“(Adam Rogers) debut album, at 36, Art of the Invisible (Criss Cross), is impressive on several counts. He’s a Guitarist with his own sound, mellow yet aggressive. He is so impressive of a player-taking his time, riding the beat, building to longish, intricate on the beat phrases…”-
Gary Giddins , Village Voice
"Intelligent, inventive, technically brilliant, Rogers in now clearly one of the finest guitarists around" - Ray Comiskey, The Irish Times
"(an) exceptional Guitarist.."
- Bob Blumenthal, Boston Globe
" A searing electric solo by Rogers"
- Jazz Times
“One of the best Guitarists of the Century”- Dresden Zeitung
MICHAEL BRECKER QUARTET. The influential tenor saxophonist is supporting a new record, ''Time Is of the Essence'' (Verve), and his recent performances have been powerful. He has a great groover's rhythm section, with the drummer Idris Muhammad and the organist Larry Goldings, and the guitarist Adam Rogers is given enough space within Mr. Brecker's easy-to-follow constructions to prove that he's ready for the major leagues. - Ben Ratliff, New York Times
Michael Brecker's quintet, built around the leader's tenor and Adam Rogers' guitar work.Brecker's choice of guitarist Adam Rogers as his front-line mate, meanwhile, was especially inspired. Rogers (who will be back to lead his own group Oct. 16 and appear with trumpeter Randy Brecker on Oct. 17) is a superb melodist with a plethora of interesting ideas to share. Moreover, his approach to the instrument is an essentially hornlike one, making him the perfect foil for Brecker, who is often cited for taking electric-guitar lines and playing them on sax " David Prince, Santa Fe New Mexican
"Guitarist Adam Rogers scares me, quite frankly. Still a young guy, he's got a vast range of experience (with everyone from Walter Becker to Norah Jones to Zorn to the post fusion group Lost Tribe which he co-led) and some of the most vertiginous chops you're likely to hear. What makes Rogers such an interesting musician (and i think he may well be the finest "mainstream" guitarist working today, though his style is more diverse than that label suggests) is the consistency of his vision, his imagination and his sheer musicality"
- Jason Blivins, Signal to noise
" Musicians like Guitarist Adam Rogers perform with exquisite control and grace " - Jack Kroll, Newsweek
"Rogers revealed an array of effects (via mournful slide, volume-pedal colorations and trebly swipes below the bridge of his guitar) that might have proved gimmicky if not for a tasteful sense of timing and volume. Later, Rogers tackled Metheny's "Song for Bilbao" with a deconstructive, biting flow that seemed more like King Crimsons Robert Fripp." - Boston Globe
"That clear, rich and full tone - along with Rogers' uncannily fluid linear style, pristine articulation and daring improvisational streak - has graced recordings by such a diverse list of musicians as Michael and Randy Brecker, Norah Jones and Lizz Wright among others." Bill Milkowski, Jazz Times
"One of the most exciting and thoughtful players on the scene"
- Josef Woodard, Jazziz
"The best tracks are those with guitarist Adam Rogers and tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker, each of whom produces a challenge that triggers a few moments of creative illumination...." " L.A. Times
“ Rogers favored long, lean phrases, often interrupting their flow with sudden flurries of fast-fingered bop lines” " Don Heckman, L.A. Times
"...the guitar work of Adam Rogers was continuously compelling." " L.A. Times
“Matthew Garrison played the Jazz Gallery on his birthday, June 2, with Adam Rogers on guitar, Jojo Mayer on drums, and Arto Tuncboyacian on percussion and vocals. Rogers was technically stunning, his lines a maze of rhythmic and intervallic invention. (Guitar nerd tangent: Rogers’s merciless right hand is the very model of precision and control. His fretting approach seems to pivot on fingers two and four, rather than one and three. He could probably lift weights with his left pinky.)”" All About Jazz.com
“Guitarist Adam Rogers can rock hard when he wants to (just listen to Lost Tribe), but he decided to go straightahead on his long-awaited debut disc, Art of the Invisible (Criss Cross). Leading a quartet with pianist Edward Clarence Penn, Rogers celebrated the record release at the Jazz Gallery, giving the audience a dose of his deadly chops and "Long Ago and Far Away." On this and the serpentine original "Absalom," Simon held back a bit; he sprang fully into action on the blues "Bobo," playing inspired games with Penn, stretching rhythmic ideas over barlines and even entire choruses. Rogers gets his iron tone by using both a Fender amp and a Walter Woods bass head. It's a pleasure to hear him as a leader, taking strides toward the top of the heap, where he belongs.” " All About Jazz.com
“After racking up an illustrious and highly diversified resumé as a sideman, guitarist Adam Rogers stepped out as a leader with the long-awaited Art of the Invisible on the Criss Cross label. Joined by pianist Edward Simon, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Clarence Penn, Rogers displays staggering straight-ahead jazz chops and a sophisticated compositional voice. His program runs the gamut from standards and blues ("Long Ago and Far Away," "Bobo") to free ("The Aleph"). Other highlights include the deft arpeggiated lines of "The Invisible" and "Book of Sand," the blistering minor blues of "In Broad Daylight," the flowing lyricism of "Absalom," and the dark-hued balladry of "Cathedral" and "The Unvanquished." In addition to his clean, sturdy tone and stunning technical facility on electric (he brings Metheny to mind at times), Rogers plays sumptuously on both nylon- and steel-string acoustic instruments during the course of the record. Fans of modern jazz guitar, and highly refined jazz composition in general, should watch this player closely.” — David R. Adler, All Music Guide
"What’s the best way to find out who’s the best guitarist in New York
Simple-ask a few apple-based guitarists (or any other instrumentalists, for that matter). I’ve conducted an informal poll and the answer I’ve gotten more often than not is the leader here, who I’ve counted among the world’s finest plectrists for almost a decade now. 2002 is shaping up to be nothing less than the “Year of Adam Rogers”, with a hefty role taken in fantastic new releases by Scott Colley and Alex Sipiagin and notable appearances on Chris Potter’s Traveling Mercies, The Mingus Big band’s Tonight at Noon and a fairly well "received debut by Miss Norah Jones. Now, finally, Criss Cross Jazz gives us the long deserved and long overdue debut by quite simply, one of the world’s finest guitarists- ever. Adam’s been developing his incredible gifts in a variety of genres throughout his career, and clearly finds fascination and inspiration in all musical places; from fusion to pop to mainstream to ethnic to avant garde. This record finds him at his essence-swinging, mainstream, contemporary, small group, post-bop guitar nirvana. Guitar lovers-stop right now and buy this one before anything else this year because Adam’s put himself right at the head of New York’s, and therefore the world’s, elite cadre of incredible players pushing the instrument’s future forward. Highlights? The entirety of the outing swings incredibly hard or waxes gorgeously soft, with one standard and eight originals from Adam’s mighty pen. Seems as though Mr. Rogers has known all along that composition, not merely prodigious technique on the instrument, is at the core of consequence on the musical map.
