Banda Caliente

September 8, 2005Satin Doll, RoppongiKatsunori Fukay—pianoGetao Takahashi—bassShinpei Inoue—fluteTappy Iwase—drumsAtsushi Tsuzurano—tenor saxMichiaki Tanaka—percussionMasakuni Takeno—tenor saxMasanori Suzuki—trumpetHideaki Nakaji—trombonePolished and professional, Fukai's Banda Caliente is one of the longest-running Latin groups in Tokyo—and for good reason. Their experience translates into hard-driving, fun-loving music that packs the club every time they play. At Satin Doll, strangers had to cozy up together on the sofas it was so crowded, but no one seemed to mind. Most were long-time fans and Latin music lovers, and knew Banda Caliente's playlist well.A trio of Fukai, Takahashi and Iwase warmed up the audience, before bringing up the full band on for "Manteca." This classic Latin bop number pumped up the energy level to where most bands end up. The solos burned. At the end, unbelievably they mentioned this exact horn section had not played together before. They sounded like they had been together for years. Moving on to "Perdido," the horn section played one fantastic solo after the next, everyone getting further into the rhythm and the feel. They band kept loose, but with tight control over the dynamics, moving from silence to full-on blast with ease and confidence. It's impossible to pick out particular solos as each built on the others, with Fukai's fingerwork in particular pushing them on.Besides the bop-like Latin numbers, Banda Caliente also dug into funky grooves. Soloing over Latin and funk are two of the most difficult rhythms to keep, but the horn section just rode those tricky patterns like champion surfers—thriving on the difficulty and energy. At times, the band played too fast to follow, though they slowed down, it seemed, to let the crowd clap along. On the slower theme from "Manta's Island," one young woman in the audience even burst into tears, overcome by the lovely solos and delicate sound.Takahashi's vocal improvisation, always a crowd-pleaser, was clever, heartfelt and human. A duet with flautist Shinpei Inoue and Fukai was done without miking, and left everyone in the house hushed in amazement. Whether bursting open a Dave Valentin tune, or jumpstarting a cha-cha-cha number, Fukai's band stays deeply and passionately in the best and coolest areas of Latin jazz.