Renowned Swiss pianist Jean-Paul Brodbeck and legendary guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel team up for "The Chopin Project," a historic collaboration in which they reinterpret music by Fréderic Chopin for jazz quartet. Rosenwinkel and Brodbeck are joined by brilliant young Swiss bassist Lukas Traxel and drummer Jorge Rossy, a leading figure in the Spanish and American jazz scenes. With captivating performances of classical preludes, etudes, nocturnes and valses, the formation proves that Chopin's elegant compositions lend themselves well to becoming starting points for improvisations and then giving rise to new arrangements. Romantic rhythms morph into swing, edgy folk melodies morph into the blues, and the refined elegance of Chopin's long arching melodic lines is transfigured by the transcendent energy of post-bop. The band met for the August 2021 recording session in Zurich and immediately discovered good chemistry and rapport. Brodbeck, the author of the arrangements, outlines the beauty of Chopin's compositional structures on piano, while Rossy and Traxel provide an energetic textural groove that subtly transforms that beauty into the rhythmic language of jazz. On this foundation, Rosenwinkel's ecstatic lead lines can soar over the band, transforming Chopin's familiar melodies into something profoundly new. "The Chopin Project" demonstrates with deft precision how refreshing it can be when we treat the music of the Western classical canon as a living document and allow ourselves the freedom to reinterpret it with curiosity and open ears. (press release)

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