Mark Tourian MT6
Someday May 7, 2015
Mark Tourian –bass岡崎好朗 Yoshiro Okazaki—trumpet近藤和彦Kazuhiko Kondo –sax片岡雄三Yuzo Kataoka –trombone加藤英介Eisuke Kato –piano大村亘Ko Omura –drumsSpecial guest: Hermon Mahari – trumpet
Mark Tourian’s sextet is a straight-ahead group that plays what can only be called perfect jazz. That might sound off-putting, since the rough and dirty edges of jazz are often its appeal. But Tourian and his veteran sidemen have so much experience, and so much technique, the music comes off feeling like it could not have been done any other way. Ernest Hemingway advised writers to, “Write the truest sentence that you know.” Tourian and band play the truest lines they know, and they know a lot of them.
The front line took all the melodies with bop timing, flying on standards like “Just in Time” and “My Funny Valentine.” The latter was done as a funk number, with slapping bass and big, fat solos. Other originals, like “Sweet Pea,” rose up from Tourian’s and the members’ very best musical selves. “Clean Up” had a leaping, up-and-over quality to it that invited everyone in the band to jump in and jam.Whether playing a Professor Longhair inspired number or re-arranging a standard, the solos were the center of attention. Okazaki, Kondo and Kataoka had plenty of room to show off their improvisational creativity. Their confident looseness comes from experience, but also from their character. Taking turns, they balanced each other just right with their own tone, style and voice. Vibrant on the lead lines, listening to them solo one by one was a special pleasure.
Each of those horn men lead their own group and their experience can be heard in the unhurried way they pulled out the inner core of each tune and made it their own. “What are they going to say next?” was the feeling that kept arising and being fulfilled.
Joining the group was trumpeter Hermon Mahari, over from Kansas City for a short visit. Mahari and Okazaki squared off for a great trumpet exchange in the middle of the closing song, drawing the crowd in even closer. Their contrast in styles showed both players to even better effect, and had everyone in the band smiling in appreciation. The rest of us in the house did the same, applauding as we smiled at the end.
Omura on drums fits tightly with Tourian’s big bass sound. Katoh on piano added a double-handed sound that made the tunes by Mingus and Ellington, especially, rich and full. Tourian as leader knows how to keep the group on fire, but focused enough to not get overheated. The band glowed like a coal on every number of both sets. This is a great sextet that needs to be recording, but they are not to be missed live.
Mark Tourian: http://www.marktourian.com/marktourian/webpages/index-m.htmlYuzo Kataoko: http://www.yasichiura.com/KataokaYuzo/Home.htmlYoshihiro Okazaki: http://www.yoshirojazz.sakura.ne.jpKazuhiko Kondo: http://www.kazuhikokondo.comEisuke Kato: http://www.sns.ne.jp/eisuke/Ko Omura: http://kojazz0829.wix.com/1981