Fumio Itabashi Group

Live at Shinjuku Pit Inn April 6, 2002

Fumio Itabashi—piano

(others, help with translation?)

Fumio Itabashi is as wild a pianist as he is a leader. His light-hearted approach should not be mistaken for lightness, however. His group may appear to be loose, smiling and joking, but they are as intense, focused and dedicated as any collection of players in Tokyo. Itabashi has found a genuinely balanced approach that creates a very unusual feeling, in the music, in the musicians’ and in the listeners. His songs use bits and pieces of African, Carribean, blues, bop and post-modern music, but they mix together smoothly. The melodies stick in your brain, even while the solos are complex and unrepeatable. He’s pushing for a new syntax, even while keeping some of the same vocabulary. At times, the sound is almost comical, sounding like some soundtrack for cartoons. But at others, the sections of the piece switch so fast and furiously, it’s hard to keep track. The bouncy rhythms of one part were offset by hard-edged jamming at others. Somehow, it all works. As a leader, he is able to peg out a large territory for the players to move around in, and they take the opportunity seriously. Rather than be self-indulgent with their playing, the soloists delivered top-notch blasts of energy that kept direction. The brass players on the front line were fascinated with the solos of the other players, turning and smiling, and occasionally bending over in laughter. The group needed two drummers not to stir up the energy, as with many groups, but just to keep the energy corralled. Solos by all the players relied on almost no conventional phrases, but searched the edges of their instruments and abilities for new ideas and sounds. Itabashi himself led by example. His playing was so fast and wild that you wondered how he could move around so much and still manage to play, but then again, he could hardly play like that and NOT move around. However fast he played, though, he returned to interesting resolutions and catchy melodies. The audience was clearly entranced. There were obviously old fans in the audience who jumped in on the singing choruses, but a lot of new listeners as well. They’ll be fans from now on.