Tokyo Lama “Tokyo Lama” (ewe records) 2004

Tetsuro Kawashima—Tenor and Soprano sax
Akira Ishii—Piano
Makoto Nakamura—Piano
Daiki Yasukagawa—Bass
Pedro Martinez—Percussion
Robby Ameen—Drums

This excellent eight-song Latin jazz CD is more than just a blowing vehicle for Tetsuro Kawashima or a good-time percussion jam. It is both of those, of course, but the four Japanese jazz stalwarts together with the heavy-hitting Latin percussion experts create a truly group sound with great grooves and searing solos.

Martinez and Ameen are two of the most in-demand Latin percussion players around. Taking time off from Kip Hanrahan’s group, “Deep Rumba,” and their other groups in the New York Latin scene, they lay down tight, neat patterns that propel the other three (Ishii and Nakamura switch on each song) far and wide. They worked out very tight arrangements on the original compositions offered by almost everyone in the band. The tunes move comfortably back and forth between clave and 4/4, but the fast-flowing Latin accents and nimble rhythms give each song a particular dynamism. They are not “Latin-like” but the real thing.

Unlike many Latin jazz CDs, where they just lay down a tricky rhythm and jam, the eight tunes here are each distinctive. Yasukagawa’s “Complex” is just that, shifting time and harmonic frames with rapid-fire precision, with plenty of room for explosive percussion soloing. Nakamura’s “Lupin” is slow and meditative, with a strikingly pretty, melancholy melody. Kawashima’s “Sky Scraper” bounces along delightfully, gradually edging toward more and intense solos. Ishii’s “Dancin’” is perhaps the most fun of the eight, with an incredibly funky bass line over which the sax and piano lightly twirl and cavort.

The tunes line up into a coherent flow through the CD as well, each one answering the others with a different point of view and a nuanced delivery. These tunes are clearly not just thrown together for the session, and feel loose and flowing, despite the obvious rehearsing needed to pull them together. Kawashima’s long sax lines are some of his most inventive yet, despite recording with steady consistency over the past couple years. Like Ishii and Nakamura, Kawashima moves easily out and back in. The solos have a natural structure to them that dips into the melody in just the right proportions.

Intriguing and listenable, hopefully this will not be the only session arranged for Tokyo Lama. Though they play with verve and intensity, this group clearly has a lot more to say.