That said, his skills as a pure player are absolutely mind-boggling, with long lines and phraseology extending the lineage of Martino, Montgomery and Benson, extruding a tone from a Gibson ES-335 so phat and warm it could be coming from a jazz box three times the width. One of the instrument’s great compers as well, he relinquishes that role for the most part here to the refined and harmonically astute pianist Eduardo Simon. What a quartet he’s assembled - Michael Brecker Band mates Clarence Penn, who stirs and swings the date hard and is full of surprises on the kit, and Scott Colley, a complete player with velvety tone on acoustic bass, round out the band. Compositionally, it’s full of layers. Listen to “Cathedral” for heart rendering piano and crystalline single note work emphasizing Rogers’ mastery of linear phraseology, especially his uncanny ability to speed up and slow down the tempo of any given line and return to the phrase at precisely the right nanosecond. On “Book of Sand” he brings authentic classical technique to the fore while “In Broad Daylight” and “Bobo” take Martino’s and Montgomery’s way with a minor blues to the next level, indeed. I had the pleasure of sitting stage side for Michael Brecker’s Boston run last year. After that incredible string of performances, I remember leaving the club thinking Adam had nudged the bar delimiting the role of the small-group guitarist in a pianoless quartet up just a little further than it had been prior to that day. With Art of the Invisible, he’s accomplished nothing less than raising the bar for all of mainstream jazz guitardom." ~ Phil DiPietro, All about jazz.com
“….guitarist Adam Rogers, is sounding better and better: he’s one of the best guitarists most folks have yet to hear.” Joseph Woodard, The Santa Barbara Independent
Guitarist Adam Rogers could conquer the world. Here, Rogers displays Herculean chops to complement a strong compositional pen. His generally, blistering forays with tenor saxophonist Chris Potter and pianist Edward Simon are framed upon fluctuating movements and swiftly executed unison passages. The guitarist’s muse consists of a budding impetus that is pleasantly, in-your-face. Even so, the quintet commingles meticulously crated solos with a thrusting attack, sparked by Potter’s rip-roaring and gutsy solos. They tone it down in spots, amid snaky patterns and crisp swing vamps. But it’s the sum of the rather dynamic parts that elevates this set onto a higher state of musical consciousness. (A top jazz pick for 2005) " All about jazz
Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ben Monder, and Liberty Ellman are just a few of the notable modern day guitarists who are making own their marks in technique and ability. Adam Rogers also falls into this category, but the question remains for any artist: how does one distinguish his own identity? Rogers’ new release may not sound altogether different from some of the postmodern bop variations, but it is distinct in its balance of both the art of high composition and performance.With chops honed as a sideman on many recording sessions, Rogers' hollowbody fretboard prowess competes with some of the best, but he stands out the most compositionally with detailed, complex, and interesting ideas. This is clearly the trend he’s taken on his two previous recordings as a leader"Art of the Invisible (2002) and Allegory (2003)"so if you’re looking for the standard fare, think again. Rogers has recorded with a core group of players who all have extensive resumes as both sidemen and leaders. Clarence Penn is a versatile drummer with innate skills; Scott Colley is an in-demand bassist who’s performed on numerous recordings; Edward Simon combines a most interesting jazz and Latin feel with a classic style; and Chris Potter’s horn prowess speaks for itself. These guys have bonded and cooked together, and Apparitions continues in the same creative flow. The aptly named opening “Labyrinth” is packed with sudden twists and turns. Unison sax/guitar lines evolve into defined solo spaces; Rogers leads the way with rapid and intricate notes, prefacing other hearty spots by the sax and drums. “The Maya” shows how the group executes the depth of the expert rhythm section. The mood can change quickly from hot tempos to icy moments, as on the dark title piece. “Continuance” may appease those looking for Wes Montgomery-like grooves, but with added detail, multiple cadence changes, and some incendiary solos from everyone. Two other interesting cuts include “Tyranny of Fixed Numbers,” where Rogers shows his lighting-quick skills on a distorted Stratocaster, and its acoustic counterpart, “Moment in Time,” where the guitarist explores his steel-string persona. " Mark Turner/All about jazz
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