Kurt Rosenwinkel Group
The Remedy: Live at The Village Vanguard
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By George W. Harris

Slowly but surely, Kurt Rosenwinkel is edging his way to becoming the most important post-Metheny guitarist on the jazz scene. His “Heartcore” of a couple of years ago has become a classic for its vision, and “Deep Song” was an excellent, if antithetical followup. Rewarded for his creativity by being dumped by his long time label, Rosenwinkel has spent the past year touring around in various settings, usually with his tenor sax alter ego Mark Turner. Finally recording something to show fruit from his traveling labors, Rosenwinkel has put out a 2 disc in concert release of original material that captures the vision, clarity and creative juices of this hard working quintet.

All of the songs, ranging from 11 to just under 20 minutes, give Rosenwinkel and Turner a chance to spread out, but don’t think for a minute that the tunes are mindless jams. For example, “Safe Corners” opens with a long and undulating solo guitar introduction, combining Rosenwinkel’s identifiable subliminal vocalizing with his elastic guitar strumming, before delving into a bluesy etude. “View from Moscow” and “Flute” include complex rhythms mingled with serpentine lines by guitar and tenor. Turner’s dry and airy tone is well suited for this intellectual yet organic material. Longtime pianist Aaron Goldberg, bassist Joe Martin and drummer Eric Harland keep the music unfolding at a delicious clip, particularly during the marathon cooker “Myron’s World.” Each release by Rosenwinkel is an important chapter in the modern guitar catalogue. Pick this one up and see where the six strings are leading us.