Kurt Rosenwinkel - Untitled Improvisation

March 13, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: artistshare, Discovery, guitarist, jazz, Jazz Alive, kurt rosenwinkel, Listening Post, Live Music, music, solo improvisation, studio session, Studio Sessions, the remedy, village vanguard, wbgo

I talked to guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel yesterday, and he played some songs. Here's one of them:

Kurt recently released The Remedy, a two-disc collection of music recorded live at the Village Vanguard in 2006. Highly recommended listening.
Kurt is one of the most gifted voices in jazz. But don't believe me.
View the Kurt Rosenwinkel project at ArtistShare.
-Josh

© 2008 WBGO

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Jazz on the Brain

March 5, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: awe, brain, cecil taylor, forehead, funky butt, invisible button, jazz, Jazz Osmosis, kitchen sink, musical improvisation, musicians, neurological functions, new orleans, orleans writer, poem, prefrontal cortex, rampart street, Real Life Stories, scientists, summation, wwoz, ya

People who know me will tell you I always have jazz on the brain. Guilty as charged. Recently, scientists studied improvising musicians, hoping to unlock the underlying neurological functions of high and low level musical improvisation. A summation of the study is here.
Turns out all you have to do is turn off your prefrontal cortex (can an Idiot's Guide to Turning Off Your Prefrontal Cortex be far behind?).
This study reminds me of a conversation I had with the New Orleans writer, performer, and creator Kalamu Ya Salaam. One night on Rampart Street, at a club called The Funky Butt, I watched in awe as Kalamu performed an original poem in a style similar to the way that pianist Cecil Taylor played his music. Kalamu and I worked together at WWOZ in New Orleans. One night, during his Thursday evening Kitchen Sink show, I asked him how he could do such things.
He said, "There's an invisible button located on your forehead. It controls the part of your brain that says you cannot do something. Turn it off."
-Josh

© 2008 WBGO

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WBGO Studio Session - Grand Pianoramax

March 4, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: breakbeat, international piano competition, intriguing combination, jazz, Jazz Alive, jb, leo, Listening Post, Live Music, maceo parker, meta, montreux, new cd, pianist, poetry, Remix, Studio Sessions, three tunes, Video

Yesterday, we had Grand Pianoramax in our studio. Grand Pianoramax is the meta name for Leo Tardin, a Swiss-born pianist who won the Montreux International Piano Competition in 1999. Leo has discovered an intriguing combination of jazz, breakbeat, and poetry. Grand Pianoramax just finished a tour with the original JB horn, Maceo Parker,who also has a cool new record.
Here's some video of the WBGO session. It's called "Showdown," from the new CD, The Biggest Piano in Town.
This is actually the first take. The second take is the real keeper. You'll be able to hear that when we post the audio of the full session. All three tunes. In the meantime, enjoy this:

© 2008 WBGO

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