Next Chapter

New From Michael Rabinowitz

The innovative jazz bassoon soloist Michael Rabinowitz performs a celebratory set of mostly new music on Next Chapter.

With his regular quartet, Rabinowitz stars on a variety of forward-looking straight ahead jazz originals that are both swinging and explorative while blazing new paths for the bassoon.

News & reviews

Praise for NEXT CHAPTER:

MAY 18, 2023

“Michael Rabinowitz has made a career out of taming the wild bassoon in order to make it a jazz instrument. This one is his most successful…”

- Jazz Weekly/George W Harris

APRIL 27, 2023

“Every one of [the tracks] is a winner, as is the Next Chapter from start to finish. High marks for everyone, and even higher owing to the superb artistry of that rarest of birds, an astute and masterful jazz bassoonist.”

- All About Jazz/Jack Bowers

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

“The title tune, “Next Chapter,” allows Michael Rabinowitz to step forward with bassoon in hand and serenade us in the sweetest way. I enjoy the smooth, rich tone of his instrument… With this “Next Chapter” release, Michael Rabinowitz once again certifies that the bassoon is a well-executed instrument of jazz and that he is a leader in his field.”

- Musical Memoirs/Dee Dee McNeil

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

“Whatever that shift was, it’s allowing some glorious, rhythmically diverse, melodically engaging and harmonically challenging expressions leading a grand quartet (pianist Matt King, bassist Andy McKee, drummer Tommy Campbell) that first joined forces at Django in NYC and evolved organically into a sublime studio session.”

- THE JW VIBE/Jonathan Widran

Praise for Uncharted Waters:

APRIL 11, 2017

"In the pursuit of his lifetime mission, Rabinowitz has succeeded in producing an album of chiaroscuro charm and elegance. Anyone still unsure as to this recording's delights should, to borrow a phrase from George Michael, "listen without prejudice" for they will surely be rewarded."

- Positive Feedback

March 15, 2017

"Michael’s grand jazz bassoon playing on this vibrant CD release is joined by Nat Harris on guitar, Ruslan Khain on bass and Vince Ector doing drums, and let me tell you, folks – this SMOKES – it will be a true jazz adventure for listeners not accustomed to this often overlooked instrument"

- Contemporary Fusion Reviews

Mike interviewed by Claude Thibault of Sorties Jazz Nights, Montreal

November 12, 2016

CT - Michael what do you love about the bassoon? is it the sound, the tone, the range?...tell us about that...

MR - From the time I started playing bassoon at 16 yrs old, I felt the instrument could express a variety of emotions from the comic to the nostalgic. I heard how it was used effectively in movie scores. The range goes below the baritone sax and up into the high range of the tenor sax. The double reed allows it to have a striking staccato and it can jump three octaves easily.

CT - Did you have to invent yourself as a contemporary jazz bassoonist? (in the sense there are very very few jazz bassoonists)

MR - Yes, when I started in the seventies there we doublers that played jazz on bassoon such as Earl Buddel (Australian Jazz Quintet) and Illinois Jacquet but no one that played jazz exclusively on the bassoon. I imitated saxophone, trombone and trumpet players. Eric Dolphy was hero to me because he took the bass clarinet to new places as a jazz instrument. As a beginner there were plenty of doubters but as I improved they started coming around. Now I have built a reputation as one of the few that can play convincing jazz from bebop to free on the instrument.

CT - Where does the bassoon fit in the world of jazz?

MR - There are many groups that are incorporating classical instruments into jazz ensembles. The Charles Mingus Orchestra which I have been part of for over 15 years comes to mind. It incorporates bassoon, french horn and bass clarinet along with saxes and brass. Another group which I recorded with was a mixture of strings and woodwinds that
Chris Potter organized a few years ago. Last year John Clark (jazz french hornist) released a CD called The Odd Couple Quintet with an arrangement of the Mozart French Horn
concertos for rhythm section with french horn and bassoon. So composers are looking for different sonorities and wanting a bassoonist that can improvise.

CT - What is the challenge improvising on the bassoon?

MR - Technically it is more difficult than other instruments and the softness can be easily hidden by louder instruments. I have to mic it when I play and I have an electronic pickup that was made specifically for the bassoon.

CT - Do you play other instruments, like other bassoonists?

MR - Not really, I toy around with the alto sax (because I love Charlie Parker so much) and have played piano my entire life which I use as a composition tool.

CT - Tell us about the group you'll be playing with Nov.12th and how you connected with them...

MR - Last year I was hired to play at Upstairs and a student of mine suggested I hire Eric Harding to play piano and select a bassist and drummer. We rehearsed some new material and the performance went very well. I liked the way they supported me and when I planned to come back this year it was logical that I used the same band.

CT - Which other groups do you play with and where can they be heard?

MR - Most of my work is in the NYC area. I can be heard at the Jazz Standard with the Charles Mingus Orchestra. I am excited about the release of a new CD with compositions
inspired and as tributes to my father Harold and mother Kiki who died over the last year and half. The CD will be called Unchartered Waters and will be on the Cats Paw Record Label.

CT - What repertoire will you be playing Nov. 12th at the Dièse Onze?

MR - As mentioned above I will be playing compositions that will be on the upcoming CD Unchartered Waters and jazz standards.

CT - If you could play with any artist dead or alive, who would that be?

MR - Charlie Parker

Originally posted on JazzBulletin

Master Classes

Master classes for students and professionals in improvisation with emphasis on blues, swing rhythm articulation, and free jazz

Michael has been running master classes for the last two decades, providing encouragement and tools to liberate classically trained double reed players from reliance on written music.

Previous master class customers include:

• IDRS Annual Conference

• New England Conservatory

• Butler University

• Polish Bassoon Festival Procownia fagocisty