Jazz Articles about Kurt Rosenwinkel

About Kurt Rosenwinkel

Album Review

Joe Block: There is Always Hope

Read "There is Always Hope" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
October 25, 2026

Joe Block's There Is Always Hope is an unusually personal debut, but what is most interesting is not the autobiographical material behind these 12 compositions. Rather, it is how Block has gradually learned to turn experience into musical structure. Written over many years, these pieces reveal a composer still testing the boundaries of his language, sometimes successfully, sometimes deliberately leaving the edges unresolved. He is a bandleader increasingly comfortable with letting the music exist beyond his own intentions.

Live Review

Merano Jazz Festival And Academy 2026

by Giuseppe Segala
July 29, 2026

Merano Jazz Festival and Academy 2026 Varie sedi 14-19 luglio 2026 I tre appuntamenti concertistici di MeranOjazz dedicati alla scena internazionale e le masterclass dell'Academy didattica erano quest'anno particolarmente sostanziosi. D'altra parte, nel 2026 si festeggiavano sia il trentennale del Jazzfestival nella cittadina termale, che il venticinquesimo anno dell'attività formativa, fondata da Franco D'Andrea ed Ewald Kontschieder, tuttora diretta da loro insieme a Matteo Scalchi. A questo si aggiungeva il compleanno del pianista di origine ...

Album Review

Mathias Ruppnig: FOAM (feat. Kurt Rosenwinkel)

Read "FOAM (feat. Kurt Rosenwinkel)" reviewed by Blue Summers

by Blue Summers
June 7, 2026

There is a long tradition of excellent European jazz composers, and a more recent addition to that list is Austrian drummer and composer Mathias Ruppnig. Ruppnig has a strong academic background in drumming and composing, and this is evident in the sophistication of the compositions and arrangements. But the presence of American guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel adds a bit of edge to proceedings, contrasting nicely with the very fine French pianist Tony Tixier. FOAM has the feel of a '70s ECM album. The ...

Album Review

Niklas Lukassen: Still Waters

Read "Still Waters" reviewed by Konstantin N. Rega

by Konstantin N. Rega
March 23, 2026

Multi-instrumentalist Niklas Lukassen spins a pleasant mix of tunes on Still Waters. Joined by a stellar team, including saxophonist Ben van Gelder, pianist Kit Downes and drummer Francesco Ciniglio (as well as several others spotted throughout), the quartet moves with the ease of skilled swimmers through the music. An internationally influenced album, the music reflects his own life experiences of traveling through Europe as well as studying under bassist Ron Carter at the Manhattan School of Music. Now teaching in London, the musician still makes ...

Album Review

Kerry Politzer: Alternate Route

Read "Alternate Route" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
January 11, 2026

A first impression as pianist Kerry Politzer's ninth album spins: This is an artist adept at bringing a band together for a one-day studio outing to play a bunch of her forward-leaning compositions to turn out a vibrant, crisp-sounding set. Obvious also, on tune # 1--"Before It's Too Late"--is that guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel has a special genius for pairings with pianists. He proved that with his contribution to Jo-Yu Chen's Stranger (Okeh Records, 2014), and he is in the mix ...

Album Review

Kerry Politzer: Alternate Route

Read "Alternate Route" reviewed by Paul Rauch

by Paul Rauch
January 6, 2026

Pianist Kerry Politzer had released eight albums before Alternate Route (Whirlwind, 2025), though to many jazz listeners they essentially flew under the radar. Politzer is a Portland, Oregon-based musician on the faculty at the esteemed jazz studies program at Portland State. With this, her ninth offering, more attention and accolades are bound to come her way. The album of ten original compositions not only lends a strong focus on her adept compositional and instrumental skills, it also welcomes in a ...

Radio & Podcasts

New from Known

by Patrick Burnette
August 21, 2025

For this particular fortnightly excursion, Mike suggested we look at four newish recordings by artists we've covered--or at least listened to a bit--before. The fresh from the familiar as it were. The results leave Pat speechless. Playlist Discussion of podcast's raison d'etre 0:30 Discussion of Jon Irabagon's album Server Farm (Irrabagast) 10:13 Discussion of Gonzalo Rubalcaba's album First Meeting Live at Dizzy's (5Passions) 28:26 Discussion of Kurt Rosenwinkel'a album The Brahms Project (Heartcore) 44:00 Discussion of 8 Bit ...