The lost 1996 tape from Smalls Jazz Club in New York brings the legendary band back on stage. The club's owner Mitch Borden recalled, "Kurt Rosenwinkel's band played with such dramatic fire that it would consume everyone present".
In May 2024, Kurt Rosenwinkel’s own label, Heartcore Records, will release a recording of the lost tape that recorded the performance of the original “The Next Step Band” at New York City’s jazz club Smalls in 1996.
The album The Next Step, released on Verve Records in 2001 is regarded as a major step in Rosenwinkel’s creative evolution and it’s considered to be a watershed moment for modern jazz, voted the number one most important album of the decade by Jazz Times.
Kurt Rosenwinkel has been a distinct and prominent creative voice at the forefront of modern music for nearly three decades. The American, Berlin-based renowned guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer has gained international recognition for his deft artistry and unabated individualism since he first appeared on the New York music scene in 1991. His legacy as his generation's pre-eminent jazz guitar voice is plainly evident on his 19 albums as a leader, each one inspiring legions of musicians young and old across the globe.
