Customer Reviews

Heartcore

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It's never easy to create genuinely new music.

So when an artist as accomplished as jazz guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel even attempts it, we should take a careful look. When it's pulled off, we have reason to get excited.

Jazz, especially, seems a difficult music to drag into the future, what with its hoary tradition, its huge standards presence, its informal council of ruling elders. So when a bright young upstart like Rosenwinkel teams up with hip-hop producer Q-Tip, one has every reason to be leery of the result.

Well, I'm here to tell you that you can put to rest fears of diluted quasi-jazz, such as you get on, e.g., The Detroit Experiment. What's happening here is that a hip-hop vibe has successfully been mapped onto a genuine jazz esthetic, with the results sounding eminently in tune with an authentic jazz sensibility. That is, we get novelty and tradition working hand-in-hand. An analog might be world jazz such as Egberto Gismonti or the Intercontinentals (Bill Frisell's new band) or Roswell Rudd in Mali have produced. The trick in these musical fusions is to retain an authentic jazz vibe in the presence of alien influences.

Of course, jazz has been doing this sort of thing for a long time. Essentially a blend of African rhythms, European classical harmonies, and some weird Creole vibe, the first jazz that emerged from New Orleans around the turn of the 20th century was itself a hodge-podge. Then Dizzy Gillespie with Afro-Cuban jazz and Sonny Rollins with numbers like "St. Thomas" took it further along. Artists like Andy Narell, Cyro Baptista, Caribbean Jazz Project, and Safa have successfully moved it along new tangents.

The thing that's genuinely original about Rosenwinkel's record is that it's a fusion disc with little or no precedent--not electric Miles, not Weather Report, not MMW, not plugged in Scofield, not Matthew Shipp, not the Greyboy Allstars, not the new Roy Hargrove, not Phish, not Secret Chiefs Three, not Uri Caine, not anything! That's because he manages to retain--at least to these ears--more of an authentic jazz sensibility than, say, Hargrove's Hard Groove, while at the same time evoking a truer hip-hop vibe.

Quite an accomplishment.

But what does it sound like? That's a little hard to describe. A more listener-friendly version of Egberto Gismonti's Brazilian-label records? Kinda, but not quite. Something like Matthew Shipp's ambient-jazz? Again, kinda, but not quite. Probably the closest thing is Brad Mehldau's Largo combined with Chris Potter's Traveling Mercies filtered through some bizarre Frisell/Dave Douglas/Harold Budd/Daniel Lanois vibe, but even that doesn't really catch it.

In any case, I'm absolutely blown away by this disc, which marks not only a giant step forward in Kurt Rosenwinkel's career, but in the future of jazz music.

Another in the astounding string of truly remarkable jazz discs to come out in 2003.

I got this for Christmas this year and it sure beats the crap out another pair of socks! I hate to join the other reviewers in kicking Mr Nicholas (see below) whilst he is down but he is completely wrong in his assesment of this great album - stick to the smooth rubbish pal!

This is one of the freshest records I have heard. When listening to the record you think of Weather Report, Miles and McLaughlin but ultimately this is a very original piece of work. Yes you can use the words ambient and fusion to describe the feel of the album but there is lots of great jazz playing throughout. It is very intersting to hear players such as Rosenwinkle and Mark Turner (who contributes strongly) play in a new context.

Full marks for trying someting new. This is a well realised concept and the album plays well as a whole with the tracks fitting into a good order which is unusual these days. This is an album that really grows on you - it is not an obvious winner but after a couple of listens you will find it hard to get it out of the CD player. If you are at all adventurous or have liked previous albums by Rosenwinkle or Turner get this now. If you think jazz died with "In a Silent Way" then this isn't for you! This is my first ever e-review - so this clearly made an impression on me!

