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Otomo Yoshihide Special Big Band: Live At Shinjuku Pit Inn
by Nicola Negri
Is it possible to maintain impeccable avant-garde credentials and be a popular culture phenomenon? This is the case with Otomo Yoshihide, a central figure in the Tokyo improv community, known internationally since the late '90s thanks to his participation in the downtown New York scene alongside John Zorn and many others. The Japanese guitarist and turntablist ...
Nobuki Takamen: Live in Japan
by Mark Sullivan
When last heard from, guitarist/composer Nobuki Takamen had released his first solo album, Solo Guitar (2014). He is active on the New York scene, but has returned to his native Japan for an annual tour for many years. For his sixth album he has chosen to document live performances of his trio with bassist Toshiyuki Tanahashi ...
Masahiko Togashi & Masayuki Takayanagi: Pulsation
by Nicola Negri
Virtually unnoticed in the West, the Japanese free jazz scene in the 1970s was bursting with creativity. The musicians shared a strong sense of adventure, as they welcomed the developments of creative music and free improvisation from USA and Europe while trying to find their own voice with a completely personal approach to improvised music. One ...
Merzbow/Keiji Haino/Balazs Pandi: An Untroublesome Defencelessness
by Mark Corroto
The often repeated refrain to a complaint about music is, “If it's too loud, then you're too old," doesn't apply to An Untroublesome Defencelessness by Merzbow, Keiji Haino, and Balázs Pándi. You probably should just agree, it is too loud. With any Merzbow record, it just seems to never gets old. Of late, Merzbow's, ...
Satoko Fujii Tobira: Yamiyo Ni Karasu
by Vincenzo Roggero
Tobira--porta in giapponese--è la nuova formazione di Satoko Fujii nata accorpando al New Trio--Todd Nicholson al contrabbasso, Takashi Itani alla batteria--il marito e trombettista Natsuki Tamura. Decisione presa dopo alcune occasionali partecipazioni durante i tour del 2014 in Europa e Nord America e scelta, come è sempre accaduto riguardo le numerose formazioni allestite nel corso della ...
Kaze: Uminari
by John Sharpe
The prolific husband and wife team of pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura has found yet another fertile vehicle in Kaze. French drummer Peter Orins and trumpeter Christian Pruvost combines with the Japanese pair In an unusual instrumentation. On their third offering Uminari the combo stretches the boundaries even more than on previous outings, and ...
Happy Family: Minimal Gods
by Claudio Bonomi
Da catalogare sotto la voce rock/avant prog. Lo dice e consiglia la stessa Cuneiform, l'etichetta americana di Washington D.C. capitanata da Steve Feigenbaum , che nel 1995 li scoprì e li portó al debutto discografico. Stiamo parlando degli Happy Family, band giapponese che vent'anni fa fece quasi gridare al miracolo grazie a una micidiale miscela che ...
Hiroshi Fukutomi: Memory Stones
by Ian Patterson
Osaka-born, Berklee-trained and currently plying his craft in Tokyo, guitarist Hiroshi Fukutomi's second release as leader following Rings of Saturn (D-Musica, 2010) is a satisfyingly melodic affair. These ten originals reveal Fukutomi's ability to pen a good tune, as well as his dexterity on both electric and acoustic guitars. Pianist/Rhodes player Koichi Sato, bassist Koji Yasuda ...
Merzbow/Mats Gustafsson/Balázs Pándi: Live In Tabačka 13/04/12
by Mark Corroto
Let's bring back the maxim; “If it's too loud--you're too old." Certainly, when you listen to noise-music (is that an oxymoron? Absolutely not.) loudness is to a composition, what rhythm is to George Gershwin. That said, Live In Tabačka 13/04/12 is fascinating noise. This recording, released as a limited (400 copies) LP and digital ...
Merzbow/Mats Gustafsson/Balázs Pándi/Thurston Moore: Cuts of Guilt, Cuts Deeper
by Mark Corroto
The Cuts Quartet is a sort of assembled supergroup. But we are not talking Traveling Wilburys or Audioslave here. Groups where the sum is certainly less than the parts. No, the amalgam of Japanese noise artist Merzbow (aka Masami Akita), Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson (Fire! Orchestra, The Thing), American guitarist Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), and Hungarian ...
