11 Nov 2017

Kurt Rosenwinkel: Caipi

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In a Brazilian Mood

CaipiCaipi begins with a quiet bossa rif: guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel is in a Brazilian mood. The multi-instrumentalist from Philadelphia (Pennsyvania, USA; 1970), but now residing in Berlin, Germany, surprises his fans with something completely different. Kurt Rosenwinkel houses in the jazz scene. In the first years of his career he could be found in vibraphonist Gary Burton’s band. He was also a driving force in drummer Paul Motian’s Electric Bebop Band and later on he performed with pianist Brad Mehldau, saxophonists Chris Potter, Joe Henderson and Mark Turner (to name a few). An impressive list of jazz giants. After ten albums under his own name, it was time to highlight his love for Brazilian music. It marks the first release on his own label Heartcore/RazDaz Recordz.

Caipi is a more than an interesting album with some surprising guests. Kurt plays most instruments (guitar, bass, piano, drums, percussion, synths and a serious attempt to sing). Pedro Martins (Brasilia, 1993) is partner in crime on most songs (voice, keyboards, drums and percussion). He’s an amazing talent who worked with Hamilton de Holanda, Milton Nascimento. The voice of Kurt Rosenwinkel sounds very basic and, let’s say, pure; almost like it’s unschooled. Kurt Rosenwinkel At moments the musical atmosphere reminds me of the Clube de Esquina albums from Milton Nascimento. But also Jobim is clearly present. And just when you think you can dream away with that music, Kurt adds in an amazing solo. Like on “Chromatic B,” on which he also proves to be a wonderful pianist. Tenor saxophonist Mark Turner (Fairborn, Ohio; 1965) shows his great talent on a few tracks. The man has a fantastic sound and provides a strong variation in the sound of the album. It’s also nice to hear Amanda Brecker (New York, 1984) on three tracks. The daughter of Eliane Elias and Randy Brecker is a welcome addition to the vocal part of the album. And then, all of a sudden, it sounds like Eric Clapton stepped in with his guitar. And he did: on “Little Dream” he makes a modest but tasteful appearance. The album closes in a festive way with “Little B.”

Kurt Rosenwinkel worked on this project for ten years. It’s beautifully recorded and comes with an informative booklet with descriptions of the songs and all the lyrics.

ALBUM INFORMATION

Kurt Rosenwinkel
Caipi
Heartcore Records/ Razdaz Recordz SSC4618 (2016)
Time: 61’02”

Tracks (all compositions by Kurt Rosenwinkel, except where noted):

  1. Caipi
  2. Kama (Kurt Rosenwinkel – Amanda Brecker) – feat. Pedro Martins
  3. Casio Vanguard (Kurt Rosenwinkel – Antônio Loureiro)
  4. Summer Song
  5. Chromatic B
  6. Hold On
  7. Ezra – feat. Mark Turner
  8. Little Dream – feat. Eric Clapton
  9. Casio Escher – feat. Mark Turner
  10. Interscape
  11. Little B (Kurt Rosenwinkel – Amanda Brecker)