The Guitar Channel

Favorite Albums of 2012

2012 was a tremendous year for progressive guitar music. Here are my favorite releases of the year, in no particular order.

 

Michael Landau - Organic Instrumentals

Landau's first instrumental album since 1990's Tales From The Bulge is one of my favorite guitar records in many years, let alone this one. Awesome tones, dynamic playing, deep writing. A must-have for serious guitar geeks.

Wayne Krantz - Howie 61

Krantz took a bold new step with this album, and the results are rich and engrossing. A fantastic production filled with heady writing, and an amazing lineup of musicians.

Jimmy Herring - Subject To Change Without Notice

Awesome follow-up to 2008's Lifeboat. Highly textured with killer playing and grooves.

Alex Machacek, Raphael Preuschl, Herbert Pirker - FAT

Adventurous and dynamic with a great variety of guitar tones. Further proof that Machacek is among the most forward-thinking modern jazz composers of his generation.

Kurt Rosenwinkel - Star of Jupiter

Can't get enough of this one. Uber-deep jazz record, filled with great writing and improvisation.

Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats - Live Meat And Potatoes

Funky, energetic live release with killer guitar work from Jeff Kollman. Nobody grooves like the Meatbats.

OHMPhrey - Posthaste

Stellar recording from the OHM-meets-Umphrey's McGee supergroup. Loaded with great riffs and playing. Everybody shines here, but the twin guitar attack of Chris Poland and Jake Cinninger is particularly awesome.

Scott Henderson, Jeff Berlin, Dennis Chambers - HBC

What a band. Killer disc packed with guitar-driven trio versions of fusion classics. Henderson is amazing as always.

Karizma - Perfect Harmony

A 3-disc smorgasbord from keyboardist/composer David Garfield's classic west coast jazz band. Features a who's-who of the genre's luminaries, including Michael Landau.

The Aristocrats - Boing, We'll Do It Live!

Amazing live CD/DVD release with insane playing and band interplay. Guthrie Govan's guitar work is both musical and mind-blowing.

Other favorites from 2012:

Prashant Aswani - Visions
Chris Poland, Frank Catalano, Sean O'Bryan Smith, Jim Gifford - Polcat
Tribal Tech - X
Tohpati Bertiga - Riot
John McLaughlin & the 4th Dimension - Now Here This
Paul Gilbert - Vibrato
Gary Husband - Dirty & Beautiful, Vol. 2
OHM - Tsunami Jams
Ed DeGenaro - Holiday In Madras
Flying Colors
Chad Wackerman - Dreams, Nightmares and Improvisations
Chris Buck - 3 Crows
Jason Sadites - Broken
Renegade Creation - Bullet
Led Zeppelin - Celebration Day
Van Halen - A Different Kind of Truth (Ed note: \m/)

See Also:

Favorite Albums of 2011
Favorite Albums of 2010
Favorite Albums of 2009
Favorite Albums of 2008
Favorite Albums of 2007
Favorite Albums of 2006

Kurt Rosenwinkel “Star of Jupiter” Announced

PRESS RELEASE

“What my music is about in general — and this album is no different — has to do with the relationship that we each have with the universe at large and how we use our intuition to listen to what it is telling us.”

It came to him in a dream. What guitarist and composer Kurt Rosenwinkel describes as an “understanding” of profound proportion, manifested as Star of Jupiter; the title of his tenth album as a leader, to be released November 6th on Wommusic. Not a literal entity but rather a philosophy, as it was revealed to him, “The ‘Star of Jupiter’ was given to me as a key to transcend the cycles of form, illusion and fear which exist on this earthly plane of existence. The dream was powerful and continued into real life. It became a tangible force in the making of this album.” A celestial collection of entirely original compositions, all but one previously unrecorded, Star of Jupiter transports listeners on a journey toward discovery, truth and ultimately peace.

On his first quartet album since the ground-breaking 2001 release The Next Step, he offers a variation of that ensemble make-up on Star of Jupiter, assembling a stellar band which includes pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Eric Revis, and the dynamic young drummer and fellow Philadelphia native, Justin Faulkner. Star of Jupiter is a departure from what has previously helped define Rosenwinkel’s prowess, yet is strikingly inclusive of the broad spectrum of his musical magnitude. Rosenwinkel’s brilliant use of space is paired with deeply affective melodies and sensual grooves that evolve slowly and steadily; a quality in the music Rosenwinkel fully identifies with and whole-heartedly embraces. “Being able to vamp on a simple progression for a long time…” he says, “I’ve never had a band that really wanted to do that and I really love the fact that that’s something we do… immerse into and experience that warmth of the groove. It’s something that we discovered as a band and definitely wanted to include on the record. That soulful groove feeling… it’s a quality the band naturally finds and brings out in the music, which makes me very happy because I feel it’s a true expression of who I am as an artist and a person; to be meditating on sensuality and transcendence even while things can be complex and intellectually demanding under the hood, ‘Under it All.’”
Rosenwinkel’s band came together as organically as their sound has.

He and Parks have been collaborating since 2006, playing each other’s compositions, and Parks joined on highly-anticipated live dates at the historical Village Vanguard in New York City. Revis, a longtime friend and one of the “spiritual foundations” of the group, who appeared on Rosenwinkel’s alluring 2009 trio album Reflections, recommended Faulkner to round out the band after working with him extensively in Branford Marsalis’ quartet. “It’s an exciting thing when all the chemistry works together,” reveals Rosenwinkel, “and you hit upon a magical combination where the sum is more than its parts.”

