Kiki Band

Shinjuku Pit InnAugust 31, 2014Kazutoki Umezu – saxesNatsuki Kido – guitarTakeharu Hayakawa - bassJoe Trump – drums

 

  

 

The Kiki Band is a powerhouse of a band that has perhaps toured outside Japan more than any other jazz group, though “jazz” may not be quite the right genre to slip them into. They are a band of equals where everyone can be themselves and bring into the music their own special interests, melding it all into a unique sound that has filled their live shows with devoted fans for over 15 years and eight CDs.Unlike some groups who take a few songs to warm up, the Kiki Band leaps right into it from note one. Listening to them, even from the back of the room, is like facing a front line of football linemen--they are heavy, tough and ready to play. Trump pounds the skins so hard you think they’ll break. Kido jumps in and out of speed metal guitar. Hayakawa drops a heavy funk bass into every tune. Umezu plays two saxes, interweaving Middle Eastern dervishes with free jazz flourishes, when one sax is just not enough.This is not bang-away jazz-rock, nor would the term “punk jazz” quite fit either. The power of the players is simply unfiltered, so that a very unique blend of diverse influences comes together into a potent musical alloy that is nuanced, complex and high energy. Yes, the band is loud, open, free and that is surely the most appealing part of their music. However, their playing to the full comes more from an obsession with electric music, but with playing emotionally open. Their music is filled with intense emotions that have to come out. And do.Playing a selection of songs culled from their 15 years of touring and eight studio albums, plus a couple live ones, the fans in the standing only room knew each one. This is a band that plays the songs vastly differently each time, yet recognizably, as well. “Dancing Bones” from first album “Kiki” in 2001 was funky and fun, very loose and lithe, as the title suggests. Swapping lead melody back and forth, Kido and Umezu kicked the song into high gear. Hayakawa jumped into a great solo, using the bass as a guitar part of the time and almost as percussion the rest of the time.“Black Jack” from the 2007 release “Demagogue” is intense blues, or almost. It is full on and loud, but dips from blues into other nearby musical patterns, and brings back whatever each soloist finds there. Each of their songs is always a wild ride, but there’s also always a strap to hang on to. “Make Make” from “A Chrysalis’ Dream” in 2010 was as much rock as jazz, or as much jazz as rock, depending on which direction you’re coming from. “Vietnamese Gospel” from “Alchemic Life” released in 2008 brought in weird tonalities, different rhythmic pulses, and was still great fun.The band loves mixing influences, but they also love letting their emotions pour out into the music. The huge streams of feeling never get in the way of the complexity of the music, nor does the well-conceived structure ever impinge on the feelings. The Kiki Band seems to have found all the right balances, and because of that they create intense, beautiful and big fun music. One of the best bands in Japan!