In LJN’s series where musicians write about their inspirations and idols, guitarist and composer Jakub Klimiuk writes about Kurt Rosenwinkel. Rosenwinkel is undoubtedly the most influential contemporary jazz guitar player since Scofield and Metheny, and one of the most important figures in jazz guitar history in general. 

Born in 1970, Kurt attended his hometown’s Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts alongside Christian McBride and Questlove. He studied at Berklee College of Music but, just like Pat Metheny in the 70s, left to tour with Gary Burton. After moving to New York, he started playing with Paul Motian’s Electric Bebop Band and Joe Henderson, among others. In the 90s, Kurt was a part of the scene focused around the Smalls Jazz Club where he regularly played with Mark Turner, Brad Mehldau, Ben Street, and Jeff Ballard – musicians he kept working with throughout his career.

I heard Kurt Rosenwinkel’s music for the first time somewhere in my teens, after going through a list of jazz guitar players I was given at a summer jazz workshop held in Puławy, Poland. At first, having absolutely no clue what was going on at a theoretical level, I was struck by the vitality and complexity of one of his most well-known albums, The Next Step. Intricate melodies, chord progressions I couldn’t process at the time, and that unique guitar tone, so much different from how rock and jazz players I knew sounded. It all just seemed like an unknown, fascinating galaxy ready to be explored. Encountering his music was definitely one of the crucial parts of my musical journey. It has opened my ears to the modern New York scene and shown me what a great balance between sophisticated, complex structure and a strong melody looks like, inspiring me to write my own stuff.

Kurt’s game-changing sound has had a massive impact on how the guitar sounds in contemporary jazz and earned many imitators. We guitar players have all watched videos about his pedals to find out how he gets rid of that plectrum attack. Trust me (it’s usually an EHX POG 2 octaver and a bunch of other things going to an AXE FX amp simulation, for you nerds out there).

My choice of tracks presents different sides of Kurt’s creativity and includes music from his own albums as well as his equally interesting side-man work.

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1. The Next Step

An intriguing piano intro, full of beautiful voice-leading, introducing us to a… guitar-less track! Why on earth would I start this list with a recording presenting the modern jazz guitar hero in the role of a pianist, you might be asking. The titular track is a perfect introduction to Kurt’s unique compositional style, showing his absolute command over harmony and masterful tension building. A powerful, simple and raw sounding piano riff is surrounded by harmonic intricacies and a complex, yet very strong melody.

The band consists of Rosenwinkel’s regular collaborators Mark Turner, Ben Street, and Jeff Ballard, and you can truly hear the deep musical understanding and incredible rhythm-section hookup developed during countless gigs, played by this lot at Smalls.

2. View from Moscow

Another example of a very clever composition, this time complemented by some of Kurt’s finest guitar playing. This one is full of upliftment and energy coming from a very intense 12/8 drum groove, masterfully played by Eric Harland, and a brilliantly simple melodic motif which the head is based around. Phrasing, motivic development, usage of various note groupings, and the technical mastery present in the epic guitar solo make it an absolute must-listen for any jazz guitar enthusiast.

3. Casio Vanguard

This track from the album Caipi, featuring Pedro Martins on vocals, is an invitation to the wide cosmos of Rosenwinkel’s inspirations, this time in an electronic and produced form. It is an exciting mix of Brazilian music, indie rock, pop and jazz, leaning more towards songwriting. It’s incredible how much of Kurt’s style you can hear in something so stylistically different from his usual work. Ignore the mixed reviews and dive into this unique sound world, full of great melodies! 

4. Iverson’s Odyssey

This is one of my absolute favourite Mark Turner recordings: a truly exciting journey from the labyrinthine head to the sax solo, masterfully exploring motivic development and some of Kurt’s finest guitar trio playing. The guitar solo has a beautiful structure focused on gradually building tension with rhythmic displacement as well as semi-quaver lines, and then releasing it with a less dense texture in the right moment. Dharma Days is another example of an instantly identifiable style created by Rosenwinkel and Turner.

5. Bitter Long Lying Leisure

This is a more recent collaboration, straight from Berlin where Rosenwinkel currently resides. It’s a new project by the great vocalist Lucia Cadotsch, featuring some of the finest UK musicians: Kit Downes, James Maddren, and Phil Donkin. I absolutely love how powerful and raw Kurt’s playing is in this one. He tastefully fills in the gaps and adds loads of energy to this cool, harmonically intricate tune, constantly balancing between rocky playing and using a more sophisticated language.

6. Our Secret World 

The title track from this album was recorded with a Portuguese jazz orchestra, the Orchestra de Jazz Matosinhos, which, in my opinion, is one of the most interesting projects in Kurt’s career. The record is full of beautiful arrangements, and this version of ‘Our Secret World’ feels like a natural extension of Rosenwinkel’s writing (those backings during the solo are just gorgeous!). On this recording, Kurt’s voice is blended with his guitar sound, adding a distinctive vocal quality to his shredding.

7. A Shifting Design

This one exemplifies Kurt’s urge to really push the boundaries when it comes to writing and improvising on the guitar. It’s in an alternate guitar tuning (Eb, Bb, Ab, Db, G, Bb – high to low) and was based on shapes found on the fretboard. ‘I have no idea what chords or notes I’m playing,’ said Kurt in a masterclass. It’s incredible how melodic the composition and playing are, regardless of the technical aspect being the main point of focus here.

8. Punjab

I just love the way Kurt plays standards. In parallel to his very contemporary sound and improvisational language, you can always hear a deep understanding of the tradition and a very strong bebop foundation every time he approaches a composition by one of the jazz masters. This version of Joe Henderson’s ‘Punjab’ is a great arrangement, and another showcase of Kurt’s guitar trio playing skills. The way he comps himself when soloing, finding all those little chord voicings around the phrases he plays, as well as the use of different textures – longer lines, chords, and wider intervals – is just incredible. The rhythm section, featuring Dario Deidda and Gregory Hutchinson, also masterfully combines traditional, great swing playing with a modern vibe. Dario’s sound, produced by using a hollow-body, fretless electric bass instead of an upright, definitely gives the whole album a unique twist and is one of my favourite aspects of it.

9. Sandu

This is another recent recording from Berlin and also another example of how absolutely killing Rosenwinkel sounds in a swing context. Here we have a rendition of the well-known jazz blues ‘Sandu,’ a tune often played by Kurt. The structure of this solo is just perfect. It starts with a traditional-sounding, Joe Pass-style chord melody playing, then transitions into some tasty bluesy phrases intertwined with bebop language, all topped off with Kurt’s more modern, signature lines. It’s all well-balanced and musical!

10. Brad’s Bag

A band with two guitars, two tenors, and an electric bass, that mostly plays bebop tunes. Sounds horrible, doesn’t it? Paul Motian has managed to make it work and has made a few incredible records featuring some of the finest contemporary jazz guitarists, including Kurt, who described listening to Motian’s left cymbal as ‘the best ear damage you could ever hope to have.’ For a fairly early recording, it’s incredible how Rosenwinkel’s sound and phrasing are already instantly recognisable.

Jakub Klimiuk’s new album (un)balanced is launching at Vortex jazz club on 1 May.

LINKS:

Kurt Rosenwinkel’s website
Jakub Klimiuk’s website
Tickets to (un)balanced album launch, Vortex, 1 May