Kevin Kastning :: In Visible Ascent

In Visible Ascent :: Quotes and Reviews

In Visible Ascent - Kevin Kastning & Phil Grenadier

"Announcing In Visible Ascent, the new Greydisc Records album from Kevin Kastning (US) and Phil Grenadier (US) is a real privilege to us and the 2nd time that we have a pleasure to face the incredible music universe that Kevin’s Duo concepts are. Like the collaboration we heralded the last month, with bassist Bruno Raberg, also here we have a rare opportunity to listen to two very distinctive voices, which approach the air with very specific pace and the sense of space.

Just like the last time, we have the same pattern here. This is their first album together, and is the beginning of an ongoing series of album projects. This pairing of instruments provides a unique palette for these two new compositions for 36-string Double Contraguitar and Trumpet. Kevin and Phil have an immediate artistic connection which can be heard in both of these modern compositions.

Two new compositions of advanced and symphonic compositional scale, which constitute this album, are not only pointing into a new direction but also exploring the different aspects of the sonoric sensitivity and capability to response to what comes next. After all, despite of the expanded framework, there are still just two instruments and two individuals behind them.

*** BIOs ***

KK

Kevin Kastning attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, and has studied privately with guitar legend Pat Metheny. Kevin has composed over 200 works for various solo and chamber group instrumentation. Kevin has recorded albums with Alex de Grassi, Michael Manring, Mark Wingfield, Carl Clements, Sandor Szabo, and others.

Kevin is the inventor of the 36- string Double Contraguitar (see photo at above), the 17-string Extended Hybrid Classical (both featured on this album), the 30-string Contra-Alto guitar, the 28- and 24-string Double Contraguitars, the 15-string Extended Classical guitar, the 16- and 17-string Contraguitars, and others. Kevin’s discography extends to over 50 albums. Since 2019, Kevin has had 16 albums in first-round voting for the Grammy® Awards. He resides in Maine USA.

phil-grenadier-cigar-high-res

Throughout a career that spans three decades, trumpeter Phil Grenadier has emerged as one of jazz’s most imaginative and innovative players. His two albums as leader, 2000’s Sweet Transients and 2003’s Playful Intentions, have won him copious international acclaim, while his collaborations with a broad array of notable musicians demonstrate the raw talent and adventurousness that led the San Jose Mercury News to call him “a trumpeter of rare fluency and depth.” Growing up in a musical family in San Francisco, he and his brothers Larry and Steve were all introduced to trumpet in childhood by their father Albert, who handed his lifelong love of music down to his sons.

Although Larry and Steve eventually gravitated towards bass and guitar, respectively, Phil wholeheartedly embraced the possibilities of trumpet and made the instrument the focus of his musical life. The three brothers played together in their high-school band and various other combos, performing together at such renowned festivals as the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Russian River Jazz Festival and the San Francisco Jazz Festival.

Meanwhile, Phil’s rapidly-developing trumpet skills won him considerable attention around his hometown. By the time he was 16, he was working regularly as a sideman, performing alongside such legends as Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme, George Shearing, Tony Bennett, Carlos Santana, James Brown, Sammy Davis Jr., Dionne Warwick and Steve Smith’s Vital Information. He was just 17 when he was voted Best Jazz Soloist by both Down Beat magazine and the California Music Educators Association.

A move to New York in 1988 helped to further broaden Grenadier’s musical horizons. There, he taught jazz trumpet at the Mannes College of Music, and worked extensively with noted saxophonist/composer Bob Belden, playing on two of Belden’s Blue Note albums and numerous live gigs. Another strong influence during Phil’s New York years was his work with pianist Richie Beirach, with whom he worked extensively in a duo situation. “That was a great learning experience,” he recalls. “Performing with such a harmonic genius reinforced my natural affinity for ‘outside’ improvising, and spurred me to dig deeper in myself.” During his time in New York, Grenadier also performed and recorded with such notable musicians as Owen Howard, Chris Potter and Seamus Blake.

