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Hanami: The Only Way To Float Free
ByBass clarinetist Jason Stein handles the bottom-end and engages in multidimensional soloing activities with his band-mates. Whereas, "Donmai!" signals an Ornette Coleman style vibe amid a crunching breakdown, amped by the hornists' torrid soloing activities that morph the band's direction into a forceful groove, peppered by drummer Charles Rumback's slapping Latin-jazz beats. Again, most of these works offer tuneful primary melodies, spawning magnetic qualities. But "Kita Nagano Motorcycle Gange," is a rough and tumble head-banging free-form delight, underscored with a circular hook and Rumback's pounding drum parts.
The album was recorded using analog tapes funneled thru tube amps that provide a broad soundstage, especially during "Kanzemizu," where Stein and Sugimoto present a deterministic gait, framed by Trim's hard-strumming chord patterns. Hence, the quartet merges a psychedelic, grunge rock platform with weaving melodic overtures. And the final track "Kojo No Tsuki," sparks a 360-degree turnaround into trad jazz territory, although the hornists' subtly and keenly inject traces of free- jazz into big picture. By and large, it's an album that grew on me and monopolized time on my turntable, yielding a surfeit of gratifying factors from start to finish.
Track Listing
The Only Way To Float Free; Shira Ito No Taki; Donmai!; Kito Nagano Motorcycle Gang; Hanaikada; Kojo No Tsuki
Personnel
Andrew Trim: guitar; Mai Sugimoto: alto saxophone, clarinet; Jason Stein: bass clarinet; Charles Rumback: drums.
Album information
Title: The Only Way To Float Free | Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: ears&eyes Records
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