Guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel Takes The Next Step

Young Lion Or Cool Cat?
Kurt Rosenwinkel, considered one of jazz’s young lions and a guitarist held in equally high esteem by such jazz stalwarts as John Scofield, Pat Metheny, and Bill Frisell, continues to move to his own ideas of muse and melody with his latest release The Next Step, on Verve Records.

Building on his 2000 Verve debut, The Enemies of Energy, Rosenwinkel continues to expand his guitar sound [exploring alternate tunings] while remaining true to his instincts as a group leader.

Once again, this record places a higher value on the group focus rather than allowing one instrument to dominate the proceedings. Coupled with Rosenwinkel’s skills as a compositional leader (he wrote all tracks), his guitar is used to great effect as a thematic colorist to the group dynamic.

Rosenwinkel offers his assessment of the new album on the Verve Web site [www.vervemusicgroup.com] —
"This is the best of what we do as a band," says Rosenwinkel. "This had not been documented on record until now. It fully realizes our relationship as a band. People who have been hearing us live for years have been waiting for this record."

Musicians:
Kurt Rosenwinkel/guitar, piano*
Mark Turner/tenor saxophone
Ben Street/bass
Jeff Ballard/drums

Tracks:
1. Zhivago 9:02
2. Minor Blues 5:51
3. A Shifting Design 7:08
4. Path of the Heart 6:15
5. Filters 7:41
6. Use of Light 9:17
7. The Next Step* 9:55
8. A Life Unfolds 6:29
Total: 60+ minutes


Highlights There Are Many
Once again the most interesting thing about Rosenwinkel’s music is not only his guitar. On this album, especially, the guitar is ally to the melody and groove amongst the players. Rosenwinkel allows himself a few moments here and there on tracks to shine.

Zhivago starts out slowly with a subtle solo by Rosenwinkel before the band breaks in and a solid groove takes over. Turner’s saxophone supplies the emotional undercurrent with a sequence of back and forth exchanges with Rosenwinkel. Minor Blues is a solid excursion in the atmospheric nature of the jazz/blues intersect. An album highlight for sure.

Rosenwinkel describes a A Shifting Design as being “all shapes to me.” It’s a another atmospheric piece with some subtle guitar shadings and conveys a kind of “smoky end of the night jazz vibe.” The ballad Paths of the Heart follows with another fine turn by Turner/Rosenwinkel.

Wes Montgomery fans are well served with Filters which Rosenwinkel conceived as a homage to the jazz giant and then made it his own. It has an uptempo backdrop and some real old time jazz guitar.

Rosenwinkel’s affinity for atmospherics returns with Use of Light which reminds me of Pat Metheny’s early ECM work. His title track The Next Step exhibits his piano talent, the instrument he started on. Though not in the Brad Medhlau camp, Rosenwinkel acquits himself well and the track maintains a group harmonic swing throughout.

More Metheny-esque guitar shadings abound in the final track A Life Unfolds, a quiet introspective ballad piece.

This is by far the most assured album Rosenwinkel has recorded to date. There’s a lot to like here and I would gather it might hit some critics’ lists come the end of the year. It’s also an album that allows jazz fans to meet in the middle between the old school straight ahead jazz fans and the newer fans of jazz as a groove harvest. It’s a very impressive group picture laid out by Rosenwinkel.

Like The Enemies of Energy I have enjoyed this album the more I’ve played it and would rate it solidly in the 4 star range.

Cat Rating Scale
This album made a solid impression on both Freddie and Chester. Played on a mucky rainy day, they both enjoyed a surprising amount of contented cat slumber throughout with the occasional foray into the kitchen in search of tuna. Two paws up.