Mambo Inn at Asagaya Staccato
June 17, 2023
Steve Sacks – saxophones, flute
Jonathan Katz – piano
Hiroyasu Ito 伊藤寬康 – bass
Yoshiro Suzuki鈴木ヨシロー – timbales
Hidequi Sato佐藤英樹—congas
Guest: Atsushi Matsunaga 松永敦 – bass
For over a decade, Mambo Inn has created some of the most sophisticated, soulful, and enjoyable Latin music in Japan. Combining Sacks’ global experience, Katz’s jazz chops, and the vibrant Latin rhythms of Ito’s bass, Suzuki’s timbales and Sato’s congas, (they learned in Cuba), the group makes serious Latin music.
But not always serious. They enjoy the upbeat fun of Latin music and deliver it with warmth. And they don’t mind playing around a bit, too. What about Chopin in Cuban clave? It works amazingly well in their hands. And when soloing on Cuban Chopin, why not throw in some tight bebop lines as well? They do that, too.
“Buenas Noticias,” (good news) started off the first set with a tight rhythm and an open, sunny melody. Just a few bars had people out of their chairs in a club with barely had room to sit, much less dance. No matter. Everyone grooved in place as the rhythms got even stronger through the night.
Their cover of the great Cuban pianist Emiliano Salvador’s “Puerto Padre” was especially impressive. Suzuki and Sato were amazing on percussion, accented by Ito hitting bass notes right where they ought to be. The arrangement of this classic Cuban song delivered dreamy harmony with earthy, even gutsy, rhythm.
The arrangement of Henry Mancini’s “Sunflower” was lovely and slow, with a calming feeling. You could almost see dancers’ legs sliding across the dance floor. Katz’s arrangement of the classic Japanese song “Umi” was equally lovely. One didn’t know where to listen, to the old melody floating in the air, or the driving rhythm giving it traction.
“Za Hong Kong Mambo Inn,” a tribute to Tito Puento, featured an even wilder percussive drive. With Katz’s piano delivering clave-style comping and Sacks soloing with tasteful complexity, it was tensile and vibrant.
The standard “Summertime” fit into a Latin arrangement spectacularly well. Joined by bassist Matsunaga, everyone soloed even more fully here, and everyone in the club knew the song. The full house audience sang and danced along in their minds, at least.
The fast tempo of “Green Sauce,” a Katz original, was nimble, almost like a double clave, a polyrhythmic pleasure. A cover of “Nuages” by Django Reinhardt made it feel like all of Django’s music should have leaned into Latin, and could have with the right arrangers.
The set closed out with a Latin version of Gerry Mulligan’s “Rocker” from “Birth of the Cool.” The layered harmonies gave Sacks, and Katz, too, yet another chance to really improvise. The encore of “Can you Feel the Love Tonight” from “The Lion King” by Elton John had an arrangement that took out all the sweetness and added spice. Just as they’d done through both sets, Mambo Inn balanced all the parts for a great driving full-on sound.
