KURT ROSENWINKEL

THE NEXT STEP BAND LIVE AT SMALLS 1996

Heartcore Records

Kurt Rosenwinkel, guitar/piano/composer; Mark Turner, tenor saxophone; Ben Street, acoustic bass; Brad Mehldau, piano; Jeff Ballard, drums.

This album opens with Kurt Rosenwinkel playing guitar a’ cappella, offering his crystal-clear tone and a style that’s hypnotic. Here is a piece of jazz history.  This recording was made at Small’s club in New York City with the original Next Step band. The first tune, “A Shifting Design” presents a form of new jazz or modern jazz that was developing back in the 1990s when this ‘live’ album was recorded. The band is full of energy and excitement.

The members of the group are fluid improvisors.  Their interplay and creativity, interpreting the original music of Kurt Rosenwinkel, shows his strength as a composer.  In fact, Rosenwinkel’s “Ultimate Book of Compositions,” eight years in the making, offers 150 of his compositions.  It stands as a career-defining capsule of Rosenwinkel’s artistic journey.

Track #2, “Use of Light” changes the mood of this live concert.  It made me bend into my speaker, hijacking my attention.  This is a ballad, dark and sultry, melodic and melancholy. Mark Turner explores the range of his tenor saxophone, using improvisation to probe the alto notes and then fly into a flurry of explosive phrasing, rising like an eagle in flight.  Throughout these arrangements of the Rosenwinkel original songs, Ben Street is prominent on double bass. During the “Zhivago” composition, I love the way Rosenwinkel sings with his improvised solo and builds the tune from solo guitar to a rhythm guitar crescendo.  Brad Mehldau is featured.  He changes the tone and texture of the song with his unique way of exploring the piano during this arrangement.  I enjoyed his exploratory solo, spurred on by the Ballard drums.  This became one of my favorite tunes on the album.

This is an album steeped in freedom and musical experimentation.  On tunes like “Alpha Mega” they sweep me up in the spirit of technically inspired music as these four musicians blend their talents, each giving the other room to explore and grow. You will witness self-discovery and wild creativity on this album.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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