Scott Rosenberg
V: Solo Improvisations
Umbrella
Scott Rosenberg is part of an exciting new group of improvisers who are extending the vocabularies of their horns. He ranks among Boston trumpeter Greg Kelley and fellow Bostonian saxophonist Bhob Rainey, German trumpet player Axel Dorner and English multi-reedist John Butcher as part of the vanguard of creative musicians. Rosenberg is from Chicago, former home of his former teacher, Anthony Braxton.
On V: Solo Improvisations, Rosenberg extracts from his contrabass clarinet, soprano saxophone, and the flute a variety of pops, whistles, grunts, slurps, breaths and other noises you wouldn’t ordinarily associate with a horn. Rosenberg is miked very closely, so close in fact, that on some tracks like “pwyyyyrnnnyy,” you get the feeling that you’re inside the horn. This record reminds me of Greg Kelley’s recent Trumpet. Both share a penchant for multiphonics and climbing into the extreme high registers of their instrument. However, Rosenberg has a more tangible sense of humor, and his pieces never stretch out (in terms of time) like Kelley’s do.
V: Solo Improvisations is heartily recommended to those lovers of the innovative and challenging extensions of the jazz idiom. Rosenberg’s is a name to watch, and I’m sure he’s far from saying all that he has to say.
Umbrella Recordings; http://www.umbrellarecordings.com
