A Rosenwinkel is a Rosenwinkel is a Rosenwinkel

It's a rare treat to see Kurt Rosenwinkel perform in this country, now that he has relocated to Zurich. A lucky audience had the pleasure of seeing the dazzling guitarist perform along with his quintet last Thursday evening, March 17, at Blues Alley. The group was touring in support of Rosenwinkel's new album, "Deep Song," released earlier this month.

Rosenwinkel differs from other jazz guitarists through his natural style. While his style lies somewhere between early Pat Metheny and more straight ahead Bill Frisell, Rosenwinkel sets himself apart with his flowing melodies and brilliant lyricism. When he solos you don't hear scales or arpeggios; you just hear vibrantly beautiful melodies. And his smooth, rich, reverby tone just kills, without any of the cheesy tones so many modern jazz guitarists use. Rosenwinkel's solos are free, not from rhythm or harmony, but from preconception. His solos don't feel thought out. His dynamics and pacing meander leisurely, creating an uncolored transition from his head to his hands. As he bobs up and down and sings along with his lines, he creates a truly free forum for his melodic genius.

The rest of the group consisted of Mark Turner on tenor sax, Aaron Goldberg on piano, Joel Martin on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums. Turner provided sparse and dissonant solos with tone smoother than a baby's bottom. Goldberg's playing anchored the group rhythmically and harmonically; his solos were very dense and chordal, at times sounding closer to Bela Bartok than to Art Tatum. Ballard played hunched over with his ear to his set, intensely monitoring his timbre. Sporadically he would throw in a quick offbeat phrase or polyrhythm just to keep the audience on its toes, and he gave an interesting African-sounding solo. The group was basically there to showcase Rosenwinkel, who did not disappoint.

"Zhivago," the best song of the evening, was an intriguing blend of dark and light. After an unaccompanied Rosenwinkel solo, the group came in with a dark melody composed of just four chords. Turner played a rhythmic, two-note melody with almost a clavé to it. Then the piece went into a pastoral section, followed by an articulate piano solo and an angular sax solo. Ballard added a strong rhythmic spice. The piece ended with Rosenwinkel playing his heart out, as he did all night.