The music just comes together for Kreisberg
Guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg has paid his dues, earning a vaunted reputation on the New York jazz scene by accompanying a disparate array of masters, such as Lee Konitz, Joe Henderson and Yosvany Terry. But when you ask him about his formative experiences, he doesn’t start dropping names.
While grateful for all the opportunities that have come his way, Kreisberg has found his voice by honing his own body of tunes and leading a band of blazing young musicians.
“Most of my revelations have happened bringing music that I wrote to realization,” says Kreisberg, 42. “That’s been the most powerful force in figuring out what music is for me.”
His primary vehicle for self- discovery is the highoctane quartet he brings to Northern California next week for performances May 6 at Piedmont Piano in Oakland and May 7 at Kuumbwa in Santa Cruz.
Featured on Kreisberg’s recently released album “Wave Upon Wave,” his eighth CD as a leader, his band includes bassist Rick Rosato; drummer Colin Stranahan; and Britishborn alto saxophonist Will Vinson, a player who left Joshua Redman so inspired that the tenor sax star made what he calls an “ill- fated” attempt to start playing alto again.
Vinson has been an essential part of Kreisberg’s music for the past eight years, but Rosato and Stranahan, two of New York’s most sought- after young musicians, are more recent additions. After multiple international tours over the past few years, the quartet has honed a highly interactive group sound built upon the bassist and drummer’s fluid dynamics.
In the New York City jazz ecosystem, bass and drum teams often coalesce, and in addition to an ensemble that Stranahan and Rosato co- lead, they’ve played hundreds of gigs together and recorded on nearly a dozen albums aside from Kreisberg’s. The combination of their potent connection and Kreisberg and Vinson’s considerable history