2010 · Album
Our Secret World
Recorded September 2009 · Not specified in provided information · Produced by Not specified in provided information
Three Days in Portugal with an Orchestra
Rosenwinkel brought a full orchestra into the studio and let the arrangement breathe around his guitar.
In September 2009, Kurt Rosenwinkel walked into a studio in Portugal with one clear idea: spend three days with the Orchestra de Jazz Matosinhos and document what happened. Before the tape rolled, the band had rehearsed for three days straight—twelve-hour sessions that let everyone settle into the material and understand the architecture of each piece. This wasn't a quick capture of inspiration; it was preparation meeting spontaneity, the kind of session where the groundwork lets you actually take risks when the red light comes on.
Our Secret World is Rosenwinkel's ninth album leading a group, but it's fundamentally different from his guitar-centric trio records. Here he's working with a full jazz orchestra—strings, horns, the whole apparatus—which forces different compositional and arranging choices. The guitar doesn't disappear into the ensemble; instead, it finds new space within it. The rehearsal time meant the orchestra understood the harmonic language, so when Rosenwinkel's lines entered, they landed with purpose rather than getting lost in the texture.
The album sits apart from the rest of his catalog because it's collaborative in a structural way. He didn't bring in a big band he knew; he brought in Portuguese musicians and spent a week together finding common ground. That process—the rehearsals, the three-day recording sprint, the decision to keep the orchestra in the picture rather than edit it down—shaped what listeners hear. It's a record about patience and time spent getting to know players before asking them to play.
Who's playing
Demian Cabauddouble bass
Abe Rábadepiano
Carlos Azevedopiano
Kurt Rosenwinkelguitar
João Pedro Brandãoalto saxophone
José Pedro Coelhoflute, tenor saxophone
João Mortáguaalto saxophone
Mário Santostenor saxophone
Rui Teixeirabaritone saxophone
José Luis Regoalto saxophone
Nick Marchionetrumpet
Erick Poirriertrumpet
Rogério Ribeirotrumpet
Susana Santos Silvatrumpet
José Silvatrumpet
Daniel Diastrombone
Gonçalo Diastrombone
Michaël Jousseintrombone
Álvaro Pintotrombone
Marcos Cavaleiromembranophone
Nuno Pintoclarinet
