Jazz Guitar Summit

Yoshiaki Okayasu—guitar
Kyoshi Sugimoto—guitar
Takao Naoi--guitar
Sadanori Nakamure—guitar
Marlene—vocal
Ikuo Sakurai—bass
Hideo Sekine--drums

Live at Sweet Basil’s
January 18, 2002

It is rare to hear four guitarists up on the same stage at the same time. Egos simply won’t allow it. Often enough guitarists can manage duets, more easily if one player plays back and the other lead. So it was a fascinating opportunity January 18 at Sweet Basil’s to hear four accomplished, respected guitarists happily sharing one stage. It was even more fascinating to think they encompass three generations and four distinctive styles. Sadanori Nakamure was the senpai, and as if to emphasize the point brought along a vintage amplifier to make his cool, mellow tones even smoother. His style of playing was the most traditional, but for all the right reasons, sticking to standards like “How Deep is the Ocean.” His playing has all the rough edges rubbed off, leaving a clean, direct tone. Kyoshi Sugimoto’s playing is the most bluesy, with fast, rhythmic chording, pulled flats and hanging vibrato. Takao Naoi played with the most bop inflections, ripping off tight, quickly flowing solos that mixed well with the other players. The youngest of the four, Yoshiaki Okayasu, has a lyrical style, which produced beautiful takes on ballads. To hear them each in turn take a solo on “Autumn Leaves” left a deep impression on just how different electric guitar can sound. They all construct their solos with very different considerations in mind on points such as: volume, direction, rhythm, harmony and fluidity. Their styles, approach and tone somehow all blended together, though, with each of them knowing clearly not only how to support the others, but more importantly how to stay out of the way. They overlapped but always so that the others’ particular contribution could be heard. Guest vocalist Marlene was excellent, though I was not entirely clear how vocals fit into a guitar summit. The weakest point of the evening was the overall showiness. More playing and less talking would have given more opportunities for the different players to contrast their technique. The large crowd hardly complained, though, except for more encores.