Shinnosuke Takahashi "Rumination" (ewe) 2002
The first time I heard Shinnosuke Takahashi, he was just sitting in on drums, and after his first solo, saxophonist Seiji Tada turned around amazed and asked, “Are you really only 23?” He was, and now is just 24, but he plays like he’s been at the drum set a lot, lot longer. On this recording, he calls in the favors he’s accumulated playing behind groups all over town, and creates a great set of jazz.
It’s not just any drummer who can ask Yosuke Yamashita, Shigeharu Mukai, Tomonao Hara to sit in. When you add Masaaki Imaizumi, Daiki Yasukagawa, Yuki Arimasa, Nao Takeuchi, you have some of the best players in Tokyo all “ruminating” together. Their diverse styles and approaches are locked in place by Takahashi’s drumming. Rhythm has a central role in every tune, even though the melodies are sophisticated and lyrical. The configuration for each tune is slightly different, but you notice the difference as interesting, accentuating the players with consideration and coherence.
The first tune “Rumination” is a straight-ahead burner. The sound is tough, hard and uncompromising. Imaizumi keeps pace with Takahashi with long arcing lines at an incredibly fast tempo. Ornette Coleman’s “The Blessing” lays back into a more relaxed groove, with Hara adding mute trumpet. Takahashi holds the mix together tightly, whether fast, as on “On the Que Tee” or slow, with the more lyrical numbers.
“So Many Stars” slows down into a sexy lilt that’s cool and reflective--a different kind of rumination altogether. Arimasa offers lyrical piano behind the vibraphone of Yoshihiko Katori and the guitar of Kazuhiko Michishita. “Lost Piece” takes the tempo down even slower, and lets the beauty of Takahashi’s original melody come out shining. “The Mad Man Tells You” lets Yamashita go to work, with great free blowing from Takeuchi and Mukai that add sharp edges to a wild tune.
The final tune, “It’s Just Even!” kicks into a funkier, electric feel for a bouncy send-off that caps the spectrum of styles. Takahashi is not trying to be eclectic, he just is. Each of the tunes shows another side of his musical diversity, but also reveals a distinct, rhythmic approach. Even though Takahashi has not accumulated the breadth of experience of many older players, he seems to have learned depth first. This is an important and wonderful first release by a drummer who will be around for a long time to come.