Yoichi Murata Funk Night

Caught live at Shinjuku Pit Inn July 15, 2002
Yoichi Murata--trombone
Hirokazu Ogura--guitar
Onozuka-- keyboards
Hideki Matsubara--bass
Yasuo Sano--drums    

Yoichi Murata and band play real funk--uncut funk, raw funk--and then slather on layers of intense solos. Murata’s other bands, Solid Brass in particular, also base their sound on funky rhythms, with other elements such as crisp horn section harmonies and hard bop soloing. This band, though, is more intense funk and succeeds wonderfully. The rather young audience was in constant motion. They seemed to keep moving to the beat even during the break. Many bands get the rhythm right, but can’t take funk solos, or they jam in too many different notes, at too fast a tempo. Murata’s band, though, relaxed fully into the beat and then added well-constructed solos that were exciting without sacrificing complexity. Ogura’s guitar fills and “chunky” chords were in just the right measure, waiting for the empty spots but still leaving space. Onozuka on keyboards added punchy counter-rhythms and broke the tension wide open when he soloed himself, drawing not only applause but whoops of joy from the crowd. Matsubara on bass and Sano on drums were too busy keeping everyone “deep in the pocket,” but they’ve studied their James Brown records seriously. Murata’s solos were the most extended. His trombone stayed within a more narrow range than with his jazzier bands, but mainly because he was enjoying himself so much. Every note was well-chosen and natural. His originals and arrangements kept all the musicians together, but gave them room to improvise in their own way as well. It’s hard to believe some things that musicians tell you, but Murata said this quintet only had a chance to practice that afternoon. Sometimes, over-practice and excessive planning restrains musicians from taking chances and slipping fully into the groove, always trying to stick to what was planned. There was none of that overly self-conscious hesitation here. Instead, it felt as if they had been playing together for years. It’s hard to believe some things that musicians’ managers tell you, too, so I can’t imagine that this group will not be recording soon. Hopefully, they will, but until then, the five were clearly so pleased at how well they played that they’ll surely be playing together again soon. Don’t miss them.