In 1995, Grenadier relocated to Boston, where he’s continued to embrace new musical challenges while recording and performing around the world. 2000 saw the release of his first album as a leader, Sweet Transients, which also featured Ethan Iverson and Bill Stewart. It was followed in 2003 by Playful Intentions, whose cast also included the likes of Kurt Rosenwinkel and Jeff Ballard.

While continuing to develop his own music, Grenadier has remained in demand as a sideman and collaborator. One particularly fulfilling project has been his work with seminal guitarist John Scofield. In 2007, Grenadier toured across Europe, South America and the United States with Scofield’s group, which also included bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Bill Stewart, with the tour culminating in a sold-out performance at NYC’s Carnegie Hall.

In addition to leading his own acclaimed Boston-based trio (with whom he recently completed a soon-to-be-released new album), Grenadier continues to maintain productive working relationships with saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi, with whom he’s recorded two albums and toured Europe; and Portuguese drummer Joao Lencastre, with whom he’s made four albums.

In addition to the aforementioned musicians, Grenadier has played on more than 50 albums while working with a varied assortment of artists, including Kenny Barron, Larry Goldings, Kevin Hays, Marc Copland, Bill Carrothers, Chris Potter, Anthony Braxton, George Garzone, Mick Goodrick, Brad Shepik, Billy Kilson, John Hollenbeck, Gerald Cleaver, Bob Moses, Drew Gress, Ira Coleman, Bob Nieske, Harvey Wainapel and brother Larry Grenadier."

- G Point Audio (UK)
August 2024

Kevin Kastning / Phil Grenadier — In Visible Ascent
(Greydisc GDR3589, 2024, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2024-10-01

"For this first collaboration between Kevin Kastning and Phil Grenadier, the duo moves in a dreamy and meditative direction, Kastning playing exclusively his 36 string double contraguitar, and Grenadier on trumpet, a combination that is suited perfectly for this kind of outcome; sparsely played chords on the guitar (and often bass patterns) create a majestic backdrop for Grenadier’s ever-soloing trumpet, a gentle abduction that creates at once a feeling of shimmering beauty and an exquisite solitude of sorts. One has to believe that the two lengthy tracks at hand are completely improvised on the spot, eliciting that emotion of loneliness like wandering through a warm forest in a half-dream state. Both players leave plenty of room for the other to spin their magical spell; sometimes one will go completely quiet while the other makes a statement, like a call and response between the two players, especially on the 31-minute epic “A Location Marked by Stars” with its many sections and frequent diversions.

Grenadier’s trumpet is soft but bold, always commanding the listener’s attention, while Kastning’s guitars weave in and out of view, sometimes going high, sometimes low into bassy regions while the trumpet carries on in the foreground. As I listen to this I often get that same feeling I had the first time I heard John Abercrombie’s Characters, but with the trumpet providing a formidable lead voice, guiding the listener along as the piece proceeds. The considerably shorter “The Wind Said Especially Now” (still a whopping fifteen-plus minutes) has many of the hallmarks of the lead track, perhaps with a bit more edge and studio effects. All taken, In Visible Ascent is like no Kastning related project before it, and the notes say that more collaborative album projects between the duo are underway."

- Exposé Magazine (US)
October 2024

Kevin Kastning & Phil Grenadier - 2024 - In Visible Ascent
October 21, 2024
(46:18; Greydisc)

"For his next album, Kevin restricted himself to just playing 36-string Double Contraguitar and this time was joined by trumpeter Phil Grenadier. This is the first time he has worked with Phil, a well-known band leader and collaborator who is also on faculty at Berklee College of Music. Most of Kevin’s albums comprise a series of pieces, yet this album contains just two, one which is more than 30 minutes in length and one which is more than fifteen. Also, the trumpet is a powerful instrument, and one which will generally take the lead when being played with an acoustic guitar and that is exactly what we have here so Phil can often be found providing the melody while Kevin concentrates on accompaniment and nuances.

