Ub-X

Piano, bass and drums form the engine of jazz. Most jazz bands expand the basic building block by adding other instruments or simply rely on the familiar interplay of jazz's most common, self-contained unit. Other groups, though, work from within to upend the conventions of the piano trio to form a completely new sound. One of the latter few, Ub-X is a group that sounds like no other.

With disconcerting rhythms, startling dynamic shifts and strange, mesmerizing vocals, Ub-X has recreated the standard jazz piano trio in a remarkably new form. The members of the group, pianist and vocalist Ichiko Hashimoto, bassist Nobuyoshi Ino and drummer Atsuo Fujimoto all play jazz, but in quickened, suggestive ways.

Each brings their own unique artistry to the trio. Fujimoto's drumming flows into free jazz, then ebbs back to a central groove. Ino's bass thunders and pounds, then seems to float notes up in the air. Hashimoto's vocals sound like eavesdropped conversations set to snippets of recollected melodies. Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole they are not.

With a new CD out this summer, compelling live shows around Tokyo and a Japan tour this December, Ub-X has clearly found their own voice. Talking in a coffee shop along the Inokashira Line, Hashimoto, with punctuating comments from Fujimoto, hastened to explain that their different approach did not arise from an aversion to standard jazz.

"It was a natural development from the beginning, not a criticism. Jazz standards are written in English mostly, so without a lot of study, the meaning may not be clear. When you sing, a lot of different meanings can be created and sometimes there is a meaning that I just do not know how to convey. But still, I want to get across my feeling," she explained.

The trio's two previous CDs, "Miles Blend" and "Miles Away" (released under "The Ichiko Hashimoto Trio") worked towards clarity and completeness. Now, though, Hashimoto and band incorporate a highly expressive approach based on allusiveness and ambiguity. Both live and on CD, her vocals remain deeply enmeshed in the total sound, rather than precisely out front. Listeners have to almost physically lean forward to grasp the fleeting tones and murmured words.

Hashimoto explained this curious imprecision, "I don't think of this as vocals or as singing exactly. I'm not really a singer in this trio. Maybe it's a quartet. The voice is not really an instrument exactly, either, but it is kind of close to an instrument."

Whether working with standards, Brazilian songs or her own originals, Hashimoto's gentle, expressive voice forms its own quasi-linguistic patterns. Hashimoto, struggling a bit to explain, said, "The words have been stripped of meaning, so you can not think about them. It is not even that this word is sad or fun, but if you listen closely even more can come out of the words. It's more that it is like a word or is a fragment of meaning. The fragments build up, so you can use your imagination. It's much more unconscious, built on impressions and emotions."

If Ub-X relied solely on this beguiling Ur-language, they would be rare enough, but they also blend together a diversity of rhythms. Each member of the group pulls and pushes freely on the central groove, dislocating the beat and then dropping it back in sync. Hashimoto said, "At the beginning, we always have a set larger tempo. Inside that, we can make fine distinctions of rhythm that are more complex. Though everyone has their own very different rhythm, overall, the tempo is together."

This free-yet-focused approach to rhythm feels scattered all over the place and then satisfyingly right on target. Fujimoto added, "It's polyrhythmic and polyphonic. Together with rhythm comes pleasure and delight, so 'groove' has that meaning, too."

Groove is a central element of the band, whose actual full name is "Ubiquitous Groove Project X." Though the shortened form fits better on CD covers and club listings, Hashimoto and Fujimoto carefully explained how this name encompasses their approach. "Ubiquitous, from the Latin, means the energy vibration that shows the connection of all living things. That's a feeling we want in the music. It is a kind of resonance and vibration that comes before societies and before human feeling even, part of the history of living beings," Hashimoto said.

Fujimoto said, "'X' means the unknown, a kind of mystery. We want to always include an undefined element." With a thoughtful expression, Hashimoto added, "The sound is more like being the medium channeling sound from the spiritual world."

Ultimately, though, the only mystery of Ub-X is they are not more widely known. Though Hashimoto has released some 20 recordings and the trio has worked together for 8 years, this CD points in a fresh direction. In January, Ub-X will record a new set of songs for release next spring. You can be sure they will not be taking a dictionary or metronome into the studio with them this time, either.

(Originally published in The Japan Times, December 1, 2006)