Q & A

Press Quotes

"For those who thought that there could be no more surprises in the world of Jazz Guitar…may I introduce Jonathan Kreisberg. Hailed as a major up and comer by players, fans and critics alike, and only in his early thirties, Kreisberg sounds and plays like a seasoned veteran. You only need to listen to his latest CD release from Mel Bay Records, UNEARTH, to hear his brilliance as an electrifying player and composer. UNEARTH has it all. Kreisberg and crew draw the listener into a world filled with prodigious playing, thought-provoking improvisational ingenuity, and heady tunes. It is a world that defines the harmonic and melodic richness of jazz improvisation and the individual voice that is Jonathan Kreisberg. And what a voice! His playing is harmonically fruitful and melodically effortless as he charms long flowing lines from his guitar with a taste, skill, and experience that, as mentioned earlier, belies his youth."
Lyle Robinson-Jazz Guitar Life

"We really want to stress out how talented Jonathan Kreisberg sounds on "Unearth", and how to the european public this could be not only a revelation, but a shock. Kreisberg, steeped in modern guitar and american jazz, is an outstanding technician, but also a remarkable composer. We simply are in the presence of a great musician. Period. That gives an idea of the very dedicated work achieved in the jazz guitar world by Mel Bay Records."
Phillipe Baron
RTBF-Belgian Jazz Radio

"He plays the hell out of the guitar, that’s for sure."
John Scofield

"Kreisberg's sweetly self-effacing virtuosity....alternates and sometimes fuses jangly dissonance and sensuous lyricism."
Anne Marie Welsh-San Diego Tribune

"Kreisberg has the ability to adopt any voice on the guitar. He is a student of the jazz masters....his true style and voice takes center stage and it is wonderful."
Matt Mathis-Richmond times Dispatch

"there can be no doubting that this guitarist is a major talent to keep our eyes on; in fact we may be witnessing the future of jazz guitar in the worthy hands of Jonathan Kreisberg"
Brad Walseth-Jazz Chicago

"Kreisberg improvises with an innate, organic sense of structure, ...with uncommon fluidity"
Adam Perlmutter-GUITAR ONE Magazine

"Kreisberg demonstrates a remarkable command of the instrument"
Mike Varney-Guitar Player Magazine

"Guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg led a quintet at Cornelia Street. Armed with ridiculous chops and a singing, straightahead tone, Kreisberg tore through a batch of tremendous original music, matching wits with the other monster soloists on the bandstand." "His writing was highly advanced yet accessible, and deeply in the pocket. He's truly one of New York's undiscovered treasures."
David Adler-All About Jazz

THE SOUTH OF EVERYWHERE
Jonathan Kreisberg | Mel Bay Records (2007)
New York-based guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg provides a lesson or two here, on his second date for Mel Bay Records. It’s not all about chops or technique. He adds credence to that notion via thoughtful compositions and small ensemble-led arrangements that communicate his penchant for fusing power-packed dynamics with memorable melodies. Kreisberg is well-equipped in the technical domain. But it’s more about quality and substance that underscores this largely exhilarating effort. With everyone’s favorite session keyboardist Gary Versace manning the acoustic piano and an ace support system in place, Kreisberg’s resonating medium-toned jazz licks form a multi-directional perspective. He blazes forth with lyrically-rich single note flurries, but tones it down in spots, where prismatic voicings come to fruition amid his complex unison choruses with Versace and saxophonist Will Vinson. The musicians often engage in linear patterns, often designed upon swing and bop. Yet there’s a buoyant undertow that supplants the guitarist’s compositional realm, also including two shrewdly rearranged standards. At various times, the ensemble will shift the groove aspect into a sprightly Latin motif. And when Kreisberg cranks up the volume control, the band generally segues into thrusting rhythmic metrics and climactic opuses. On the classic “Stella By Starlight,” the ensemble kicks off a simmering spin on an oldie but goodie with harmonious lines amid Kreisberg’s mode of attack, which is akin to projectiles rapidly spewing into the cosmos. Contrasts abound during “Elena,” which is a low-key ballad that projects comfort and warmth. Kreisberg’s already spiraling presence within modern-jazz circles should benefit from a rocketing boost with the advent of this top-flight effort.
Glenn Astarita-ALL ABOUT JAZZ

