Hakkohzan Chamber Ensemble

"Hakkohzan"

(ZiZo) 2002

Yosuke Yamashita: Piano

Shigeharu Mukai: Trombone

Tomohiro Yahiro: Percussion     

This lovely CD is just what it states--chamber ensemble jazz. The tunes are extremely well planned, superbly scored and carefully performed. They form a world tour of musical forms, feelings and textures. The first tune “Hakkohzan”(for English readers, the title comes from a combination of the first three kanji of the musicians’ last names), has the three players working intimately and precisely from the first note. The second track, “Samarkand” has a middle eastern feeling to it that lets all three relax, while “Calypyso Hakkohzan” is maybe the only chamber music arrangement of Caribbean rhythms and melodies ever performed. “Festival of Lights” gives all three players, but Yamashita in particular, space to explore free jazz sensibilities. They keep an Indian feeling to the only song not written by one of the three, but add plenty of spices of their own.

“Forever,” by Mukai, is a lovely melody, that moves slowly and steadily in a lyrical orbit. “Purple Field” digs into a Spanish-esque groove, with interesting solos all around. “Fuga de la Liberation” has an ancient European feel to it that circles and swoops. “Tone Whole” starts and stops leaving huge spaces inside to play around with in a mischievous minimalist way. “Afro Blue,” a nice choice to close with, re-establishes a recognizable jazz beat, but one that still has more African than American in it. What’s so interesting with only three musicians is how they share responsibility for the overall layers of sound.

Yahiro adds as much counterpoint and harmony as rhythm, using a wide variety of percussive sounds. Yamashita takes over the rhythmic drive much of the time, employing the percussive aspects of the piano in intriguing, subtle ways. Mukai covers the melody lines, but adds deep bass lines and wah-wah accents, here and there, with a drummers’ sensibilities. In short, the interaction between the three allows them to move freely throughout the sound. This CD may dissatisfy some listeners’ who expect a jazz beat, and looser solos. Instead of those predictable jazz elements, though, they deliver a chamber feeling that develops the sound with innovative conceptions and a very high level of musicianship.