Hiroshi Fukumura Quintet

Live at Akai Karasu March 16, 2003

Hiroshi Fukumura—trombone
Nao Takeuchi—tenor sax
Fumio Itabashi—piano
Nobuyoshi Ino—bass
Dairiki Hara—drums

Hiroshi Fukumura’s quintet started out with blues and ended with blues. That was an attempt perhaps to keep their energy grounded in the basics, but it didn’t work. Their energy was too strong to be contained by any form. The five players, all well-known on their own, could barely control the enthusiastic ideas and interactive synergy which overflowed through their live set.

Hara on drums set the pace from the first number, tossing in complex rhythms that disrupted and challenged the other players. His solo on the first-set closer worked on  cymbals with subtlety, tapping and brushing a wide variety of textures and rhythms. All through, Hara kept things interesting, listening carefully adding dense patterns of support to the soloists. Ino on bass contributed meaty solos. His heavy style kept everyone pulled back to the center and his solid time-keeping gave Hara room to explore.

Nao Takeuchi played with force and softness both. His lead on “I Thought About You” was delicate and beautiful. His long melodic lines were deeply felt and strongly delivered. He lowered down to a whisper then gradually wound around up to bursts of strident high notes. He didn’t use this range to impress—none of the players in this group has that kind of ego—but rather used it to develop the song in interesting directions.

Itabashi on piano amazed per his usual. He dropped into the songs so fully and completely, it was hard to follow at times; his ideas leapt so far ahead. He played with his entire body, leaping and pulling and thrashing like a madman, even while playing the most lyrical line imaginable. He worked the entire range of the keyboard, dipping into the strings when the tune ebbed into a free improvisation.

The trombone is always a somewhat unusual instrument, but Fukumura plays so naturally and with such a range of textures and sounds that it sounds like another set of instruments altogether. His playing was full, rounded and deeply considered. His compositions were especially interesting, in contrast to their functional titles, “H1” and “J1.” His way of leading the quintet gave maximum room to the individual members, and kept the optimum balance between freedom and order. The players could stretch into a completely loose style or pull back into a cool, tonic blues.

More than anything, though, Fukumura knows that good music comes from not constraining the vitality and spontaneity of each player. The group created musical energy through the friction of their differing approaches, but with the common idea of respecting each other’s uniqueness with powerful support. With only a handful of tunes, they created intense, exciting music that romped with ease.