Videos and Tour Dates: John Scofield and Kurt Rosenwinkel

Two videos of John Scofield`s Hollowbody's Band with Kurt Rosenwinkel - Live in Paris 7/5/12. With Bill Stewart on drums and Ben Street on bass. The band is currently of tour in Europe. See remaining dates and locations below.

07.JUL    VIENNA, Austria
08.JUL    CASTELLAMARE, Italy
09.JUL    PERUGIA, Italy
10.JUL    MAROSTICA, Italy
12.JUL    GARANA, Romania
13.JUL    COPENHAGEN, Denmark
14.JUL    Aarhus, Denmark
15.JUL    SAN MARINO, Italy
17.JUL    MOLDE, Norway
20.JUL    BATUMI, Georgia
22.JUL    GENOVA, Italy
24.JUL    LANGNAU, Switzerland

Kurt Rosenwinkel US Tour Dates

Here is a list of upcoming US tour dates for Kurt Rosenwinkel. See venue links for more info and ticketing.

02/22/12  Oberlin, OH - Oberlin Conservatory of Music
    Time: 7:30pm. Address: 90 North Professor Street, Oberlin, OH. Kurt Rosenwinkel New Quartet

02/24/12  San Diego, CA    Athenaeum School of the Arts San Diego Studio
    Time: 8:00pm. Box office: +1-858-454-5872. Address: 4441 Park Blvd.. Venue phone: +1-858-454-5872. Kurt Rosenwinkel Standards Trio

02/25/12  Hollywood, CA - Musicians Institute
    Time: 8:00pm. Admission: $15-22. Box office: +1-323-860-1161. Address: 6752 Hollywood Blvd. Venue phone: +1-323-860-1161. Kurt Rosenwinkel Standards Trio

02/28/12 - 03/04/12  New York, NY - Village Vanguard
    Time: 9:00pm. Box office: +1-(212) 255-4037. Address: 178 7th Avenue South. Venue phone: 212.255.4037. Kurt Rosenwinkel New Quartet

03/13/12 - 03/14/12  Cambridge, MA - Regatta Bar
    Time: 7:30pm. Address: One Bennett Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. Venue phone: 617.395.7757. Kurt Rosenwinkel New Quartet

03/15/12 - 03/18/12  Chicago, IL - Jazz Showcase
    Time: 7:30pm. Address: Dearborn Station 806 S. Plymouth Ct. Chicago, IL 60605. Venue phone: 312-670-2473. Kurt Rosenwinkel New Quartet. Extra Sunday matinee at 4pm!

Kurt Rosenwinkel - Winter 2012 US Tour Dates

Kurt Rosenwinkel will be playing the following US dates in early 2012. See Rosenwinkel's official website for more info.

02/22/12  Oberlin, OH - Oberlin Conservatory of Music
02/24/12  San Diego, CA - Athenaeum School of the Arts San Diego Studio
02/25/12  Hollywood, CA - Musicians Institute
02/28/12 - 03/04/12  New York, NY - Village Vanguard
03/13/12 - 03/14/12  Cambridge, MA - Regatta Bar
03/15/12 - 03/18/12  Chicago, IL - Jazz Showcase

Kurt Rosenwinkle Interview for Guitar Player

Guitar Player interview with Kurt Rosenwinkle from the Montreal Jazz Festival/Guitar Show.

Photos: Kurt Rosenwinkel - Live at the Jazz Showcase March 6th 2011

I caught Kurt Rosenwinkel's matinee set at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago yesterday. What a great player; very fresh and inventive - easily one of the best guitarists in the straight-ahead jazz scene today. Kurt brought a killer band to the Showcase as well - he had Aaron Goldberg on piano, Ted Poor on drums, and Ben Street on bass. This was truly a great show that I thoroughly enjoyed (as did my 8-year-old son!). Here are my pics:

Photo Gallery: Kurt Rosenwinkel - Live at the Jazz Showcase March 6th 2011

Current Listening

Here is some stuff I've been digging lately:

John Czajkowski and Marco Minnemann - West ZooOpolis

Czajkowski's contribution to Minnemann's Normalizer 2 project. An amazing piece of work. Highly textured with great melodies and playing.

Alex Machacek featuring Marco Minnemann - 24 Tales (review)

This is Machacek's contribution to Minnemann's above-mentioned project. Remarkable stuff. Look for an interview with Machacek soon.

 Lenny White - Anomaly

Great throwback fusion. Guests include Jimmy Herring, David Gilmore, Stanley Clarke and Victor Bailey.

 Kurt Rosenwinkel - The Remedy - Live At The Village Vanguard

This one is a couple of years old but I've been listening to it a lot lately. Rosenwinkel is a phenomenal straight-ahead player. Incredible recording.

Lost Tribe (self-titled)

This is long out-of-print but you can find it on eBay. Lost Tribe was a fantastic New York fusion band that featured Adam Rogers and David Gilmore on guitars (who normally play straight-ahead jazz). This is their self-titled debut from 1993 which was produced by Walter Becker. Their follow-up Soulfish is great too.