Kurt Rosenwinkel Trio - Angels Around traverses new musical frontiers in the standard jazz idiom. While Rosenwinkel, Hutchinson, and Deidda embody and emote the rich traditions of jazz at its purest form, make no mistake, this music is thoroughly contemporary, focused, and for the here and now.
This one-and-only recorded collaboration between jazz greats Geri Allen and Kurt Rosenwinkel took place live at the famed Philharmonie de Paris in 2012—the two play as if with one mind. Geri often spoke of her desire to do a studio recording to document the ‘flow and freedom” she experienced playing with Kurt that night in Paris. Unfortunately, we lost her before that date never materialized, and fortunately, that concert was recorded. The acoustics in this hall are magnificent, This album, produced by Kurt Rosenwinkel and Motéma's Jana Herzen is dedicated to Geri's memory and is truly a 'lovesome thing' for fans of Geri, of Kurt, and of piano and guitar jazz.
Guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel takes The Next Step in his creative evolution on eight songs that exude several degrees of great jazz. He succeeds in topping the musical tastes presented on his debut release for the Verve label, The Enemies of Energy. Rosenwinkel is one of many young jazz musicians forging ahead into the new millennium with bold musical steps, and the compositions, all of which he wrote, represent the culmination of many life phases for him. First formed as a guitar-bass-drums trio in 1992, Rosenwinkel's band is now a quartet including Mark Turner on tenor saxophone, Ben Street on bass, and Jeff Ballard on drums, all excellent artists in their own right. All four musicians can be heard on The Enemies of Energy, and The Next Step is additional documentation of their relationship as a band.
For electric guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel's seventh offering, he has taken the challenge of recording live at the hallowed Village Vanguard in NYC, written new music for the occasion, put together a dynamic backup band, and offers lengthy composed music foundations followed by extensive solo discourses. As usual, Rosenwinkel's style is an interwoven, complex fabric of melodies and harmonies that seem brighter and luminous, yet have an inward and insular confidence that belies a more mysterious nature. Saxophonist Mark Turner, the incredible drummer Eric Harland, and acoustic pianist Aaron Goldberg help Rosenwinkel lift the bandstand, while unobtrusive bassist Joe Martin provides the support underneath for the others to fly.
The Eric Revis Trio is back, this time with Gerald Cleaver using sticks against skins and metal, replacing his elders Andrew Cyrille from “City of Asylum” – Cecil Taylor’s drummer of choice for a decade – and John Betsch from the project’s recent European tour – Steve Lacy’s partner for the same period of time. The brilliant newcomer Kris Davis remains at the piano. Although the music is different, the principles, objectives and personality are the same, coming from the mind and heart of the same man who has plucked his double bass for 17 years with the Branford Marsalis Quartet. “Crowded Solitudes” is another example of Revis’s “back-to-the-future” philosophy: the invention of the future of jazz is rooted in its past and tradition.