Jazz guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg has slowly and steadily increased his profile since graduating from the University of Miami’s acclaimed music program in the mid-1990s ― including moving back to his native New York City in 1997 and, stereotypically, becoming a bigger jazz star overseas than in the United States.
Kreisberg’s quartet recently returned from a 10-show stint in Italy and Spain, and he leaves for a South American tour of solos shows, clinics and trio dates with local rhythm sections on Sept. 8. But in between, the guitarist proved that he certainly hadn’t lost his South Florida fan base.
Playing with alto saxophonist and pianist Will Vinson, bassist Joe Martin and drummer Mark Ferber, Kreisberg played two capacity shows on Friday at Tobacco Road in Miami despite rain caused as Tropical Storm Isaac approached. He then drew a sold-out audience despite the impending inclement weather Saturday, when his quartet conducted a scintillating display of interplay and improvisation at the Arts Garage in Delray Beach.
“We’ll open with a tune from my Unearth CD,” Kreisberg said of his 2005 release, “and it’s called ‘Microcosm for Two.’” He then turned toward the back of the stage, viewed the large paintings hanging behind it, and laughed. “Arts Garage,” he added. “I just got it.”
The 6/8-timed piece alternately simmered and boiled, building from Kreisberg’s early harmonized lines with Vinson’s alto to the first of the evening’s several banner guitar solos. Ferber percolated, building the tension after Vinson’s solo with his own fills within a vamp by his bandmates. He then downshifted the quartet into a staggered 3/4 feel, after which Kreisberg and Vinson inspired one another to heightened improvisational passages before the guitarist guided the quartet into a controlled fadeout.
It was, to say the least, a whirlwind of an introduction. And to both the band and the open-minded venue’s credit, the crowd ― much of it made up of older jazz fans more accustomed to familiar swing tunes ― ate it up.
“Thank you,” Kreisberg said amid raucous applause. “We’ll do something now from my latest CD, Shadowless. “This is based on a traditional Greek rhythm that’s actually bluesy in its own Gypsy kind of way, and it’s called ‘Zembekiko.’”
The ever-valuable Vinson guided the slow 9/8-timed piece’s initial ascent with beautiful piano chords, and Ferber alternated between playing a rimshot (on his snare drum with a stick) and the entire drum kit with only his hands. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Kreisberg transitioned the piece into an accelerated swing section that featured Vinson’s breakneck solo. As the frenetic pace morphed back into the slower theme, the saxophonist returned to the piano, and the guitarist used effects to signal its coda.
“We’re going to bring it down now and play a new original tune,” Kreisberg said. “You get kind of pensive on planes sometimes. This is called ‘Being Human.’”
He then stated the slow, waltz-like melody as Ferber stirred with brushes on his snare drum, leading to an outside-the-box solo by Martin. Unlike the regular Kreisberg accompanists, Vinson and Ferber, the bassist only occasionally revolves through the guitarist’s regular Wednesday trio gig at La Lanterna in Greenwich Village. Vinson played the melody early and late on sax amid Kreisberg’s gorgeous chords, and the ballad featured unusual accents on the “and” beats of its rhythmic phrases.
Stir the Stars, also from Shadowless, put the proceedings back into high gear and took things further outside the norm, signaling the comfort level of band and crowd. With Vinson on piano, Kreisberg chimed early intermittent chords as Martin and Ferber created a rhythmic shell game within the tune’s 4/4 time signature. As the guitarist introduced its Middle Eastern-inspired melody, Ferber switched from brushes to drumsticks to play a marching snare pattern. Back on sax, Vinson upped the ante with his solo, after which Kreisberg and Martin laid out ― allowing the drummer to show his Elvin Jones influence through thunderous fills.
A false ending inspired furious applause, leading to Kreisberg’s effects-laden solo in warp-speed 6/8 time with Vinson back at the piano. The guitarist’s saxophone-like runs showed the influence of British fusion guitar icon Allan Holdsworth, and harkened back to the self-titled mid-’70s electric trio with which Kreisberg recorded his first CD.
