing Turn out the Stars

The encore from the London gig reviewed below.

In which Kurt Rosenwinkel talks about his influences

Bud Powell, Booker Little, Duke Ellington, Allan Holdsworth, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Keith Jarrett, Tal Farlow, George van Eps, Theolonius Monk, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Elmo Hope, Frank Hewitt, Barry Harris, Ravel, Shostakovich, Camarón de la Isla, Milton Nascimento, Biggie Smalls!

Kurt Rosenwinkel Trio - Charlie Wright's International Bar, London, 27 March 2009

This was a great gig for me. Kurt is now resident in Berlin, and this is a rare sighting in the UK. I saw him in Paris a few years ago with tenor player Mark Turner and in London with another tenor player, Chris Cheek. Both those gigs focused on Kurt's compositions in the context of a bigger band. This just focused on Kurt the guitarist playing standards with a young rhythm section from Berlin (Gary Hoopengardener - bass, Sebastien Merk - drums).

Kurt started with a standard mid-tempo blues progression. I haven't heard him play a straight blues before, but this was just perfect. His playing was focused and understated and he used plenty of interesting chord voicings to support his melodic playing. It was like a lesson in how to apply George Van Eps Harmonic Mechanisms for Guitar in a modern setting. The guitar was an interesting custom build guitar -I think it was this one from Moffaguitars. The sound on the first number was unadorned, although over the course of the gig there was greater use of the digital delay with expression pedal.

Standards covered included:

- Invitation

- Milestones (old)

- Darn That Dream

- Stablemates

- Parker's Cheryl (I think)

- Prelude to a Kiss

- 'Round About Midnight

- Turn Out the Stars

Kurt looked relaxed throughout. Even at the fastest tempos there was never any sense of hurry. You know that Kurt has put in his 10,000 hours practice and he lives and breathes music. Personally, I don't think there is a more rounded and accomplished guitarists on the planet today. This gig displayed taste, swing, feeling, single note and chordal playing.

The audience was very attentive and is made me think that this would have been similar to seeing him at Small's in NYC about ten years ago. The crowd were predominantly male, and I would imagine many were guitarists (British bass player Jeff Clyne was also in the audience). Certainly, many knew his repertoire.

Charlie Wright's has a great sound - everything was very clear. The bar itself has a Thai restaurant in the back (though sound from it wasn't a problem). Organiser Patsy Craig has plenty of other interesting gigs on there - including Kurt back in a month with saxophonist Will Vinson. Certainly worth the trip up to Brighton, and a place I will be going back to.

Is this the jazz album of 2006?

I was interested to read the critics choice of albums for 2006 in Jazzwise magazine. I don’t own any of them, but I have heard tracks on the radio. Top of the list is Branford Marsalis - from what I have heard it’s in the classic acoustic jazz quartet tradition, and something that Branford could have made some ten or fifteen years ago. A few critics have mentioned the Metheny/Mehldau album, the second most played 2006 album on my iPOD. However, no one mentioned the most played album on my iPOD this year (and by implication the best) – Aaron Goldberg’s Worlds album. Aaron who? Good question. Though little known in this country, New Yorker Aaron is hopefully destined for great things.

18 months ago I saw my guitar hero, Kurt Rosenwinkel, at the Soho Pizza Express. The band included New Yorker Chris Cheek on tenor, a fantastic drummer called Eric Harland and the pianist Aaron Goldberg. A bit of research told me that Aaron is well known as a sideman for people like Betty Carter and Joshua Redman, Eric plays with Joshua and veteran vibes-player Bobby Hutcherson in the SFJAZZ Collective and Aaron and Eric play together in a trio that has recorded an album on which Kurt Rosenwinkel guests. Given the calibre of these musicians, it was worth checking out. The album exceeded my expectations by miles.

The trio includes bass player Reuben Rogers and the title "Worlds" seems to be a reference to range of influences at work on the music on this album. The opening track, Lambada de Serpente, starts with simple piano figure played over a three chord sequence before a snaking melody comes in on piano and bowed bass. The drums come in a with a loping latin feel, played by hand, gradually waking up as brushes come in. As with several of the tune, the first solo is on the bass. This suits the tune because it has plenty of space for subtleties to be heard.

Another highlight is Kianda’s Song, a two-minute jewel featuring the worldless voice of Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza. The piece has a strong Brazilian feel - not the Brazil of Jobim but that of Villa Lobos who combined folk music with JS Bach in pieces like Bachianas Brasileiras. A piano introduction precedes the tune sung by Luciana in a low-ish register, before moving up an octave. Her voice is stunning both in its range and its sensual qualities.

Unstablemates is very much in the stop start Bill Evans/Paul Motian tradition, seamlessly melding composed and improvised segments. The soloing has astrong does of bebop phrasing, but there isn't a single note wasted.

Ther are a couple of Jobim tunes - Modhina starts atmosphercially with plucked piano strings and the tune played out of time before moving into a slow bluesy feel for the soloing. Inutil Paisagem (Useless Landscape) is played very slowly and, overeall, feels most like the Brad Mehldau trio. Unusally, Reuben uses electric bass and takes the first solo, reminding me of guitarist Wes Montgomery who played bass on his Movin' Along album.

The best performance on the album is probably Oud to Omer, where they are joined by Kurt Rosenwinkel. The Oud in question is the four-stringed Middle-Eastern lute and the melody has has the intricate feel of an Egyptian or Turkish melody. Kurt's exploratory solo show off his virtuosity and his ability to take his solos to places rarely visited by other guitarists. He seems to explore every note available to him while still making rhythmic, harmonic and melodic sense.

These guys make beautiful music sound effortless. Their obvious virtuosity is completely subservient to the demands of the music, and they have play as if they have nothing to prove. It has a nice balance between sounding composed and improvised and could quite easily be heard in the concert hall or the jazz club.

Like the Brad Mehldau trio, this trio has its roots in the sound and approach of the early Bill Evans Trio. Both are tightly integrated units and both have the abilty to intelligently desconstruct and breathe life into standard tunes. With Brad Mehldau, the piano is usually firmly at the fore, with Aaron’s band there seems to be a better balance and more subtle interplay between the individual instruments. Brad relies a lot on rhythmic drive, whereas Aaron is a cooler player with strong sense of dynamics and composition. For Brad, the European classical/romantic piano tradition (e.g. Schubert) is an obvious reference point, whereas Aaron’s repertoire is more varied in terms of time feel and modality, often suggesting South American or Middle-Eastern references (Oud to Omer is an obvious example).

It’s highly likely there's not enough room in the world of jazz promotion to support another leading piano trio - I have seen no references to Aaron Goldberg in Jazzwise, for example. Don’t let that put you off, this truly is one of the outstanding albums of 2006.