THE SOUTH OF EVERYWHERE
JONATHAN KREISBERG- (Mel Bay)
Since moving to New York in 1998, Kreisberg has been winning over guitar aficionados with his extraordinarily clean articulation, remarkable sax-like fluency, harmonic daring and rhythmically assured burn. On his sixth and most accomplished outing as a leader, the guitarist showcases his considerable chops and unique writing style in separate trio and quintet settings. Kreisberg’s warm-toned flow of notes cascades effortlessly over the myriad changes on his involved heads, which he often plays in unison with alto saxophonist Will Vinson. Together, their tight execution on pieces like the relaxed, midtempo swinger “Strange Resolution” and the complex, metrically shifting “Altered Ego” recalls the kindred hookup between guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and his alter ego, tenor saxophonist Mark Turner. As the rhythm section of bassist Matt Penman, pianist Gary Versace and drummer Mark Ferber builds momentum on the title track, Kreisberg unleashes a dazzling arpeggiated solo. He hits a compositional highwater mark on the ambitious suite-like “Kiitos” and stakes out some fresh territory on “Funeral for the Ants,” which opens with a dissonant blast of power chords before resolving to a melancholy 3/4 theme over which Kreisberg and Vinson wail with abandon. The guitarist’s tender ballad “Elena” is underscored by Ferber’s sensitive brushwork and features some sparse, beautiful accompaniment from Versace. Ferber’s loosely swinging, highly interactive approach to the kit comes to the fore on the two trio numbers here: an inventive 7/8 interpretation of “Stella by Starlight” and a jaunty, uptempo take on Irving Berlin’s “The Best Thing for You,” both of which feature some of Kreisberg’s most fleet-fingered moments of this collection.
Bill Milkowski-JAZZ TIMES

UNEARTH (Mel Bay Records)
Jonathan Kreisberg is an exciting young guitarist whose latest release will go a long way toward affirming his prominent place in the jazz landscape. Kreisberg works out with a quintet on Unearth, a disc comprised completely of his originals. “Minor Leaps” bursts out of the box, with Kreisberg and trumpeter Scott Wendholt whipping up some tight on-point minor key riffing on an adaptation of the changes to John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”. “Until the Sun Submits” is as soft and lovely as the Brazilian sunset it invokes, enhanced by Aaron Goldberg’s electric piano. “New For Now” is a dynamic, atavistic hardbopper on which Kreisberg, Wendholt and Goldberg all play blistering solos. “Pacific” reinforces that hardbop is Kreisberg’s primary language, a language in which he plays and writes fluently. He shows his proficiency in other riffs, too, as in the elegant, flamenco-flavored “Microcosm For Two” or the busted-before-payday blues feeling of “Hobroken”. After listening to these discs, it’s obvious that Kreisberg is well on his way to becoming a jazz standard himself.
Terrell Kent Holmes-ALL ABOUT JAZZ

NEW FOR NOW (4 Stars)
Jonathan Kreisberg (g), Gary Versace (Hammond B3 organ) and Mark Ferber (d). Rec. October 2004
Make a note of the name Jonathan Kreisberg, one of the most distinctive and interesting guitarists to emerge in recent years. In his early thirties, he is based in New York, where his trio performs at La Laterna in Greenwich Village every Wednesday evening. Kreisberg extracts a beautiful, rounded guitar sound from his Gibson 175. Every note that he plays rings clear and bright and, whatever the tempo and regardless of the complexity of his lines, his delivery is always relaxed. This CD, his second for Criss Cross, is an even mix of standards and originals. Kreisberg likes to approach familiar standards from a fresh perspective and the opener, 'Gone With the Wind', reinvented in 5/4 time, features an inspired dialogue between Kreisberg's guitar and Versace's B3. Thelonious Monk's 'Ask Me Now' finds Kreisberg echoing the stuttering stride rhythms of its composer's piano style while a subtle counterpoint colours the melody of 'Stardust'. 'All Or Nothing At All', gets a 7/4 treatment with superb snare work throughout from drummer Mark Ferber. After the final statement of the theme Kreisberg finishes with an ear-tickling intervallic pattern which he repeats over the 7/4 rhythm, providing a dramatic fin- ish to the album. This is contemporary jazz guitar of the highest order.
Charles Alexander-JAZZWISE magazine