Like Bird, Coltrane, Monk, Mingus, and countless others, Rosenwinkel can at first be hard to listen to because he is utterly unique and unorthodox. Like them, he will continue to be dismissed by people like the above Mr. Nicholas because he's not producing a decent copy of what's already been done a zillion times. I don't mean to put Rosenwinkel on the level of these other guys, but I do believe he is one of the few voices who continues to keep jazz alive by pushing it forward. If Rosenwinkel had done another "The Next Step" album and added some sampling in production, or gone the "acid jazz" route and pretended to innovate by playing jazz licks over watered down hip hop, he would probably sell about ten times as many albums. But instead he offers a project that's more about musical expression than marketability. It's taken me a couple weeks to get into this album, because it doesn't conform to my idea of what jazz guitar should be or what electronic music should be. That's because Rosenwinkel is not cutting from one style of music and pasting it onto another. He is working in a different medium, and the composition, playing and production fits the medium.
And Mark Whitfield?? If Mr. Nicholas was capable of listening to Rosenwinkel on a deeper level, he'd hear a much deeper connection to Wes, Benson and Martino than the slew of "straight ahead" copycats. Mr. Nicholas reveals his ignorance in the above review by offering a Benson clone (and not even one of the best at that) as a better alternative to Rosenwinkel. I for one am tired of buying jazz guitar albums and hearing great players who don't reach beyond what's been done ad nauseam. If jazz is going to be kept alive, great musicians need to take risks, and critics like Mr. Nicholas need to shut their mouths and open their minds and ears. I'm not as excited (yet) by this album as I am by The Next Step. But it's well worth fifteen bucks.

Rosenwinkel has been drawing attention for the last few years as a unique and skilled guitarist. He started by playing standars, and then moved into new ground with Mark Turner and others, developing one of the few unique group sounds of today's jazz scene. This next step (no pun intended) into a totally unique brand of "fusion" should be no surprise.
The songs are no less harmonically complex than his earlier work. I checked. His playing style is even more Rosenwinkel, and the sonic textures he uses to augment the extended arrangements are very tasteful and fitting. Not only has he not sold out, but he has stepped even further from established traditions while keeping his identity.
The first two tracks and dcba//>> are the most interesting and well constructed to me, while Love in the Modern World is a beautiful well orchestrated ballad.

Heartcore continues in Mr. Rosenwinkel's "tradition" of exploring new territory.
This CD has a compositions similar to say, Joe Zawinul's style - blocks, or segments of ideas linked together nicely. There is a good dramatic sense in his composing - the songs and the improvisations have a "natural" structure, and even when the song is has a long 2 or 3 chord "vamp" the song still has motion, and doesn't get stuck or feel monotonous.

My only complaint is the drum machine feels - they have a similarity throughout the CD - a sort of slowish rock/rhumba/cha cha/what-have-you
type of feel and could use a little more variety. I would prefer a real drummer
to the machine.

As a longtime listener to jazz (35 years and counting) I am always starved for good new music - and Heartcore does the trick. This CD (and all his others) should be in any "modern" jazz listener's collection...

You know what? Kurt is a terrific genius. Man, this album is unbelievable. I'm listening to it right now and it is so forward it is truly breathtaking. The music here is pure Jazz, no doubt about it, but without the swing pulse from the drums. To be honest there is no drum at all. Not a real drum I mean, just drum machine samples. There are a lot of electronic sounds, electronic music tapestries ... But the song structures are so beautiful, so pure. His guitar playing is lyrical, intense ... sometimes strange when he leave time and go free in his improvisation. This is due to the fact that the drum is a machine so the contrast sometimes is awkward. But the music works. It is truly beautiful music. Very peaceful, joyful. I'm listening to it and I feel extremely good. Relaxed. This music is a lot different from the music of his other albums, music that I love. But this album is diverse yet at the same stratospheric level. Moreover you can't compare this album to the albums of other cats where they swing. Kurt here doesn't swing. He choose not to. He choose to be lyrical in a modern impressionistic way. He swong in Intuit and clearly point out who is actually the best at it. Now he is trying something else. Hat off to those musicians who try to open new territories, to paint new musical landscapes, to break boundaries and meanwhile be creative. I'm so happy I did buy this cd. Thanxs Kurt.

