Guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel should be on the top tier list of important guitarists around, but possibly because of his getting dumped by Verve, or maybe something else, he seemed to get side tracked from the career that seemed so promising back when he blew everyone away 6-7 years ago with albums like Heartcore and The Next Step. This one gets him back on the quartet format, but not with a saxist like Mark Turner. Instead, pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Justin Faulkner team up with him for an exciting and wide ranging collections of originals that make each song seem shorter than they actually are, simply because they are so interesting.
Fascinatingly unique sounds emit from Rosenwinkels axe and voice on the driving “Gamma Band,” while other tunes like “Something Sometime” and “Mr. Hope” bop and hop like dancing gazelle. The two longest pieces, “Déjà vu” and “Heavenly Bodies,” clock in at over 11 minutes, and are also the most laid back, yet Rosenwinkel and company keep the music flowing forward like a Class III whitewater, with little dips, waves and currents to navigate around, yet with enough space in between to enjoy the view. He’s still got some impressive chops, but it’s the creative mind at work that guides the fingers which makes you keep wondering what he’ll do next. By far, his best and most focused one in awhile.
Wommusic