Jonathan Kreisberg Trio
Nine Stories Wide
(Criss Cross Jazz)
Native New Yorker Jonathan Kreisberg entered the University of Miami's music program as a prodigy after moving to Florida with his family as a child. Six years ago, the now-31-year-old guitarist returned to the Big Apple as the prodigal son, waiting for that leap of fame that New York City could provide. Kreisberg's new CD, Nine Stories Wide, features the former rhythm section of another New York guitarist — John Scofield — and qualifies as a giant leap.   Acoustic bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Bill Stewart both enter the opening cover of George Gershwin's "Summertime" before Kreisberg, but the guitarist creates an abstract version of the melody over a 5/4-timed rhythm which straddles familiarity and innovation. Other standards, from the breakneck take of "Just in Time" to the subtle ballad "My Ideal", are indicators that the young guitarist has done his homework in the American songbook.   But Kreisberg's originals, from a Brazilian-tinged romp ("Dana") and a ballad ("That Reminds Me") to the up-tempo swing of "Fever Vision", fit in among these and more modern classics. Stewart’s solo on Wayne Shorter's "JuJu" reveals influences from Tony Williams to Elvin Jones, and his interplay with Kreisberg energizes Nine Stories Wide throughout. Grenadier is the ground between these two live wires, providing stabilizing harmony on updates of both pop (The Beatles' "Michelle") and bop (Charlie Parker's "Relaxin at Camarillo").   Kreisberg transcribes saxophone solos by Parker and John Coltrane and plays material by pianists Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans. Thus, working with alumni of guitarists Scofield and Pat Metheny doesn't faze him a bit.
Bill Meredith, JAZZIZ

JONATHAN KREISBERG
Nine Stories Wide (Criss Cross Jazz)
According to the liners for Jonathan Kreisberg's second leader album, Nine Stories Wide (Criss Cross), the guitarist wants his six-string to sound like a piano. I'd urge him to just play piano if he weren't such a fascinating ax-man. Kreisberg hired great help for the record in drummer Larry Grenadier and bassist Bill Stewart, a duo that carves deep nooks and crannies into these nine originals and standards-who knew that the changes to "Summertime" still keep secrets? But it's Kreisberg's explorations of those crawl spaces that intrigue the most. He winds his slightly perky tone through ballads with lovely legato phrases and bounces through uptempo tunes. On Jule Styne's "Just in Time" he chases Grenadier's skittering ride cymbal, eventually catches up to strike a slightly muted chord as if to say "gotcha" and then sets off again to hunt down Stewart and his broad, woody tone. Kreisberg also turns out to be a composer worthy of stacking his tunes next to those of Gershwin, Shorter ("Juju") and Lennon/McCartney (the trio gives "Michelle" maybe one of the best Beatles-gone-jazz treatments yet). Though his pen still drips ink left over from his days as a fusion-head in the '90s, Kreisberg's mind-bending melodies are just the sort of complement needed to round out a set of otherwise standard fare and create an album that never bores and begs for repeated spins.
Russell Carlson-JazzTimes

JOE LOCKE QUARTET Sticks and Strings (Jazz Eyes) After Joe Locke’s recorded collaborations with pianists such as Kenny Barron, Billy Childs, Frank Kimbrough, Dave Hazeltine and Geoff Keezer, as well as with guitarist Vic Juris, along comes up-and-coming guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg to help produce perhaps the vibraphonist’s finest CD to date. There are no wasted notes here, and no aimless technical displays. Locke and Kreisberg seem to inspire each other to creative heights, with the exemplary backing of bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Joe La Barbera. Anderson’s reflective ballad, “Time Like the Present,” features Locke and Kreisberg’s typically graceful unison theme reading, leading to emotionally moving solos by vibes, guitar and bass. Locke’s “The Rosario Material” is an intricate line, allowing Locke to exhibit his stunning command, sharp logic and varied attack. Kreisberg’s dampened, almost delicate tone and effortlessly executed extended lines impress both here and elsewhere on this session. “Sword of Whispers” is a Locke tune somewhat reminiscent of one of his finest compositions, “Saturn’s Child,” in its stair-stepping melody and similar resolution. Kreisberg switches to acoustic guitar for this, to great effect both in support and in his distinctive Spanish-classical-flavored solo. The performance of Locke’s “Terzani” reminds one of Gary Burton and Pat Metheny, Kreisberg’s riveting solo climaxing with skillful use of distortion. The soulful “A Word Before You Go” contains a testifying Locke solo and a rockish Kreisberg, bending notes with controlled abandon. “Appointment in Orvieto” has a loosely disguised “Giant Steps” modal framework, unleashing breakneck Locke and Kreisberg excursions. “Sixth Sense,” La Barbera’s Monkish composition, produces still more intense solos by the leader and guitarist. The two standards, “All of You” and “I Fall in Love Too Easily,” are treated reverently but distinctively, and the improvisations on these are brilliant and thoroughly engaging.
Scott Albin-JAZZ TIMES-May 2008

