September 2012 - The New York City Jazz Record

Rafale
Forever
KAZE
Gato Libre
(Circum-Libra)
(Libra)
by Marc Medwin
Pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura’s
output is astonishing in scope and diversity. Fujii
manages to lead several large ensembles while
participating in a seemingly infinite array of others,
skipping between continents as if simply going out to
the store and back. Tamura is on board for many of
these projects, as composer or performer, and these
two releases represent a part of the duo’s ever-evolving
transcontinental scene.
KAZE is a fairly new project, graced by the heavy
trumpet frontline of Tamura and Christian Pruvost
while Fujii’s piano is complemented by Peter Orins’
drumming. On Rafale, you can hear the trumpets
pushing each other to new levels of exploration and
interplay on “Polly”, but that’s the tip of the iceberg.
This is a stunning achievement from note one and, as
might be inferred from the title of the first track, “Noise
Chopin”, the quartet tosses Chopin quotations around,
or maybe it’s better to say the etudes and sonatas
referenced form the brew of the piece. It’s all amidst a
rapidly changing dynamic climate, sudden and
dizzying shifts in tension and volume keeping things
fresh over nearly a quarter of an hour. The whole disc
teems with life, blistering free jazz tempered by
moments of composed introspection that roil with
their own undercurrents, threatening to explode at any
moment. If the arc-and-build formula so common to
western music, freely improvised music in particular,
rears its head a bit too often, it hardly seems to matter
in the face of such excellent and committed
musicmaking. The recording is spectacular and it
needs to be, given the group’s interest in sound and its
deployment.
Gato Libre’s Forever is not nearly as pleasing on
the ears, having been done live in less than ideal
circumstances. However, it represents bassist
Norikatsu Koreyasu’s last recording with the quartet,
as he died a short time after the performance. His
sound is rich and full, perambulating the group
through its spacious music, serving as an excellent foil
to Kazuhiko Tsumura’s guitar. Tamura and Fujii
provide liquid support throughout, the dynamic peaks
and valleys softer and more malleable than that of
KAZE, but a beautiful landscape nonetheless. The bass
and guitar harmonics that punctuate the opening of
“Court” while Tamura and Fujii emote coolly alongside
give an idea of the group’s introspective sound yet the
roles are switched on “Hokkaido”, where trumpet and
guitar etch innocent lines as bass and accordion drone
in sympathy.
Were one forced to choose, KAZE maintains
interest more completely. However, both discs project
the Tamura/Fujii partnership’s interest in space,
timbre and, above all, feeling. These releases are rife
with conviction and that, peppered with the obvious
abilities demonstrated by all involved, will carry any
ensemble a very long way.
For more information, visit librarecords.com. Satoko Fujii
and Natsuki Tamura are at Douglass Street Music Collective
Sep. 22nd. Tamura is at Village Zendo Sep. 23rd as part of
FONT. See Calendar.
Live at the Blue Note
Enfants Terribles (Half Note)
by Clifford Allen
There was a very interesting point raised in a recent
post on the blog Running the Voodoo Down concerning
the relevance of the standard repertoire in contemporary
improvisation. From critic Phil Freeman: “This is a
problem afflicting the music across the board and I
think it may be time to lay down the law: Jazz musicians
need to stop recording standards… Play the old
standards live if you want, if you’ve got so little respect
for your audience that you think they still want to hear
‘Body and Soul’ in 2012 (if you do still want to hear
‘Body and Soul’ in 2012, seek professional help).”
He was referring to the present album by the
quartet Enfants Terribles: altoist Lee Konitz, guitarist
Bill Frisell, bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Joey
Baron. Sure, their repertoire is based in a very specific
sector of the book - “Body and Soul”, “I Can’t Get
Started”, “I’ll Remember April” and, in a performance
at the Blue Note last month, “All the Things You Are”
and “Cherokee”, among others. The kick is that each
musician starts the tune solo or in open dialogue, with
the others falling into conversation. No discussion of
the tunes or their order is supposed to color the
proceedings. It’s meant to be spontaneous, insofar as
the references are often oblique at first and the tunes
are dealt with through a mutual love and respect for
history as well as openness.
Konitz brings to the proceedings a long, long
relationship with these tunes and a ‘free’ conception of
the repertoire is his blood and guts. He began his
professional career six years before Frisell was born
and a full decade before Baron, but that’s not to say
their work isn’t integral: the joy and intellect shared
between the guitarist and drummer is palpable on both
recording and stage. Sure, nothing ‘new’ exists under
the sun, but it’s enjoyable to hear Frisell’s muted,
Americana-derived fragments weaving through the
changes against loose, plastic rhythms and Konitz’
ebullient runs. Live at the Blue Note captures a 2011 run
of the quartet and while not as wily with the same
concept as, say, Ellery Eskelin’s Trio New York, Enfants
Terrible’s approach shouldn’t necessarily be relegated
to the bin of anachronism.
For more information, visit halfnote.net
THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | September 2012 25