Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Gato Libre: Forever

3

Gato Libre: Forever

By

View read count
Gato Libre: Forever
Gato Libre is the most unexpected manifestation of the multifaceted collaboration between trumpeter Natsuki Tamura and pianist Satoko Fujii. This understated quartet of bass, acoustic guitar, trumpet and accordion creates a sound world that is totally unique: serene, atmospheric, and seemingly contrary to the duo's other collaborative musical ventures. Gato Libre's music isn't a fusion or cross-cultural adventure, though it seems to have started out that way. Instead, Tamura, Fujii and their colleagues have devised a music that exists sui generis. At various times, Forever recalls the work of early 20th Century composers, particularly Erik Satie and Béla Bartók, French bal-musette, gypsy jazz, and, in its darkest moments, the 1980s Belgian Darkwave, as exemplified by the earliest recordings of groups such as Art Zoyd and Univers Zero. These resemblances, it must be stressed, are completely unintentional.

Tamura is the chief creative force behind the group. Most of the compositions on Forever have a central, Satie-like melodic kernel with bridges and solo sections that radiate outwards like ripples on a pool of still water where a stone has been dropped. Tamura's pieces turn from tuneful consonance to extreme dissonance and slowly back, governed by an inscrutable logic. Moderate-to-slow tempos dominate, yet Tamura clearly loves the use of rhythm to build tension— "Court" and "Japan" are hung on heavily syncopated, oddly accented guitar, bass, and accordion parts. Though every track on Forever has a solo or two, the improvisations themselves tend to be understated and spacious, proceeding at a pace that is both unworried and unhurried.

Throughout, Tamura plays his trumpet open, without mutes. Forever's live recording does no favors for Tamura's bold, bright sound, yet his direct, lyrical approach more than offsets the unflattering room sound. His solo on "Moor" is both deliberate and beautifully constructed. His finest moment on Forever comes during "Hokkaido," where he wanders quixotically over a series of bass and accordion drones, building slowly to a fever pitch before releasing his grip to make way for a lovely guitar-bass dialogue.

Though Fujii's accordion playing seemed tentative on the quartet's first couple of recordings, her playing has become increasingly bold and stylized, taking cues from the likes of Pauline Oliveros and Guy Klucevsek. She revels in the instrument's unique properties and sound possibilities on the stormily dissonant "Nishiogi," approaching the accordion as a wind instrument, wringing out long sustained tones whose trajectories she alters mid-flight. Most of Gato Libre's jazz content comes courtesy of the fluid, limber guitarist Kazuhiko Tsumura, who solos most effusively on "Moor" and "Hokkaido." Bassist Norikatsu Koreyasu, who tragically died shortly after this recording, maintains a Charlie Haden-like presence, anchoring the trio of high-pitched instruments with deep, earthy tones. His arco solos on "Waseda" and "World" are wonderful—pitch perfect and horn-like in their articulation and mobility.

Forever is yet another strangely beautiful and spellbinding creation from two of the most significant musicians in the world today.

Track Listing

Moor; Court; Hokkaido; Waseda; Nishiogi; Japan; World; Forever.

Personnel

Natsuki Tamura; Satoko Fujii; Kazuhiko Tsumura; Norikatsu Koreyasu.

Album information

Title: Forever | Year Released: 2012 | 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.