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Gato Libre: DuDu
ByBassist Norikatsu Koreyasuan an integral part of Gato Libre's soundpassed away unexpectedly in 2011, and the decision to be made was: disband or carry on with a different instrumentalist in Koreyasu's place. The bassist also anchored Satoko Fujii's Ma-Do ensemble, and the choice there was to disband. But Tamura wanted to try out new instrumentalists to determine if survival was a possibility for Gato Libre.
As it turns out, the cat survived, with the addition of Japanese trombonist it Yasuko Kaneko, who joins trumpeter Tamura and Fujiion accordion rather than piano, as on all the Gato Libre discsand guitarist Kazuhiko Tsumura for the group's sixth offering, DuDu.
The change in sound and attitude of the free cat isn't a major one. The trombone takes the bass part at times, and also offers up some fluid solos. The guitar slips in evoking visions of Spain, and the accordion swells up behind Tamura's straight forward trumpet tone. It sounds like a busker crew on a street corner in Paris or Barcelona or, at times, in the Twilight Zone. Tamura is not an instrumentalist to be defined by traditional sounds. He slipsnot often and not distractinglyfrom a beautiful open horn tone into flutters or squeals, or the hiss and sputter that brings to mind air escaping with a grainy squeal from the untied and stretched wide neck of a rubber balloon, followed by a string of pensive, spare, lovely single notes on the guitar with Fujii's accordion sighing sweetly, almost subliminally, in the background.
That Natsuki Tamura's Gato Libre. The cat lives on.
Track Listing
DuDu; Gato; Nanook; Rainy Day; Scramble; Mouse; Cirencester; B&B.
Personnel
Natsuki Tamura
trumpetNatsuki Tamura: trumpet; Yasuko Kaneko: trombone; Kazuhiko Tsumura: guitar; Satoko Fujii: accordion.
Album information
Title: DuDu | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Libra Records
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Gato Libre
CD/LP/Track Review
Natsuki Tamura
Dan McClenaghan
Libra Records
Germany
Hamburg
Satoko Fujii
DuDu