A Guitarist Finds His Sound in the Room
Rosenwinkel's third album as a bandleader, and the one where everything clicks into focus.
The session for The Enemies of Energy (2000) brought together five musicians in a room with a clear mission: no overdubs, no safety net, just the five of them playing in real time. Kurt Rosenwinkel had assembled a working group—Mark Turner on tenor saxophone, Ben Street on bass, Jeff Ballard on drums, and Scott Kinsey on keyboards—and the energy between them was immediate. This was Rosenwinkel's third time leading a record, and by this point he knew exactly what sound he was after. The interplay feels lived-in rather than rehearsed, especially in how Turner and Rosenwinkel navigate their lines around each other without ever stepping on the other's air. Street and Ballard lock into a pocket that gives the whole session its propulsive ease, while Kinsey's textures add dimension without clutter.
For someone new to Rosenwinkel, this is the album to start with. His earlier work has moments, but here the pieces fit. The writing is smart without being showy, and the band sounds hungry rather than precious. The tunes breathe—there's genuine space between the ideas, which makes the playing feel generous. It's modern jazz that doesn't announce itself as modern; it just sounds like a band that knows what it's doing and trusts the listener to follow.
The critics were measured about it. AllMusic gave it three stars, and The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings the same, which is honest—this isn't a record that changes your life, but it's a solid, swinging session from a guitarist who was clearly settling into his own voice. If you want to know who Rosenwinkel became in the early 2000s, this is where to listen.
Who's playing
Where next?
More by Kurt Rosenwinkel
A Lovesome Thing 2012
Undercover: Live at the Village Vanguard 2023
Our Secret World 2010
Deep Song 2005
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
