| Jazz |
From the Ashes, a Quiet Joy: Brunkhorst’s “After the Fire” Offers Healing Through Melody.
It is often in the aftermath of great upheaval that the most enduring beauty is born. Pain, loss, and catastrophe have long served as fertile ground for artistic creation, and in that sense, though only in the broadest terms, one might be tempted to reduce After the Fire to a story of tragedy turned into sound. But such a summary would do little justice to the quiet generosity and deep melodic sensibility at the heart of this remarkable album. Beneath its modest surface lies a work of striking depth and hope, a personal and universal offering from a composer-guitarist whose emotional intelligence radiates through every note.
With After the Fire, a collection of seven original compositions, guitarist and composer Brunkhorst charts a sonic journey that is both intimate and global in its scope. In a time when many artists have responded to the chaos of recent years with abstraction, fragmentation, or raw dissonance, Brunkhorst chooses a different path. His music does not shy away from the darkness, but instead engages with it with surprising warmth, restraint, and optimism. It is, as he himself describes, a music of “wonder”, a sentiment sorely needed in our present moment.
The album invites the listener to follow the subtle evolution of Brunkhorst’s guitar voice from track to track, not merely as an instrumentalist but, more profoundly, as a storyteller and orchestrator. This is not a guitarist’s record in the traditional sense. If anything, Brunkhorst reveals himself to be a composer first, one with a finely honed ear for harmonic architecture and textural nuance. The arrangements are precise without feeling clinical, emotional without falling into sentimentality. Listening closely, one begins to sense the careful hand of a craftsman who builds not just with sound, but with intent.
Brunkhorst’s musical journey began in the most iconic of ways: watching The Beatles perform “Hey Jude” on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1970. That same Christmas, he received his first guitar, beginning a lifelong relationship with music. From those early days, his influences quickly expanded to include the sprawling soundscapes of Led Zeppelin, Yes, Pink Floyd, and Genesis; the jazz fusion of Weather Report and Miles Davis; the compositional finesse of Steely Dan and the lyrical intelligence of Pat Metheny. These varied influences, once disparate, now coalesce in his mature musical voice, one that feels at once rooted and original.
There is something undeniably inspiring in the way each instrument in After the Fire seems to follow a distinct yet harmoniously interwoven line, like strands in a finely braided rope. The clarity of thought behind these compositions speaks to a musical vision that is both luminous and intellectually rigorous. With only seven tracks, the album resists the temptation of overstatement. There is no filler here, no wandering improvisations or ornamental excess. Instead, each piece contributes to a larger narrative arc, one shaped by loss, resilience, and the quiet dignity of rebuilding.
The title, After the Fire, is not metaphorical. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brunkhorst lost his home to a devastating fire. That he chose not to descend into chaos, but instead to produce a meditative and ultimately hopeful suite of compositions, says much about the man behind the music. “It would be easy to respond to chaos with more chaos,” Brunkhorst reflects, “but I think we all need a little joy and peace.” That ethos is deeply embedded in every track, never didactic, always sincere.
One could be forgiven for succumbing to despair under such circumstances. But Brunkhorst, like all true artists with a sincere and far-reaching vision, channels his pain into something larger than himself. His compositions carry with them a sense of generosity, a whisper of hope that reaches far beyond the personal. And because music, unlike most other forms of communication, transcends language, it requires no translation, only presence. You do not listen to After the Fire so much as you are carried by it. You feel it.
This is not, perhaps, the easiest album to listen to. It demands something of the listener, patience, a certain breadth of musical curiosity, a willingness to be still. But those who give it time will find themselves richly rewarded. Slowly, the images begin to unfold: memories, reflections, imagined landscapes, flickers of something half-remembered. The album’s careful pacing and evocative structure hint at what one might expect from a live performance, an immersive experience, moving and deeply human.
In a time of noise and division, After the Fire stands as a gentle yet powerful testament to music’s enduring ability to heal, connect, and elevate. It is an album that speaks softly but lingers long in the heart.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, July 30th 2025
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Musicians:
KEVIN BRUNKHORST: acoustic and electric guitars
TOM EASLEY: bass
KENJI OMAE: tenor saxophone
TOM ROACH: drums
PAUL TYNAN: trumpet, flugelhorn
Tracklisting:
1 As Fate Would Have It (8:50) 2 One Spring (5:59)
3 As You Know (5:46)
4 Daydream Manual (6:02)
5 The Roaring Twenties (6:09) 6 After The Fire (9:11)
7 The Passing Months (6:23)
All compositions by Kevin Brunkhorst
Recorded October 2023 at Fang Recording Studio, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada Engineers: Thomas Stajcer and Alex Burris
Mixed at Lakewind Studios by Mike Shepherd
Produced by Kevin Brunkhorst and Paul Tynan