“Growing up in Miami,” he said after the lengthy epic, “I saw how hard it was to make things happen in jazz in South Florida. So it’s especially gratifying to see a full room here, with such a great crowd. We’ll be back.”
As part of the self-titled organ trio led by Hammond master Dr. Lonnie Smith, Kreisberg announced that he’d also be returning for the Dec. 29 Arts Garage release party for the Doc’s latest release, The Healer. A live CD recorded in Hungary and at the Jazz Standard in New York City, the album is at once a relaxed funk vehicle, fusion buzzsaw, and gospel revival because of Smith’s creativity, Kreisberg’s adventurous solos and the metric guidance of youthful drummer Jamire Williams.
Smith, now also residing in the Big Apple but well-known to South Floridians for his long house gig tenure at O’Hara’s in Fort Lauderdale, was in attendance, along with Dade County luminaries like bassist Jamie Ousley and the vocal-and-guitar duo Davis and Dow. Kreisberg offered a shout-out to the turban-topped 70-year-old organ icon, and took even more risks during the second of two hourlong sets.
“We’re going to start with a brand-new tune,” he said. “This is called ‘The Spin.’” The energetic track showed the chemistry Kreisberg has built up with the underrated Vinson, as the two harmonized, accompanied each other during both of their statement-making (and often out-riding) solos, and traded improvised passages to the finish line as Martin and Ferber inspired them with off-timed rhythmic accents. Kreisberg, animated and clearly enjoying his first time at the performance site, then decided to push the envelope even further.
“We’re going to try a really new one now,” he said, “as in we’ll just finish it onstage. This doesn’t even have a title yet. Maybe we’ll call it ‘Arts Garage.’” Off-timed accents were again the (ab)norm as all four musicians read Kreisberg’s chart. Vinson played the melody and and the first solo on alto, then added essential piano chords during Kreisberg’s break ― even if the mutli-instrumentalist had to strain to read his chart, which was placed a few feet away on the music stand closer to his sax microphone.
“I want to feature Joe Martin now,” Kreisberg said, “and his amazing low-frequency artistry.” Vinson took a break as the remaining trio played the Thelonious Monk classic Ask Me Now. The guitarist interpreted the iconic pianist/composer’s idiosyncrasies perfectly (pianist Keith Jarrett is, after all, one of his primary guitar influences) and the all-purpose Ferber effortlessly switched between brushes and sticks, but Martin indeed took the spotlight. His long, creatively unorthodox solo found him using the entire neck of his upright bass with his left fretting hand, often coaxing Kreisberg into laughs and looks of disbelief.
One final piece from Kreisberg’s 2011 Shadowless CD, his eighth, ended set two in grand fashion. Ferber opened the album’s tour de force, The Common Climb, with a brisk marching pattern on his snare, luring the guitarist into an introductory funk pattern and yet another memorable solo. Vinson went from sax to piano and back to sax, after which the altoist and Ferber enacted another one-on-one duet that recalled Jones’ heroic interactions with John Coltrane.
As the 10/8 time signature dropped into half-time, Kreisberg went all out, playing what sounded like a repetitive theme to an imaginary horror film, then dizzying, flight-of-the-bumblebee runs up and down the guitar neck before slowing the lengthy track to a crawl. As Ferber played washes on his cymbals with mallets, the guitarist added yet one more creative twist, de-tuning his strings toward a groaning conclusion.
Many in the crowd answered with a standing ovation, and then broke into a spontaneous, rhythmic clap that drew Kreisberg back out for an encore.
“I have a solo guitar record coming out in a couple months,” he said, “so I’ll close with a beautiful tune called ‘Stardust.’” The Hoagy Carmichael standard got an abstract introduction, after which Kreisberg settled into the familiar melody and delivered a sensitive and evocative rendition.
Solo guitar recordings are only attempted by the few and the proud (like Joe Pass and Tuck Andress), so maybe the format ― and the additional exposure provided by Smith’s adventurous organ trio ― will push Kreisberg into such name recognition. Advance listens to the unaccompanied tracks hint that a “no overdubs” disclaimer sticker may be required.
Perhaps that, along with stunning live performances like this one, will finally prove to American listeners that this young guitarist doesn’t belong in anyone else’s shadow.