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Daisuke Abe: On My Way Back Home
ByWhether or not young players should release recordings as leaders so early in their careers is a controversial question. The sad reality is that with the loss of a community-oriented jazz scene in most cities, where young players can gain leadership experience through mentoring by established artists, up-and-comers are often forced into the spotlight too soon. Some, like Joshua Redman, ultimately deliver on their promise, but others quickly fade into obscurity. It's too soon to know the fate of Tokyo-born, New York-resident guitarist Daisuke Abe, but his debut record, On My Way Back Home, demonstrates qualities that may well see him emerge in time as a guitarist of note.
Abe's style is clearly informed by Rosenwinkel, right down to the subtle use of delay to thicken his equally warm tone. On My Way Back Home bears strong stylistic resemblance to Rosenwinkel's Deep Song. With the same instrumental lineupguitar, piano, tenor sax, bass, drumsand a similar penchant for expanding the mainstream with a contemporary language that exploits more open harmonies and shifts in tempo and meter, the link may be too direct. Abe favors Rosenwinkel's use of peppered chords to break up lyrical single-note runs, but he's a more linear guitarist whose playing contrasts with Rosenwinkel's rapid across-the-neck arpeggios.
Abe's bandmatessaxophonist Walter Smith, pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Matt Brewer, and drummer Rodney Greenare all up-and-comers in their own right. Parks, in his early twenties, has been making significant waves in Terence Blanchard's band over the past couple of years, both as a player and a writer. But it's interesting to note that, despite his high-profile gig, he's yet to release an album under his own namepreferring, it would appear, to gain experience under Blanchard's more seasoned aegis.
That doesn't mean that On My Way Back Home lacks appeal. Abe's compositions transcend the mainstream's traditional AABA theme-solo-theme approach. These Metheny-esque pieces feel like miniature soundtracks, evocative and rich with narrative. Brewer and Greenboth alumni of Greg Osby's recent projectsshare clear chemistry, interacting liberally. Smith is a suitable thematic foil for Abe.
As an enjoyable album of contemporary post bop, On My Way Back Home has plenty to recommend it. Still, one wonders what Abe's first album might have been had he spent time in a mentored situation and been given a greater opportunity to develop a personal voice without the pressure of the spotlight. Still this debut is filled with promise. The only question now is this: will Abe ultimately deliver?
Track Listing
On My Way Back Home; Go!; An Answer; Leaving; Machine; Kura; Eyes in the City; I-Shi; Last Call.
Personnel
Daisuke Abe
guitarDaisuke Abe: guitar; Walter Smith: tenor saxophone; Aaron Parks: piano; Matt Brewer: bass; Rodney Green: drums; Gretchen Parlato: voicals (4,8).
Album information
Title: On My Way Back Home | Year Released: 2005 | Record Label: Nagel Heyer Records