Kurt Rosenwinkel just keeps getting better and better. On "Heartcore," we are treated to some of astounding, and at time bizarre (depending on how you hear it) music. His playing is really strange on this album, but that doesn't mean it isn't bad. This album is unlike anything he's done. When you hear this album for the first time, you might think "Oh, well this is really different." You might be disappointed. You might absolutely love it. It really depends on what your tastes are. You've really got to keep an open mind when listening to anything new. When I first heard Bill Frisell, I thought he was one of the most terrible guitar players I've ever heard, in fact I've got a review of one his albums on here, I think it was the album "Where in the World?" Anyway, I totally bashed him and his music without examining the music any further. As time progressed, he turned out to be my favorite guitarist in the whole world. People must keep an open mind when listening to something that's different.

This album is one of those albums that you're going to like or that you're going to hate. Having said that, I think this album does for me what all great jazz guitar albums do for me, which would be inspire me.

The first song I ever heard by Rosenwinkel came off this album and the song was called "All The Way To Rojasthan," and it's a weird song, but it works on so many levels. The way he plays on that song was very unique, and that only he could ever duplicate. The song has a very interesting feel as does the rest of the album. His fluid legato phrasing and his lyrical playing style are something that keep me coming back to him.

This album showcases all the things that make Kurt one of the most unique jazz guitarist/composers on the scene today.

He plays with his usual quartet, which features Ben Street on bass, Jeff Ballard on drums, and Mark Turner on tenor saxophone. Another interesting aspect of this album is that it was co-produced by a guy named Q-Tip who is from the hip-hop world.

If I had to classify this album I'd file it under jazz, but it has a very strong new age/ambient type of feel to it as well.

Pick this album up! You will not be sorry!

Innovative, addicting, and very cerebral. One of my favorite albums out there period. In a nutshell, this album is outstanding. Every track will grow on you if you approach the album without expecting what you've heard from Rosenwinkel before.

Regarding the one-star reviews: If anyone actually expected Rosenwinkel to integrate Q-Tip's hip hop style/anything aside from neat production... they are idiots. Disregard the 1-star reviews because this album certainly does not merit such a review.

Every once in a generation comes an artist that re-defines and creates a whole new vocabulary with an instrument. Like Miles Davis, Keith Jarret, Jaco Pastorius, and Eddie Van Halen, Kurt Rosenwinkel belongs in this category. I did not know his music, I heard of him from word of mouth. So when I listened to this album I was surprised, big time. I had not heard something so original in a long-long time. Different BUT interesting. In simple terms, it sounds somewhere like a mix of Pat Metheny, Bill Frissell and Andy Summers with an atmospheric tripi-groove. So if you wanna hear jazz guitar in a new direction (at last, it's been a while), here it is. Extremely recomendable.

Kurt Rosenwinkel is excellent once again in this album. He plays guitar, keyboards, drums, and programming on different songs and sometimes all at once through layering. "Blue Line" is the standout track for me, but, in all honesty, they all are excellent.
In addition to Jeff Ballard (drums), Ben Street (bass), and Mark Turner (tenor saxophone), other artists guest on various songs. Andrew D'Angelo plays bass clarinet on the surreal "Your Vision," Mariano Gil plays flute on calm "Interlude," and "Love in the Modern World," and Ethan Iverson of the Bad Plus plays on "Our Secret World" and "dcba//>>."
There is a nice variety in styles and feels through out the album, and Rosenwinkel applies some really cool effects, like playing drums along with Jeff Ballard (one on each channel) on "Blue Line" and also doubling drums on "All the Way to Rajasthan."
Kurt Rosenwinkel pushes the boundary here along with the rest of the artists on it. Inspired playing in each song. Solid stuff.