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 watchword in listening to this music is patience -- a short attention span will not do it justice. A whopping two CD's of material is presented, with compositions ranging from eleven-and-a-half to nearly twenty minutes. It is difficult to distinguish the degrees of difficulty or appeal between any tracks because they are all rendered with a similar stance, heart, and soul -- pick 'em. One can say Rosenwinkel uses a steelier tone on "Chords" which has a British Canterbury fusion school feeling in its interplay with Turner. On the mid-tempo title track "The Remedy," you can hear the sigh, the gulp, and the relief in a melancholy, slightly reserved tango feel that is laid-back and liquid. A singsong melody and Native American tone with dynamics explored in spurts informs the very arranged "Flute," navigated rhythmically by the astounding, pronounced Harland. Breaking down one- and two-note phrases, "View from Moscow" develops into a kinetic, driving, modal 6/8 line with terrific musicianship urging Turner's long solo, while the magnum opus closer "Myron's World" is a song of peace, cutting loose with the guitarists jangling sound, briefly with solo time for the very talented Goldberg, a stompy jones or hard bop section, and Harland again proving why there is not a better working drummer in contemporary music. The only repeat piece from a previous recording is "A Life Unfolds" from Rosenwinkel's fourth CD Next Step. This version, nearly 18 minutes, is satisfyingly slow to develop with a piano-bass-drums trio section and bass-drums duet. Fans of Rosenwinkel are unfazed to begin with, as his recordings are spaced by several years. His style being similarly unhurried in general, but always poignant and substantive, is in full display on this jam-packed double-disc of music that is so personally his own. - Michael G. Nastos
Easily the most original guitar voice of the decade, Kurt Rosenwinkel continues his ever-upward climb with this brilliant live outing, recorded in January of 2006 during a weeklong engagement at the hallowed Village Vanguard. His seventh as a leader and debut for the fiercely independent and visionary ArtistShare label, The Remedy once again pairs Rosenwinkel on the frontline with his longtime partner, tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, who at this point is to Kurt as Bird was to Diz (“the other half of my heartbeat”). Their intricate intervallic leaping and impossibly tight unison lines on rollercoaster numbers like “Chords” and “Flute” are executed with breathtaking precision and an eye toward melodicism. Pianist Aaron Goldberg, a singular soloist himself, is the harmonic provocateur and contrapuntal foil throughout while bassist Joe Martin (whose working relationship with Rosenwinkel goes back to 1999’s Intuit) provides a minimalist low-end anchor. The remarkable drummer Eric Harland, who cuts up the beat as energetically and creatively as anyone on the scene today, fuels the proceedings with his rhythmic ingenuity and infinite capacity to swing.
This two-CD set accommodates maximum stretching. “Chords,” the brisk 6/8 opener from Disc 1, underscored by Harland’s swinging pulse, weighs in at 16 minutes, while the expansive and elegiac closer “A Life Unfolds” (which Rosenwinkel previously recorded on 2001’s The Next Step) resolves in 17 minutes and includes a full four minutes of beautiful chordal work by the guitarist on the intro. The title track is an alluring tango-flavored number featuring some extraordinary high-register excursions by Turner. And “Flute” is another showcase for Rosenwinkel’s flowing fretboard facility.
Rosenwinkel alternates between a clean tone and warm, slightly distorted sound, blowing over the changes with impunity in a remarkably fluid scalar manner reminiscent of guitar-god Allan Holdsworth, who probably exerts a greater influence on Rosenwinkel than the Big Three (Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Bill Frisell) exerted on many of his fellow Berklee students. In fact, Rosenwinkel now may be the single-most-imitated guitarist among recent Berklee grads since the mass emulation of Metheny’s tone, phrasing and overall style during the ’70s.
Disc 2 includes the driving 12/8 number “View From Moscow,” which includes more legato heroics by Rosenwinkel and also finds Turner unleashing with abandon over the full length of his horn. The vibrant “Terra Nova” builds to a pulse-quickening crescendo that culminates in an explosive show-stopping drum solo by Harland. After such whirlwind intensity and such a dizzying deluge of so many notes, the soulful, blues-drenched ballad “Safe Corners,” underscored by Harland’s gentle touch on drums and Rosenwinkel’s subtle wordless vocal accompaniment, comes as a welcome breath of fresh air. Goldberg’s unhurried Monk-ish piano solo here is particularly effective. Disc 2 concludes with Turner’s “Myron’s World,” his dramatic and bristling tribute to fellow saxophonist Myron Walden (a charter member with Rosenwinkel in Brian Blade’s Fellowship) that captures the band at the peak of their swinging powers. - Bill Milkowski / jazztimes.com
Tracks
1-1. Chords
1-2. The Remedy
1-3. Flute
1-4. A Life Unfolds
2-1. View From Moscow
2-2. Terra Nova
2-3. Safe Corners
2-4. Myrons World (Mark Turner)
KURT ROSENWINKEL guitar
MARK TURNER tenor saxophone
AARON GOLDBERG piano
ERIC HARLAND drums
JOE MARTIN bass
All music composed by Kurt Rosenwinkel, except "Myrons World" by Mark Turner
Recorded January 2006 at The Village Vanguard, NYC.
ArtistShare – AS0077