Jazz Articles about Aki Takase

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Aki Takase / Rudi Mahall: Evergreen

by Nic Jones
March 5, 2009

One of the things that become obvious whenever a musician is recorded frequently is how they address what has gone before. Pianist Aki Takase has her own distinctive voice as instrumentalist, composer and performer, but evidently--and happily--that triple threat isn't enough. She also has an uncommon knack for bringing something fresh to whatever music she cares to tackle.

The whole of this disc is a case in point, and its title is the antithesis of the product of passing thought. ...

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Aki Takase / Alexander Von Schlippenbach: Iron Wedding

by Nic Jones
January 15, 2009

If there was ever anything predictable about these two pianists coming together on record, the results are anything but. Alexander von Schlippenbach is the senior figure by some decades, but this is still such a meeting of minds that the difference of time pales into insignificance. This is their first meeting on record in fifteen years. Time passing has honed their dialectic, rendering it the product of evolving sensibilities.

That's clear enough on the ten minutes of “Suite In Five ...

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Aki Takase - Silke Eberhard: Ornette Coleman Anthology

by AAJ Italy Staff
February 11, 2008

E’ un sentito e appassionato omaggio alla musica di Ornette il nuovo progetto monografico di Aki Takase. Dopo i tributi a Fats Waller, Eric Dolphy e W.C. Handy per la pianista giapponese nel 2006 è arrivato il momento di affrontare il maestro che conobbe negli ani Sessanta attraverso il disco At the Golden Circle. Con questo lavoro a quattro mani e a due voci, la Takase ha antologizzato la prima parte della strepitosa storia discografica del sassofonista texano. Ne è ...

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Aki Takase: Something Sweet, Something Tender

by AAJ Italy Staff
December 27, 2007

Disco diseguale questo Something Sweet, Something Tender di Aki Takase. La pianista giapponese si confronta in solitudine con alcuni autori che ne hanno segnato la crescita artistica (Monk, Dolphy, C. Bley, O. Coleman, il marito von Schlippenbach) e mette in mostra le proprie doti di scrittura soprattutto nella suite intitolata “Something for A“. Ma non sempre Takase centra lo spirito delle composizioni con intuizioni originali o rivisitazioni all’altezza della sua creatività. Così a fronte di una strepitosa “Walking Batterie Woman”, ...

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Aki Takase & Silke Eberhard: Ornette Coleman Anthology

by Nic Jones
December 15, 2007

Aki Takase & Silke Eberhard Ornette Coleman Anthology Intakt Records 2007

Is pianist Aki Takase making a point of releasing an outstanding duo CD every year? Spring In Bangkok (Intakt Records, 2006), in the company of vocalist Lauren Newton, was a model of in-the-moment creativity, and whilst the reasoning behind this latest release is radically different, the end result is equally stimulating.

Tackling a two-disc program of pieces by saxophonist Ornette Coleman ...

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Aki Takase / Lauren Newton: Spring In Bangkok

by Nic Jones
October 13, 2006

Both Aki Takase and Lauren Newton have shown admiral commitment to music on the margins, and this is a highly idiosyncratic documentation of their work in progress. The term “singing" has never be adequate for what Newton does with her voice, and the fact that so much of her communication is non-verbal gives this music a timeless air, lifting it out of the specifics of reading lyrics. The upholders of “the tradition" should not be getting crimson of face, however, ...

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Aki Takase: Tarantella

by AAJ Italy Staff
September 19, 2006

Ci sono due curiosi depistaggi sulla copertina dell’ultimo lavoro discografico della pianista giapponese Aki Takase. Il primo si riferisce al nome del gruppo, la cui sigla “piano quintet” farebbe presagire un ensemble costruito intorno al ruolo centrale del pianoforte; il secondo si riferisce al titolo, Tarantella, che parrebbe evocare una gioiosa danzabilità o atmosfere ricche di profumi folklorici. Nulla di tutto ciò emerge dalle sette tracce registrate nel settembre del 1997 per una produzione originale della radio di Berlino. Il ...