Saxophonist Kazutoki Umezu is a restless bandleader. While residing in Japan, he has often looked outside his homeland for inspiration - from his early disco jazz that referenced Dr. Buzzard and Kid Creole to the hard edged jazz of the Mix Dynamite Trio and his Betsuni Nanmo Klezmer big band, which features out vocal improvisor Makagami Koichi singing fake Yiddish. Umezu also convincingly plunged himself into New York's downtown scene in the '90s, recording with members of the Jazz Passengers for the Knitting Factory label. His new Kiki Band, interestingly, falls somewhere between New York and his homeland. Although the quartet is more than half Japanese, in style it's closer to the records he made with the likes of Curtis Fowlkes, Wayne Horvitz and Marc Ribot.

The eight tracks on Alchemic Life were written by three of the four members of the band, but share a heavy, riff-driven focus. With electric guitar and bass and Joe Trump's pounding drums, they stomp like a rock band, dominated by Umezu's piercing alto squeal. Guitarist Natsuki Kido plays heavy rhythms with a bluesy edge and bassist Takeharu Hayakawa lays deep, thick foundations. The whole thing is put together with a prog-like precision and slid into an attractive gatefold mini-LP cover. It isn't terribly different from what Umezu has done before, but it's the sort of high-spirited energy he always can be counted on to deliver.