Trioing
Jonathan Kreisberg | New for Now Music
Add Jonathan Kreisberg to your list of new and undiscovered jazz treasures. The New York-based guitar whiz has been featured to great effect in Yosvany Terry’s band and also with his own electrifying quintet, featuring Scott Wendholt, Gary Versace, Matt Penman, and Anthony Pinciotti. Trioing, his debut as a leader, is a trio standards session with bassist Johannes Weidenmueller and drummer Ari Hoenig (Kenny Werner’s steady rhythm section). While listeners must await a future quintet release for evidence of Kreisberg’s impressive writing chops, Trioing reveals Kreisberg’s in-depth study of Miles, Monk, and Trane, among others. His sparkling clean tone, colored with just a touch of delay, perfectly suits his fluid, legato phrasing and tasteful, complex chordal work. Leading off with a straight-eighth rendition of Coltrane’s “Countdown” (not unlike Metheny’s recent interpretation of “Giant Steps”) and later tackling “Sorceror,” Kreisberg displays a command of some of the very toughest post-bop harmonic sequences. His lines are rhythmically crisp and precise yet never stiff, always attuned to the unpredictable, grooving flow laid down by Hoenig and Weidenmueller. There’s a relaxed, understated quality to the music, certainly on ballads like “I Fall In Love Too Easily” and “Ugly Beauty” but also on midtempo tracks like “All of You” and “Sweet and Lovely.” Among the more ear-catching creative twists: a 7/8 rendition of “Old Devil Moon,” a beautiful intro and outro vamp added to “A Child Is Born,” and 1:32 of ripping, unaccompanied guitar on “Have You Met Miss Jones?”
David R. Adler-All About Jazz

