Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Kaze: Atody Man

14

Kaze: Atody Man

By

View read count
Kaze: Atody Man
Atody Man is the fifth album from the quartet Kaze. Beginning with Rafale (Circum-Libra, 2011), the group—initiated by French drummer Peter Orins—has been one of many showcases for the eclectic music of pianist Satoko Fujii and her husband, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura. The unusual formation includes a second trumpeter, Christian Pruvost, also from France. Atody Man also marks the second entry in Fujii's sixtieth birthday project, with a planned monthly-release throughout the year. The "Atody" part of the album title comes from a Malagasy language word for "egg."

Orins' composing style, in the context of this album, bears little similarity to Fujii's, even while being compatible with her style. His "Hypnotique Sympathie" begins with tandem horns, holding lengthy tones, dropping into silence, and returning. The trumpets are joined by Fujii, who plucks the strings inside the piano, drops weighty chords, and rains subtle torrents of notes. Just past the mid-point of this ten-minute piece, Tamura goes to his extended techniques, delivering the familiar sounds of squeaking balloons and elephant trumpeting. The entire kaleidoscope of sounds morphs into an unexpectedly stately conclusion.

"Moving," one of two Fujii compositions, is a series of musical duels. Indirectly, Fujii utilizes the percussive effects of the piano in juxtaposition with Orins playing. Tamura and Pruvost trade trumpet jabs, neither as intent on dominating, but on offering alternative perspectives. The seventeen-plus minute opus builds in long silences and closes with beautifully orchestrated group involvement. Fujii's other contribution, "Morning Glow," opens with the pianist's extended solo, a darkly melodic tune, joined by the complimentary trumpets and then, a protracted solo from Orins. "Inspiration 2" is the sole Tamura writing contribution and along with his usual bag of technical feats, he uses the trumpet to generate some effective percussion effects. The Pruvost-penned title track closes the album in melody-free experimentalism.

Atody Man continues the Kaze tradition of providing all its members the opportunity to showcase their multiple talents while maintaining responsiveness to each other and the unpredictable nature of the music. Like all the formations that Fujii and Tamura are aligned with, there are no clichés associated with this group. Atody Man is—so far—the most innovative of the Kaze albums and a worthy addition to the larger Fujii/Tamura catalog.

Track Listing

Hypnotique Sympathie; Moving; Meta-Blizzard; Morning Glow; Inspiration 2; Atody Man.

Personnel

Satoko Fujii: piano; Natsuki Tamura: trumpet; Peter Orins: percussion; Christian Pruvost: trumpet.

Album information

Title: Atody Man | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Libra Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About 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 make 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.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves 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.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

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

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.