The Brahms Project Kurt Rosenwinkel & Jean-Paul Brodbeck

• 1 Hungarian Dance No. 1 08:14
• 2 Intermezzo, Op. 117, No. 2 06:28
• 3 Intermezzo, Op. 118, No. 2 08:10
• 4 Rhapsody, Op. 79, No. 1 05:20
• 5 Wiegenlied 06:35
• 6 Intermezzo, Op. 116, No. 6 04:47
• 7 Symphony No. 3 – III. Poco allegretto 08:24
• 8 Hungarian Dance No. 5 05:18
• 9 Ballade, Op. 10, No. 4 07:16
• 10 Symphony No. 4 – III. Allegro giocoso 03:55
• Total Runtime 01:04:27

Info for The Brahms Project

American jazz guitar legend Kurt Rosenwinkel and Swiss piano virtuoso Jean-Paul Brodbeck reimagine seminal works by Johannes Brahms on The Brahms Project.

Using the themes of Brahms as fertile inspiration for improvisation and creativity, the quartet soars to extraordinary new heights and renders each piece with specific, nuanced, and fully realized detail.

Johannes Brahms, the compositional heir apparent to Beethoven and a figure inextricably linked to the cultural identity and philosophies of the German Romantic cannon, is in many ways the perfect musical subject for a jazz portrait. The composer’s challenging harmonies, overt love of polyrhythms, and robust melodicism provide ample inspiration for re-interpretation and motivic development. The Brahms Project features ten arrangements from the pen of Jean-Paul Brodbeck, whose exemplary skills as a small ensemble orchestrator capture the enigmatic genius of Brahms’ compositions at their fullest and most brilliant.

“The work of Brahms has had a tremendous emotional impact and influence on my career as an artist, and has set the course for this musical endeavor,” Brodbeck reflects.

The masterful arrangements of The Brahms Project are duly complemented by world-class ensemble playing from Rosenwinkel, Brodbeck, Traxel, and Rossy. In particular, Rosenwinkel, the foremost jazz guitarist of his generation, lends a distinct and powerful melodic voice that drives the ensemble with intensity and forward momentum. The album’s imaginative orchestrations enable the quartet to illuminate Brahms’ music in vivid, contemporary hues, and the resplendent group interplay moves the music into novel and exciting dimensions. Drawing from an eclectic array of the composer’s works—including pieces for cello, solo piano, voice, and orchestra— The Brahms Project features performances that are wildly imaginative deviations from the original yet maintain a wordless reverence for the source material through their thematically relevant improvisations and precise interpretation.

“We aimed to approach these compositions with reverence and a faithful commitment to the source material, while also adding our unique artistic footprint and vision. The musical telepathy I experienced playing with these great musicians made it very inspiring and easy to approach arrangements and adaptations of Brahms’ music for the quartet,” shares Brodbeck.

The composer’s famed “Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118 No. 2”, a staple of the classical piano performance repertoire, is presented by the quartet as a grooving Steely Dan-esque romp with Rosenwinkel’s guitar playing the foil to a through-composed bass and left-hand piano figure. Rossy plays with a deft restraint and keen awareness for the sonic moment, always propelling the music forward with a quiet intensity that lends clarity and motion to the dense and involved harmonies of Brodbeck’s piano. Rosenwinkel delivers an ecstatic and tuneful solo that showcases his complete mastery of the modern jazz language, playing with a light and singing tone that transcends the didactic elements and challenges of Brahms’ intricate piano short. “Wiegenlied”, Brahms’ timeless German lullaby, is herein rendered as a moody Bill Evans-style ballad replete with lush, impressionistic chord voicings and inventive reharmonizations that pine with emotional depth and poignancy. The folkloric elements of Brahms’ compositional voice are never far away in any of the ensemble’s extemporisations, despite the technical rigor of the music and the serpentine, asymmetrical forms which defy the typical idiomatic jazz approach. The most ambitious contemporary interpretation of The Brahms Project is undoubtedly the “Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 Mvt 3 Allegro Giocoso”. The joyous, major key themes of the third movement are juxtaposed against an island calypso groove, and perfectly placed subtle and not-so-subtle changes to the harmonies interspersed with involved figuration in the rhythm section. The quartet clearly invokes the spirit of a full orchestra with their telepathic interplay and flawless instrumental capabilities.