Jonathan Kreisberg "Trioing" | New for Now Music
Some weird synergy was responsible for me perusing the current issue of Jazz Times while listening to guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg's astounding straight-ahead debut. An uncanny association occurred when I read Branford Marsalis's assertion, made during a blindfold test (while listening to a different player), that he would, "ban all guitar from jazz records" and "stick them in Foxwoods commercials, in perpetuity", precisely while being blindsided by Kreisberg's 90 second rendition of "Have You Met Miss Jones?" I sincerely doubt Branford's ability to stick his horn in his mouth (where something most assuredly belongs) and navigate the changes to this classic bop blowing vehicle with such a logically cohesive harmonic roadmap, in so recklessly precise, yet flawlessly swinging and effortlessly propulsive a manner, as Mr. Kreisberg. But the latest ink-begetting Marsal- dis brings up a salient point; that is, the non-trad stigma still attached to an instrument with as rich a tradition in jazz as any. To me, this all just makes Jonathan Kreisberg's story that much more remarkable. Kreisberg, at 30, has produced a recording that sounds as if it must have been crafted by a lifelong devotee of bop's archival pedagogy. But while he may now be a New York post-bop guitarist extending traditional jazz forms, it's only after having enjoyed a measure of notoriety as a Floridian prog-rocker and fusionist. He's performed extensively with proggers Third Wish, recorded with Wyscan, and in 1996 released his first debut, a fusion record. Only since 1998 has he been in New York delving more deeply into traditional forms. How could this date, with bassist Johannes Weidenmueller and drummer Ari Hoenig, possibly be his first straight-ahead release? Possessing skills simply not found in nascent post-boppers, this guy's going to be the talk of fat-body guitar culture whenever they find out who he is. A true linemeister, he navigates the harmonic challenges of the program's standards with some highly individual, potent distillates of long-used and widely employed improvisational devices. These crop up constantly in his playing, but indulge me in checking out some. For example, the ascending arpeggio cycles 2 minutes, and again, 2:20 into "Sweet and Lovely", or 2 minutes into "Countdown", or 2:53 into "A Child is Born". "All of You" shows us how swing can be relaxed, yet razor-sharp and precision-filled. It also shows us some extensions of Martino's bag at 2:15 and 2:50! Make sure to rewind Jonathan's take on free-falling lightning chromaticism just preceding the two minute mark on "Old Devil Moon". He has a knack for making simple things sound strikingly exact, like the successive 3 note motifs in the 2 seconds following 2:52 of "Sorceror". Forward motion, or propulsion in the lines, occurs throughout, especially at 2:52 into "Sweet and Lovely", or 2:38 into "Countdown". While your digging into "Countdown", make note of the sophisticated counterpoint used in the intro and after the solo, or the fluidly comped head. For Coltrane, "Countdown" was almost an exercise in following the contour of the composed progression with the improvised line-dig Kreisberg's modern extension of that. Funny thing- as good as Kreisberg is, I'm not sure he is the best musician on the date! 29 year old Ari Hoenig is drumming's newest resourceful shining light, especially on bop forms-his drums dance and flirt with the soloist like few you'll hear. He manages to plug into and play with Kreisberg's lightning phraseology in a somehow unhurried manner. For more of this, check out Ari's inspired work on Jean-Michel Pilc's last two discs, or live with Mike Stern or Pat Martino. Dig his marvelous work on "Sorceror", especially the flare-ups from the 5 minute mark on out, or his sublime brushwork on Monk's "Ugly Beauty". "Sweet and Lovely" has Ari coaxing melody out of every available surface on the kit in subtle, comfortable ways. When given room, he knows how to take it down a notch and create his own sound level, with plenty of head space for him to tweak tonality out of the kit. To Jonathan I offer the following career-accelerating idea. Just post the stunning 90 seconds of "Have you Met Miss Jones" on your website and have an agent book dates proving you can play it! It's just a magic 50 seconds of linearity framed on either end by contrapuntal madness. And remember, like Branford Marsalis, Jonathan Kreisberg has, at this point in his career, elected to be an independent artist. Check him out on the web at Jonathankreisberg.com and buy his cd here.  
Phil DiPietro-All About Jazz

On the Miami Trio...

  "Jonathan Kreisberg Trio-Best independent release of '96"
XS Magazine Jazz Journal

"....offer incontestable jazz content. Kreisberg, 23, uses electronic effects in an uncluttered, kaleidoscopic manner. Carrion's solos- most are lyrical-flow from Kreisberg's lines...Kreisberg is capable of orchestral chords as well as stinging rock riffs and bucolic melodies."
Owen Cordle-The News and Observer

"Four Stars....takes some unusual risks for a young fretman-his quicksilver chromatic soloing running some tight angular turns may remind you of a young Allan Holdsworth, yet the 23 year old Kreisberg is attentive to the influence rather than just counterfeiting."
Richard Proplesch-Jam Magazine C.D. Review

When thinking of younger guitarists making a difference, names that seem to crop up often are Rosenwinkel, Monder and Rogers. Undeniably fine guitarists all, but add Jonathan Kreisberg to that list. New for Now (Criss Cross, 2005), demonstrated Kreisberg’s successfully transition from his early days as a prog-rocker and fusion-meister to modern mainstreamer, while Unearth (Mel Bay, 2005) made clear his imaginative compositional skills, blending cerebralism with a grounded, visceral edge. The South of Everywhere continues Kreisberg’s evolution on a set of primarily original music...For those who already know Kreisberg as someone to watch, The South of Everywhere is further affirmation; for the uninitiated, it’s the perfect entry point for a guitarist who’s growing in leaps and bounds.
John Kelman - AllAboutJazz

Truly a wonderful CD. The writing and playing...superb.
Jae Sinnett