Reflections is an album unlike any other in Kurt Rosenwinkel's catalog. Nearly all ballads, it dispenses with effects and other fireworks and allows Rosenwinkel to display pure jazz guitaristry, his tone and performance unencumbered by outside influences and modern distractions. Accompanied only by bassist Eric Revis and drummer Eric Harland, Rosenwinkel keeps the mood soft and, appropriately, reflective on a set of nuggets from jazz giants (Haven Gillespie, Wayne Shorter, Thelonious Monk), the Great American Songbook ("More Than You Know,""You've Changed"), and his own debut album: a remake of "East Coast Love Affair" from the same-named 1996 release. As always, Rosenwinkel's virtuosity and intellect are on full display. The title track, an easygoing stroll through Monk's "Reflections," opens the program and sets the mood: Rosenwinkel's guitar is fluid and confident, airy and free of tension. He and the trio are in no hurry to get anywhere; there is nothing to prove, no need to cram in extraneous notes (not that the ever-judicious Rosenwinkel falls into that camp anyway). Shorter's "Ana Maria" and "Fall" are about as uptempo as things get here, and the former's a bossa nova, the latter a chill take on funk. Even the lone original tune undergoes a transformation, losing the edge that marked its first incarnation in favor of a stripped-down simplicity that befits its creator's maturation as a player. A gracefulness and stateliness pervade Reflections, and one can only hope that Rosenwinkel will revisit this territory again down the line, to provide another reevaluation of his gifts after he's investigated still other realms. - Jeff tamarkin
Lo dice el pianista de The Bad Plus, Ethan Iverson, el texto que acompaña el extraordinario disco de estándares de Kurt Rosenwinkel, Reflections, el guitarrista de Philadelphia es uno de los grandes innovadores musicales del siglo XXI. ¿Una frase contundente? En cualquier caso, Iverson no es el único que se ha fijado en la genialidad de lo que muchos consideran el guitarrista más personal e influyente surgido en el panorama jazzístico de los últimos 15 años: "Hay una fluidez y una arquitectura en lo que toca que no he escuchado en nadie ", remacha el clavo otro maestro de las seis cuerdas, Bill Frisell. Cálido como nunca, con un repertorio articulado con clásicos de Wayne Shorter, Thelonious Monk y otros gigantes del jazz, este trío estándar de Rosenwinkel demuestra que se puede tener una técnica fabulosa y, a la vez, sonar con un alma desbordante. Un gurú del jazz moderno con la vista siempre fija en el futuro. Apuesta infalible. Kurt Rosenwinkel, guitarra Eric Revis, contrabajo Ted Poor, batería
Tracks
01. Reflections (Thelonious Monk)
02. You Go To My Head (J. Fred Coots/Haven Gillespie)
03. Fall (Wayne Shorter)
04. East Coast Love Affair05. As Me Now (Kurt Rosenkinkel)
05. Ask Me Now (Thelonious Monk)
06. Ana Maria (Wayne Shorter)
07. More Than You Know (Edward Eliscu/Billy Rose/Vincent Yourmans
08. You'veCanged (Bill Carey/Carl Fischer)
KURT ROSENWINKEL guitar
ERIC REVIS bass
ERIC HARLAND drums
Recorded June 18-20, 2009in Brooklyn Recording, Brooklyn, New York
Wommusic - VACM-1398