Who knew? That Christian McBride and Kurt Rosenwinkel, were contemporaries and friends at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA)? “We’ve known each other for 37 years,” McBride explained.
As a teenager at the school, Rosenwinkel’s main instrument had been the piano, and McBride told the story of experiencing a total jaw-drop when he saw him onstage at a festival a few years later in the early 1990’s, and suddenly clocked that his old friend was not playing the piano, but was employed in the prestigious role of guitarist in Gary Burton’s quartet. (Jakub Klimiuk wrote about this aspect of Rosenwinkel’s playing/ composition in his brilliant “10 Tracks” piece about Rosenwinkel/ link below)
So, if one of the unknowns before this Wigmore gig was to try to imagine what the common ground these two very different globetrotting, hugely influential jazz musicians would find as a duo, then this biographical factoid provided the answer. When they stepped onstage there was no uncertainty, there were no ifs, doubts or buts, they just launched straight in to perform a repertoire (an incomplete attempt at a set list is below) mainly of standards.
Everything that McBride chooses to do has a way of working. His willing and persuasive smile, his total clarity of purpose and of sound – even with no amplification as he chooses to play at the Wigmore Hall – just make good things happen with an ease and a naturalness that lift the spirit.
His method in this context was to know, live, breathe every tune from deep, and to stay close to it when soloing and to leave plenty of space and rhythmic impetus for Rosenwinkel to make surprises happen and sparks fly.
So, if on a superficial level what the guitarist was doing might have sounded like rather elegant, Kenny Burrell-style comping, there was always (and I know I am stating the obvious to those who know) a lot more than that going on. And as the evening progressed, Rosenwinkel’s way of keeping several melodic and harmonic ideas on the boil at any time became truly mesmerising. In “Ask Me Now” there always seemed to be space for yet another little shape to enter into the picture. It is something that pianists with ferocious mental and finger speed like Helen Sung and Gwilym Simcock can do, and it is always glorious to hear. “Invitation” was perhaps the high-point of such vivid and kaleidoscopic invention, with both players raising the stakes and encouraging each other to let the ideas jostle and tussle.
The Wigmore Hall, a temple to acoustic music, always has a special feel when every seat in the house has been sold, and an audience including a substantial contingent of musicians is showing its appreciation and encouraging the musicians to shine . This was one of those nights.
Set List:
Ease It ( Paul Chambers)
When Sunny Gets Blue ( Marvin Fisher)
Ask Me Now (Monk)
All or Nothing at All (Arthur Altman)
(???) for solo guitar
In the Wee Small Hours ( David Mann) for solo bass
Invitation (Bronislau Kaper )
Ruby My Dear (Monk)
Sandu (Clifford Brown)
5 responses
Thank you for this wonderful review. 🙏🏾 However, Kurt and I are not the same age. I was born 31 May 1972.
Thank you. It was far too late at night when I wrote this. I have amended the text! Sebastian
Well written, enjoyed reading this… and of course the gig was sublime !!!
In addition to the excellent performance by two outstanding masters of their craft, I think it worth mentioning the human side. I had a lovely pre-show chat with Christian at the stage door as he smoked his pipe. After the gig, both Christian and Kurt came front of house and spent time signing merchandise, posing for photos and chatting to fans. Kurt was genuinely touched when I produced my pre-order copy of his excellent Book of Compositions for his autograph. Great guys.
This was a beautiful concert and your review is spot on. What I remember even more than the mesmerising playing was the joy in the room generated by these two wonderful musicians.