Betsuni Nanmo Klezmer "Omedeto"
(Nani Records 2008)
A great collective of various musicians (i.e. too many to list!)
Klezmer big bands are few and far between, in any country, but in Japan, it seems an almost unbelievable accomplishment. Following on the heels of the few small klezmer bands like Komacha Klezmer, Betsuni Nanmo Klezmer is an amazing achievement.
Klezmer is hard to describe but could be called "Jewish urban dance folk jazz," or something like that. Considering the number of Jewish musicians in Japan (a small handful, maybe none of whom play klezmer), creating such magical music seems a challenge greater than straight-ahead jazz or blues or other music done so well here. But, well, why not? Klezmer and Japan may be an odd couple, but an interesting one.
The CD "Omedeto" is packed full of full-on, have-fun energy. The rhythms are amazingly complex and tricky. Mixing middle eastern, jazz, a kind of clave, free jazz, and a batch of other pulsing, wheeling beats and grooves, the whole ensemble seems to fall apart into rhythmic and harmonic turmoil, then mysteriously pop back together again into a punchy melody and danceable beat. It's as if a fight broke out at a drunken wedding party, then, after it was resolved, the dancing started up again! Over and over!
The is one of the biggest and best, with a long list of members, eighteen to be exact, who hail all over the place, just as klezmer does in its mix of musical elements. The musicians are part of other klezmer bands, the alternative music scene, the free jazz world, singers of different sorts, and jazz and ex-jazz players; in short, a strange cacophony of experiences that make strikingly focused music.
The songs are divided into tracks, but just barely. Each one shifts so many times, in focus, melody and approach, that it feels like they could have put the track marker just about anywhere. People scream out and reeds wail as if running through the jungle, naked. Then the centrifugal tones all converge into a coherent togetherness that picks another direction and takes off again. The music of course is highly planned, but feels totally loose and wildly unpredictable.
Many songs, or at least parts of all the songs, are delivered with a kind of comic genius, as if they are background music for some raving lunatic cartoon. Other parts rely on a tough energy with a muscular marching beat. Sometimes, the melodies can become too cute, perhaps as parody, but perhaps just as cuteness, before racing off to find a strong oom-pah groove. The two-beat rhythms feel like a rollercoaster that cranks up faster and faster, slowing down only when you least expect it. This great, wild, thrill of a CD may not fit everyone's taste, but if you like high energy in unexpected forms, it's a rare treat.