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Yuji Takahashi / Sabu Toyozumi: The Quietly Clouds And A Wild Crane
ByToyozumi may be one of the more recognizable names from this milieu, given his regular excursions to the West. At one point, he even became the only non-American member of Chicago's pioneering AACM. His partners have included artists as varied as trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, guitarist Derek Bailey and saxophonist Mats Gustafsson. By contrast, Takahashi's renown resides in his work as a composer and performer of contemporary classical repertoire by Schoenberg, Webern, Cage, Xenakis (who he studied under in Berlin) as well as earlier works by Bach, and Satie. Clearly, then, this is an unusual encounter.
As a consequence, this music falls outside the avant-garde tradition. The two long tracks, each around the half-hour mark, follow an elusive path in which juxtaposed events and a confluence of moods sometimes seem as close as the participants come. But then one of those moments arrives which reveals the listening that has been going on all along, as in the delicate percussive dialogue at the end of "Lovely Silver 6000 km." Takahashi often takes a simple linear approach, sometimes almost like a nursery rhyme, then, at other times, offering a stream of evenly articulated notes which suggest he might be familiar with Cecil Taylor.
Toyozumi similarly avoids a polyrhythmic approach, instead producing a balanced sequence of unconventional textures from earthy drums, tappy percussion and untethered gongs and cymbals. Perhaps in recognition, he garners the lion's share of the solo space. Further accentuating the percussive nature of the date, Takahashi also wields various devices, notably at the beginning of "Shoulder Blade And Hip Joint" where his knocks, rattles and shakes abut Toyozumi's abrasions and rustles. Proceedings turn more demonstrative later, as crashes at the extremes of the keyboard match the drummer's bombastic strikes. It ends with fast rippling piano underpinned by reiterated whistle blowing and cymbal shimmer in exchanges which suggest an unseen theatrical element to the performance.
For those seeking approaches to improv removed from the norm, this session might just hit the spot.
Track Listing
Lovely Silver 6.000 km; Shoulder Blade and Hip Joint.
Personnel
Yuji Takahashi
pianoSabu Toyozumi
drumsAdditional Instrumentation
Yuji Takahashi - percussion Sabu Toyozumi - percussion
Album information
Title: The Quietly Clouds And A Wild Crane | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: NoBusiness Records
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Yuji Takahashi / Sabu Toyozumi
Album Review
John Sharpe
The Quietly Clouds And A Wild Crane
NoBusiness Records
Sabu Toyozumi
Wadada Leo Smith
Derek Bailey
Mats Gustafsson
Cecil Taylor