Heartcore Records is pleased to announce The Brahms Project, a new release from The Kurt Rosenwinkel/Jean-Paul Brodbeck Quartet featuring Kurt Rosenwinkel on guitar, Jean-Paul Brodbeck on piano, Lukas Traxel on bass, and the inimitable Jorge Rossy on drums. The album is comprised of ten arrangements from the pen of Brodbeck, whose exemplary skills as a small ensemble orchestrator perfectly capture the enigmatic genius of Brahms’ compositions at their fullest and most brilliant.
Johannes Brahms, often seen as Beethoven’s compositional successor and a central figure of German Romanticism, is an ideal subject for a jazz reinterpretation. His rich harmonies, love of polyrhythms, and strong melodic voice offer fertile ground for creative exploration. The Brahms Project draws from a wide range of his works—including pieces for cello, solo piano, voice, and orchestra—reimagined with care and innovation by Rosenwinkel, Brodbeck, Traxel, and Rossy.
While the arrangements take bold creative liberties, the ensemble maintains a deep respect for the original material, reflected in their thoughtful improvisations and precise execution. Highlights include the Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118 No. 2, transformed into a groove-driven, Steely Dan-inspired piece featuring Rosenwinkel’s expressive guitar. Rossy's subtle, propelling drumming complements the complexity of Brodbeck’s harmonies. Brahms’ Wiegenlied is rendered as a moody ballad in the spirit of Bill Evans, full of lush voicings and emotional depth.
Folkloric elements of Brahms’ style remain present throughout, even as the music ventures into rhythmically and harmonically adventurous terrain. The most ambitious reinterpretation, the Allegro Giocoso from Symphony No. 4, combines the original’s joyous themes with a calypso groove and dynamic rhythmic interplay, capturing the grandeur of an orchestra through the quartet’s remarkable cohesion and skill.
Following the success of The Chopin Project (2022) and its subsequent tour support, The Brahms Project is the inevitable next step for the dynamic, powerful quartet of Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jean-Paul Brodbeck, Lukas Traxel, and Jorge Rossy. This ensemble is the perfect cast and crew for the monumental undertaking, only a handful of musicians in the world can improvise with music from the classical canon and produce palatable results that honor the grandeur and genius of the original compositions. Above all, each musician is firmly dedicated in his effort to access the true nature of Brahms’ music, the transcendent, ethereal longing that can never quite be described by the written word. This is the essence of Brahms and it is the place the listener goes when we hear The Brahms Project. This is not classical goes jazz or jazz goes classical, The Brahms Project is beyond category, it is another chapter in the great continuum.
Heartcore Records will release Kurt Rosenwinkel and Jean-Paul Brodbeck’s The Brahms Project on May 2nd, 2025. The album will be available for purchase and listening through all digital music platforms.