Jonathan Kreisberg with Dr. Lonnie Smith

Only the Tip of the Kreisberg

                  I try to stay away from the cliché of dropping names of jazz musicians.  But these last few months I’ve really been dropping the name Jonathan Kreisberg.  When I mention his name up here in Canada, people will shake their heads and resort back to the predictable banter about Joe Pass or Lenny Breau.  Granted, Kreisberg doesn’t appear in JVC electronics commercials like guitarist, Pat Metheny but nonetheless, he’s not an underdog by any stretch.

                  Since the fall of 2010, when Kreisberg came to Toronto, I’ve been digging his tunes.   I picked up his ‘Trioing’ album of 2000.  I remember some of the music I was listening to in 2000, and at the time I was looking for the definitive guitar trio album.  The brilliance of Jonathan Kreisberg’s trio work is his personal approach, which, in my opinion, draws influence from pianistic styles.  His comping through melodic lines brings the trio to varying degrees of intensity with ease, when a single line would only be static.  It’s not remnant of chord lines à la Wes Montgomery or Barney Kessel.  Kreisberg takes this objective to a new level and really makes it his own.

                  Jonathan Kreisberg is a NYC native, and has travelled the U.S. with his various groups many times over.  And what Kreisberg states about his playing has become this generation’s unadulterated jazz message. He says "I found that the deeper I got into the tradition [of jazz guitar] the more possibilities I became aware of for the future." which is true of most instruments but especially of guitar.  Guitar might always be a bit of a chameleon when it comes to jazz, easily being labeled fusion, rock, or even ‘sell-out’.  However, the staple guitarist consortium, the B3 organ trio format, is what Kreisberg really proves he wants to explore.  When you hear Jonathan play with Dr. Lonnie Smith, the B3 wizard, there is evident forward motion from the tradition of this format.  Check out the Youtube video of Jonathan Kreisberg with Dr. Lonnie Smith.

            Kreisberg will spend his spring doing clinics and performing in Europe.  Until he comes back to Canada, I’m going to check out his latest creation ‘Shadowless’, a saxophone quintet, which I’m guessing features more of his compositional skills.  However, if you’d like to get your feet wet with some of Jonathan’s music, one of my favourite tracks is Old Devil Moon which can be purchased on Itunes.