The Wigmore Hall in London has been a temple to classical chamber music since the turn of the 20th century. It has an unrivalled acoustic and is the perfect size for a concert hall-large enough to accommodate a substantial audience, but sufficiently small to remain intimate. It has probably the most lovingly maintained Steinway piano in London-the hall was originally named the Steinway Hall as a showcase for the company’s concert grand, switching to the current nomenclature at the onset of World War.
A successful debut at Wigmore Hall has launched literally thousands of stellar careers in classical music. The hall has an enviable talent for showcasing new generation artists.
Under the hall’s current musical director, John Gilhooly the Wigmore Hall has taken tentative and welcome steps to including some jazz performances within its core repertoire. In recent years I have heard saxist Joshua Redman, pianist Brad Mehldau and bassist Christian McBride perform there in duo settings. All three are now established as associate artists at Wigmore which guarantees them a couple of performances at there each year.
Last year Christian McBride was awarded the prestigious Wigmore Medal and here’s the evidence. Christian looks justifiably pleased
I featured an earlier McBride trio concert at Wigmore in 2022 here – mylifeinjazz.co.uk/episode/jazz-virtuosi-in-real-time/
Christian McBride receiving his Wigmore Medal
It would be good if the hall could both extend its jazz bookings policy and also offer a showcase for emerging young musicians from the U.K.’s own jazz world. We are currently home to a bumper crop of accomplished young jazz musicians after all.
Last week I grabbed the last available seat to hear Christian McBride and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel perform an unbroken and utterly memorable set of ninety minutes there. To my mind McBride is probably the greatest jazz bassist on the planet. His technique is incomparable, his melodic approach and deep immersion in such a wide range of musical idioms, including a recent duo recording with classical bassist Edgar Meyer is unmatched. He has a uniquely charismatic presence and always evokes joy in his music however complex or challenging its form.
Kurt Rosenwinkel is an elite jazz guitarist whose repertoire, recordings and extensive library of original compositions marks him out as a guitar great. He has developed a very personal guitar style and, like McBride is comfortable in the widest range of jazz settings. I caught him pre-Covid at a memorable trio gig at London’s Pizza Express jazz club with the explosive drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, a gig which stays fresh in my mind.
The duo format is a particularly challenging genre and duo performances between instrumentalists are rare in jazz. The majority of recorded duos team up vocalists with pianists or guitarists. For example, Bill Evans and Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald and either Joe Pass or Ellis Larkins and Norma Winstone with pianists John Taylor and Kit Downes. The absence of keyboard, drums and on occasion, bass places performers with very little to latch on to leaving them totally dependent on their technique, intuition and ears and nowhere to hide.
As I was putting the finishing touches on this post, I chanced upon this video of another stellar guitar/bass line up; John Scofield and Dave Holland reimagining a jazz classic, Softly As in A Morning’s Sunrise recorded at this year’s North Sea Jazz Festival. Here it is;
Kurt and Christian certainly rose to the challenge last week with a medley of reinvented jazz standards both familiar and rarely played like Paul Chambers’ opener Ease It together with show tunes and a solo spot by each. A particular feature of the performance was the sophisticated “comping” each provided behind their partner’s solos. It turns out that their musical journey and friendship goes back 37 years to the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, they are both Philly natives.
It was great to see the packed auditorium’s enthusiastic response to the concert which, not unusually for jazz seemed to be decided upon by the two musicians on the spur of the moment and without a sheet of music in sight.
Kurt Rosenwinkel
The Playlist
My bespoke playlist is made up of three components.
As you might expect you’ll be able to explore further some great examples of McBride and Rosenwinkel’s recordings as both leaders and “sidemen” together with a small selection of classic jazz duos.
You’ll also find some music that I’ve been listening while waiting for the summer in London to appear. It’s been a long wait but more bearable than the 40+ degrees in southern and central Europe.
The playlist concludes with a stunning duo version of the standard Embraceable You played in a live performance by Kurt Rosenwinkel and the greatly missed pianist Geri Allen.
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