This album sounds far less improvised and much more like modern classical music, and Kevin even describes it as “symphonic compositional scale” and that it marks a new direction for both musicians. The reverb on both instruments means that space is a very important third instrument, with both musicians very much using it to their advantage as they work together to uncover the delights the journey has in store for them, which is impossible to determine when they take the first step. You can “see” the musicians listening intently to each other as they decide where to come in, what they are going to add, and what direction they need to follow. They can both be delicate and restrained, or breaking the speed limit as they run through cadences, always in tandem, always confident in the ability of the other to keep up and add their own touch of magic. Yet another delight from Kevin, whose work is always enthralling and exciting."

- Progressor Magazine (UZBEKISTAN)
Kev Rowland, October 2024

"The album is titled 'Invisible Ascent', and it is a real joy as it brings the jazzy sound of Phil Grenadier to the core ofKevin Kastning's musical concept, achieving an incredibly elegant result with a dark beauty, truly moving. It is a privilege to be able to share it with everyone. I think this is the first program that has the pleasure of putting this new recording in contact with the public, which is released on July 24. On this Phil Granadier duet album, Kevin Kastning is playing the thirty-six-string double contraguitar and, evidently, Phil Grenadier is playing the trumpet. It seems that it is a collaboration that will have a future in the future, and I will not say more for the moment. The cover is by Chris Friel, and it is also a beautiful composition and the two pieces that make up this 'Invisible Ascent' are quite long. The first is titled A Location Marked By Stars, and lasts 30 minutes and 44 seconds, and the piece we are going to listen to is cut number 2, which is called The Wind Said Especially Now, which has a duration of 15 and a half. Kevin Kastning himself did not have excessive hopes that it would be broadcast on radio stations, podcasts or radio programs due to the length of the pieces, but he did not want to fragment it into smaller cuts because he believes that they are truly special and rare like canvases compositional, in his own words. We wanted to violate Kevin Kastning's prediction and, despite the length, we have decided to extend the end-of-season special as long as necessary to be able to share with you this very special work, which is also, for the moment, unpublished. ', given that its release date is still a few days away. July 24 is when this 'Invisible Ascent', the first album, the first hand-in-hand collaboration of Kevin Kastning and Phil Grenadier, which is quite a surprise.

For those of you who don't know him, Phil Grenadier is an exceptional jazz trumpeter who grew up in San Francisco with his musical family, with his brothers, Larry, who eventually took up double bass, and Steve Grenadier, who dedicated himself to to the guitar. His father instilled in them a passion for music, and he dedicated himself to the trumpet. At the young age of sixteen, he was already working regularly as a sideman, playing with people like Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Tormé, George Shearing, Tony Bennett, Carlos Santana, James Brown, Sammy Davis Jr., Dionne Warwick, etc.. A real outrage. He has also played with Steve Smith's band Vital Information and is a tremendously renowned musician who we have heard on numerous occasions here in Spain. He has, in short, a very, very prestigious career and also a very long one, so it is another success to add to Kevin Kastning's discography to have been able to bring to his musical concept the contribution of Phil Granadier, which you are going to see. which truly makes the hair stand on end, so we are not going to prolong this agony any longer. It has been a pleasure to share this 29th season with all of you here at Parallel Universes."

- Universos Paralelos radio show (SPAIN)
July 2024

"Congrats! In Visible Ascent is a lovely album. The trumpet/contra combo is perfect. P.S. when I want to just close my eyes and drift, lately I’ve been streaming your albums. With all of the craziness in the world these days, your music is a lovely reprieve!"

- Stanley Grill (US)
Award-winning composer

"In Visible Ascent is fantastic! You should be very proud of this."

- Mark Wingfield (UK)
August 2024

"Just gave In Visible Ascent a listen. It's definitely unique among your collaborations. Great tonal pairing. I love the ending of "The Wind said..." Your playing perfectly complements Phil's."

- D. Siegfried (US)
August 2024

"In Visible Ascent I find extraordinary. I am especially thrilled with the duo of trumpet and guitar. This is something really special to me. Very good work my friend!"

- Dieter Kaudel, K&K Sound (US/Germany)
August 2024