Following the success of The Chopin Project (2022) and its acclaimed international tour, The Brahms Project marks the next evolution for this extraordinary quartet. Few musicians possess the rare ability to bridge the worlds of jazz and classical music while maintaining the integrity of both traditions. Rosenwinkel, Brodbeck, Traxel, and Rossy rise to the challenge with a level of artistry and sensitivity that transcends genre. The Brahms Project is not simply “jazz meets classical” or “classical meets jazz”—it exists beyond categorization, as a profound exploration of the timeless and universal nature of Brahms’ music. As Brodbeck aptly summarizes: “If we see art as the image or the sublimation of our soul, then Brahms has reached the greatest depths and the most epochal heights.”

Kurt Rosenwinkel, guitar
Jean-Paul Brodbeck, piano
Lukas Traxel, bass
Jorge Rossi, drums

Recorded at Soundfabrik, Berlin, April 30th & May 1st, 2024
Recording engineer Guy Sternberg
Mixed by Guy Sternberg & Kurt Rosenwinkel at LowSwing Studio, Berlin
Mastered by Kurt Rosenwinkel
Produced by Jean-Paul Brodbeck

Kurt Rosenwinkel
The American multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer has gained international acclaim for his deft artistry and unbridled individualism since his first appearance on the New York music scene in 1991. His legacy as the preeminent jazz guitar voice of his generation is evident on his eleven albums as a leader, each of which has been an inspiration to legions of musicians young and old around the world. Collaborations with Eric Clapton, Q-Tip, Gary Burton, Paul Motian, Joe Henderson, Brad Mehldau and Donald Fagen are just a few highlights from a remarkably diverse and extensive catalog of over 150 sideman recordings.

Jean-Paul Brodbeck
has demonstrated his stylistic versatility in a wide variety of formations. Together with Andy Scherrer he founded the experimental hip-hop band "Chapter 12". From 2007 to 2010 Brodbeck was a member of Wolfgang Muthspiel's quartet. Since 2009, he has increasingly worked with Johannes Enders, and plays in his quartet with drumming legend Billy Hart. Brodbeck has also played with artists such as Lionel Hampton, Herbie Mann, David Liebmann, Nat Su, Nils Wogram, Matthieu Michel, JoJo Mayer, Jochen Rückert, Ben Street, Richie Beirach, Maria Schneider and Feya Faku.

Jorge Rossy
is internationally recognized as one of the most influential drummers of his generation. His work as a sideman includes more than 180 recordings with renowned jazz musicians such as Brad Mehldau, Ethan Iverson, Kevin Hays, Albert Sanz, Mark Turner, Chris Cheek, Seamus Blake, Joshua Redman and Steve Swallow, among many others. Jorge has also toured with some jazz greats such as Charlie Haden, Wayne Shorter, Lee Konitz, Carla Bley and Joe Lovano. In addition to his work as a drummer, Jorge has a distinctive voice on vibraphone, marimba and piano and a unique sound as a composer and bandleader.

Lukas Traxel
was born on 20.05.1993 in Altdorf (Switzerland) and studied at the Lucerne Music Academy with Heiri Känzig, Wolfgang Zwiauer, Christian Weber and Nils Wogram.In addition, he attended masterclass workshops and lessons with Matt Penman, Reuben Rogers, Dave Liebman, Henning Sieverts, Jochen Rückert or Fred Hersch. He is a laureate of the Friedl-Wald Foundation 2013, represented the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts at the international jazzmeeting "IASJ" 2014 in Cape Town, won the ZKB Jazzprice 2016 with the Marie Krüttli Trio, also received the Encouragement Award of the Kanton of Uri 2016, the Foreigner-Scholarship-New York 2018 of the town of Zürich and the “Urner Werkjahr” 2019.

This album contains no booklet.