Koichi Matsukaze Quartet “Private Notes”

"Private Notes"
(Studio Wee) 2005

Koichi Matsukaze—tenor sax, alto sax, flute
Takayuki Kato—guitar
Hiroaki Mizutani—bass
Akira Sotoyama—drums

Saxophonist Matsukaze's new CD starts out with an indirect listlessness that gradually, like a musical stream building into a strong, flowing river, achieves an expansive, complex power. The first tune, "k2," kind of pokes around, like an orchestra tuning up, then song by song, the quartet travels a huge territory of improvisation and very cool expression.

The second song "j.c. nagase" is where the drive takes off. Kato's guitar, Mizutani's wildly thumping bass, and Sotoyama's multi-directional energy drive this funky, soaring number. Matsukaze's solos are robust and edgy, while Kato spices up the sound with weird feedback before dropping back into an intense groove. Even funkier is "No. 513," which just explodes into wide-open free funk. The tune has a tensile quality that is a very hip, good time. Matsukaze's solos here are some of his best, with everyone else throwing down all around him.

At other points, and on every song at some point, the band works with very free jazz style. They always come back together into recognizable forms but work with a counter-balance  of energies that push and pull between them. The band also has an easy sense of driving forward very hard, then dropping back calmly into a slow, exploratory mode. They do these shifts comfortably, though, unlike many free jazz addicts, as part of the way they naturally express themselves. At whatever speed, and in whatever mode, they never lose their sense of direction. You never feel rushed, but never feel like you're being slowed down, either.

It's not all exploration, though. A special standout on the ballad side is "Blue-black Stairs," an especially lovely, soft and delicate tune. Its understatement really grabs you with sadness and bluesy feeling, like someone playing alone at the end of a long, late-night jam session, unwilling to go home, wanting to play just a bit more.

This kind of jazz is sophisticated and powerful. The combination of deep grooves and a spilling-out of notes in all directions make a powerful combination. The quartet listens to each other, but listen to their inner selves as well. They are "together apart," in other words, and in just the right way to derive the maximum energy from their musical experience and sharp artistic sense.