Zankel to host jazz artist Kurt Rosenwinkel April 16
The Kurt Rosenwinkel New Quartet will perform at the Arthur Zankel Music Center at 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 16. Coming off performances in Tokyo and Singapore, the quartet will perform songs from Rosenwinkel’s 2012 release Star of Jupiter along with new compositions.
Known for his distinctive sound and improvisational style, Rosenwinkel has had a broad array of collaborators, including such artists as Q-Tip from the hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest to Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos—a Portugal-based big band, as well as many, many jazz greats and greats-to-be. He won a National Endowment for the Arts Composer’s Award in 1995 and earned notice for completely, literally, turning around the way he plays (by flipping the keys in the tuning pegs of his guitar).
After finishing 2013 participating in the Kennedy Center honors awarded to Herbie Hancock, performing with the likes of Chick Corea, Terri Lyne Carrington, Joshua Redman and Snoop Lion before a crowd that included the president and first lady, Rosenwinkel has maintained a brisk pace in 2014. His New Quartet has been quite busy with a string of U.S. shows in January, a tour of Asia in March and a return to Europe in May. It will be a treat for Zankel to host them between stints in April.
With a career spanning 25 years, a great lineup of fellow musicians, an ability to connect with his audience and a continuous desire and motivation to make clearer and stronger his natural connection to the universe, Rosenwinkel promises to deliver a great show.
Rosenwinkel’s New Quartet features a cast of musicians who are established bandleaders in their own right. Pianist Aaron Parks (who also performed at the Kennedy Center Hancock honors) recently released a solo album on ECM titled Arborescence. Bassist Eric Revis has received critical acclaim for his recent album City of Asylum and he co-leads another band, a trio called Tarbaby. Drummer Kendrick Scott, known as a great bandleader and composer, released an album in 2013 called Conviction with his band, Kendrick Scott Oracle.
Admission for the Wednesday, April 16, Kurt Rosenwinkel New Quartet performance is $8 adults, $5 seniors and Skidmore community, and free for students and children. For advance reservations click here or call the Zankel box office (518) 580-5321 for more information. The Zankel Music Center is wheelchair accessible and offers listening devices for the hearing impaired.
