The Remedy: Live at the Village Vanguard

by Michael G. NastosFor electric guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel's seventh offering, he has taken the challenge of recording live at the hallowed Village Vanguard in NYC, written new music for the occasion, put together a dynamic backup band, and offers lengthy composed music foundations followed by extensive solo discourses. As usual, Rosenwinkel's style is an interwoven, complex fabric of melodies and harmonies that seem brighter and luminous, yet have an inward and insular confidence that belies a more mysterious nature. Saxophonist Mark Turner, the incredible drummer Eric Harland, and acoustic pianist Aaron Goldberg help Rosenwinkel lift the bandstand, while unobtrusive bassist Joe Martin provides the support underneath for the others to fly. The watchword in listening to this music is patience -- a short attention span will not do it justice. A whopping two CD's of material is presented, with compositions ranging from eleven-and-a-half to nearly twenty minutes. It is difficult to distinguish the degrees of difficulty or appeal between any tracks because they are all rendered with a similar stance, heart, and soul -- pick 'em. One can say Rosenwinkel uses a steelier tone on "Chords" which has a British Canterbury fusion school feeling in its interplay with Turner. On the mid-tempo title track "The Remedy," you can hear the sigh, the gulp, and the relief in a melancholy, slightly reserved tango feel that is laid-back and liquid. A singsong melody and Native American tone with dynamics explored in spurts informs the very arranged "Flute," navigated rhythmically by the astounding, pronounced Harland. Breaking down one- and two-note phrases, "View from Moscow" develops into a kinetic, driving, modal 6/8 line with terrific musicianship urging Turner's long solo, while the magnum opus closer "Myron's World" is a song of peace, cutting loose with the guitarists jangling sound, briefly with solo time for the very talented Goldberg, a stompy jones or hard bop section, and Harland again proving why there is not a better working drummer in contemporary music. The only repeat piece from a previous recording is "A Life Unfolds" from Rosenwinkel's fourth CD Next Step. This version, nearly 18 minutes, is satisfyingly slow to develop with a piano-bass-drums trio section and bass-drums duet. Fans of Rosenwinkel are unfazed to begin with, as his recordings are spaced by several years. His style being similarly unhurried in general, but always poignant and substantive, is in full display on this jam-packed double-disc of music that is so personally his own.