''The Next Step'' is Kurt Rosenwinkel's fourth album as a band leader. It is his second release on Verve, and regarded as a major step in his creative evolution. Rosenwinkel says of the album: "It represents the culmination of many life phases for me. Some of these phases started ten years ago and have finally found resolution in this record. It represents the next step in my music and in my life". The album debuts a number of compositions which would become staples of his live performances, and would also be re-recorded on his albums Deep Song and

Star of Jupiter ''Star of Jupiter'' is Kurt Rosenwinkel's tenth album as a band leader. This album includes a new band and is Rosenwinkel's first quartet album since '' The Next Step'' (2001). The album includes mostly new songs with a remake of an old composi ...

. The material was developed by the band during their frequent gigs at

Smalls Jazz Club Smalls Jazz Club is a jazz club at 183 West 10th Street, Greenwich Village, New York City. Established in 1994, it earned a reputation in the 1990s as a "hotbed for New York's jazz talent" with a "well-deserved reputation as one of the best places ...

in New York City. Mitch Borden, the club's owner recalled that, "Kurt Rosenwinkel's band played with such dramatic fire, that it would consume everyone present". The album features several songs with alternate guitar tunings, and also showcases Kurt Rosenwinkel's piano playing on the title track.

Track listing

:''All compositions by Kurt Rosenwinkel'' # "Zhivago" – 9:04 # "Minor Blues" – 5:54 # "A Shifting Design" – 7:11 # "Path of the Heart" – 6:15 # "Filters" – 7:43 # "Use of Light" – 9:17 # "The Next Step" – 10:01 # "A Life Unfolds" – 6:31

Personnel

* Kurt Rosenwinkel – guitar, piano (track 7) * Mark Turner – tenor saxophone * Ben Street –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Jeff Ballard –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

References

External links

The Next Step at Verve Records

A Japanese bonus track from ''The Next Step'' album
on YouTube 2001 albums Kurt Rosenwinkel albums {{2000s-jazz-album-stub