Happy #Jazz B-day

Happy #Jazz B-day Jay Clayton, Richard Bona, Cleo Laine, Philip Catherine, Andy Bey, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Bill Harris & Chico O'Farrill

— A Passion for Jazz!® (@APassion4Jazz) October 28, 2016

Kurt Rosenwinkel: The Grapes Of Jazz

Photo: Josh Jackson

by Josh Jackson
When Joan Cararach, the Artistic Director of the Barcelona Jazz Festival, told me about his gambit, it sounded a little impractical. The premise was thus:

Bring Spain's finest vignerons together at Monviníc, an oenological cultural institution in Barcelona's Eixample district. Taste their finest wares — an Iberian sauvignon, an albariño, a blended red from Penedès, another red from the heart of Catalunya's Priorat hills, an ancient Moscatel from Málaga and a noble Jerez Amontillado. Invite Kurt Rosenwinkel to play improvisations based on his impressions of these wines. Is this even possible?

The short answer is yes. Rosenwinkel had plenty of study time. His trio (Eric Revis, Ted Poor) and guests enjoyed four bottles at a specially prepared menu in Paris. The remaining two bottles were consumed in Umeå, Sweden, for Kurt's 40th birthday. He made tasting notes on an index card and then worked from there. "I'm not an expert by any means," Rosenwinkel said. "But it was a great challenge to translate and interpret the qualities of the wine into musical qualities."

I still wasn't sure, but Kurt had a plan. "All the colors and textures, they all have harmonic colors. They all have speed. Some wines are fast some are slow. Some are rhythmic, some are plaintive. I immediately heard some chords, so for each bottle, I would feel a certain tonality."

From  >>  http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2010/11/18/131420983/kurt-rosenwinkel-the-grapes-of-jazz?sc=nl&cc=jn-20101121

Kurt Rosenwinkel: 'Reflections' Of Monk

by Evan Haga

January 28, 2010 - Listeners and players can seem like separate factions in jazz, with listeners more concerned with history, style and aesthetics and players focusing more on chops and equipment. Guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel is the rare musician who can satisfy both camps equally, a feat that's all the more impressive given his instrument; guitar performance too often appears as a kind of sport.
Photo by: Lourdes Delgado

Rosenwinkel's playing and composing over the past two decades, particularly in groups with saxophonist Mark Turner, has formed an influential ideal for young musicians of his and following generations, and his music has a unique ability to soothe as it burns: Folk- and pop-informed melodies careen through complex harmony and inventive forms, the guitarist's explosive technique neutralized by flowing legato phrasing and glassy tone.

Reflections, Rosenwinkel's recent trio recording with the first-rate rhythm section of bassist Eric Revis and drummer Eric Harland, puts his dual appeal in plain sight. At first glance, it might seem like the sort of rote repertory album guitarists' guitarists make, but Reflections is more conceptual: It's a sharply designed ballads project, with a Rosenwinkel original and two compositions apiece by Wayne Shorter and Thelonious Monk. Of late, Monk has gotten a lot of worthwhile attention from guitarists: Both Peter Bernstein and Bobby Broom paid fine album-length homage to the pianist in recent years, and both covered his "Reflections." Neither of those interpretations, however, approach Rosenwinkel's rendition in its dreamlike grace.

In its composer's hands, "Reflections" boasted Monk's prickly textures and halting delivery; Rosenwinkel varnishes those surfaces, underscoring the whimsy of the melody and filling out the harmony in the process. The arrangement is straightforward enough, with bookends of rubato chord-melody playing, a lyrical bass solo and a stretch of comfortable, confident swing that upholds the leader's velvety single-note lines. Finely controlled power is a key to great ballad playing, and this ensemble has that in spades. Clocking in at nine-plus minutes, it's a bewitching ride.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123064293&sc=nl&cc=sod-20100128