Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Nakatani-Chen Duo: Limn

376

Nakatani-Chen Duo: Limn

By

Sign in to view read count
Nakatani-Chen Duo: Limn
One of the highlights of the Vision Club series in 2005 was a crowd-pleasing duet set with legendary violinist Billy Bang and the brilliant percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani. With a lesser drummer, this might've been a case of star-player-with-accompaniment, but that was far from what happened. Nakatani was more than up for his share of the spotlight, putting on a thrilling show of technique and artistry.

Some of what makes Nakatani so exciting live is, naturally, lost in recordings, but there's plenty still to be gleaned from this release with cellist/vocalist Audrey Chen (also featuring special guest Susan Alcorn on pedal steel guitar). At the Vision Club, Nakatani showed his command of the full range of drumming and percussion experimentation. On Limn he sticks closer to the latter, an appropriate choice for the context. Anyone wanting to possess a full aquaintance with experimental percussion needs to give Nakatani a listen. Some of the techniques he pioneered—using shards of cymbals to scrape across drumheads, playing bells and metal bowls on the kit, etc.—are becoming standard fare in the underground scene, but few players do these sorts of things as well.

Experimental vocalists are courageous, exposing themselves more personally than instrumentalists and having to dig deeper and take more risks to find new sounds. It can be uncomfortable to hear a vocalist go into this uncharted territory (some non-fans might feel it should remain uncharted), but once the voyage has begun, it's best to hoist the sails and let go with abandon—and that's what Chen does. She's fully committed to producing unfettered, unapologetic howling, grunting, simian screeching and all other possibilities from her vocal chords.

I once impulsively bought a Diamanda Galas CD and brought it home, hoping to hear some mildly exotic singing. Instead, the iconoclastic former opera star simply began to shriek at top force for nearly the entire length of the recording. It was totally invigorating, but only once. Chen touches on that sort of thing without lingering too long there, and in this context her more abrasive work is softened considerably. Still, very few listeners will find this disc easy to handle, especially upon repeat spins. But those who crave the outer limits may well find their holy grail in Limn.

Track Listing

Many Arms; Owl Monkey; Trilling; Thumb and Heel; Eating a Volcano; Finch; Bulk Flow; Dragon's Den; Liplash; Zipped; From the Ends; Sprawl; Kestrel Beating; 4000 Miles; Bivouac.

Personnel

Tatsuya Nakatani: percussion; Audrey Chen: cello, vocals; Susan Alcorn: pedal steel guitar.

Album information

Title: Limn | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: H&H Production

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.
View events near New York City
Jazz Near New York City
Events Guide | Venue Guide | Local Businesses | More...

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.