Giovedì 27 Mar 2008, 0:41

Some notes from Copenhagen Jazz House on a very cold tuesdaynight 25th March 2008:
I guess nothing can go wrong when Otomo Yoshihides New Jazz Orchestra takes you out for a dark lunch, just before midnight. First set was supposedly free, and the band served what was expected from them: some hardcore japanese noise, mixed with pure meditative sounds from Otomos electronic temple. It was all great, but the second set felt even more special than the first (others might think the opposite, and it would be intresting to read other visitors opinions) so I´m gonna take a closer look on it.
The second set had a completely different frame: ONJO played Eric Dolphy´s "Out To Lunch", following that theme from the beginning almost to the end. The encore was a step to the side: an old japanese hit from the 1960´s.
I have been listening to Dolphy´s music for almost twenty years now, and in my opinion, most artists fails in one way or another when playing Dolphy tunes; mainly because it´s kind of impossible to "overtriumph" or at least, to add something to songs recorded by one of the greatest individualists ever, in the history of jazz. (One rather funny exception is Wayne Horvitz and Pigpen´s version of "Miss Ann" - if you can find it! It´s not what I would call "brilliant", but at least it´s hilarious!) One thing that I didn´t expect from ONJO playing "Out To Lunch", was how close they actually went. The sound was sometimes not far from the original, but always leaving the original after a while, to discover what´s on the left or right side of the compositions. I probably take a little bit too far, if I start comparing Axel Dörner (trumpet) and Takara Kumiko (vibraphone) with Hubbard & Hutcherson, but in a way they were pretty close. It was like watching a keyscene from a favorite movie, with new actors (yes, I know it´s called a "remake" for christ´s sake!) just to realise that the whole story suddenly moves into unfamiliar ground. Mats Gustafsson on baritonesaxophone was kind of doing the Dolphypart, with incredible imagination, expression and flexibility, but more than anything he sounded like himself. On top of it all were Otomo Yoshihide´s howling guitars, plus samplers and computers and more horns: I hope I´m excused if I didn´t catch every name in this large ensemble!
I still have to write something about the japanese sound. A really great contribution to the sound came from Ko Ishikawa´s sho, adding a new dimension to the music. (For people who aren´t familiar with this instrument, it is a japanese mouth organ, rarely heard outside shinto temples. You´re likely to have heard it in samurai movies from the golden age though: movies by Kenji Mizoguchi and Masaki Kobayashi mostly features the "sho".) It was Eric Dolphy in Japan, instead of just a bunch of japanese guys playing Dolphy tunes.
So it seems like the lunch was a bento this time.
Takara Kumiko is a member of another great band called "Vincent Atmicus" and so is tromboneplayer Aoki Taisei, bassplayer Mizutani Hiroaki, and friendly wildman Yoshigaki Yasuhiro on drums. "Vincent Atmicus" is more groovebased, and if I dare to make a quick and somewhat foul description: this is what might have happened if Steve Reich had joined The Lounge Lizards, and then invited a Jean-Luc Ponty that suddenly became humble… Many japanese musicians are blessed with not being orthodox; a mentalstate which opens up for creativity, new sounds, and even fun. That is the case with "Vincent", as well as with "ONJO".
Sadly, we probably won´t hear a lot more from these guys in Scandinavia: audiences here still being kept busy by Mike Stern cd´s from 1985, or Richard Bona. Hey, clap your hands and don´t forget to sing along. Or how about a summertour with Herbie Hancock playing "Radiohead", anyone? Oh, I forgot to tell you I´m orthodox.
By the way, somebody should make a documentary about the audience. I don´t think I have seen a larger crowd of bearded men, since I travelled in Syria 1993.