Saxophonist Francois Carrier joins Shibusashirazu director & double bassist Daisuke Fuwa, drummer Takashi Itani, and alto saxophonist Masayo Koketsu (also of Shibusashirazu) for a live performance at Yamaneko-ken, in Saitama to capture this 6-part suite of intensely creative free jazz, the inventive rhythm section driving both saxophonists into both raucous and beautiful territory.
Format: CD Condition: New Released: 2020 Country: Lithuania Packaging: Jewel Case Recorded live at Yamaneko-ken, in Ogose, Saitama, Japan, on December 7th, 2019, by Francois Carrier.
"Recorded live at Yamaneko-ken, Ogose, Saitama, Japan, in December 2019, Japan Suite includes 6 kind free jazz songs in Japanese style. The fantastic idea of this album is actually to confront kind free jazz phrasing of Francois Carrier with the truly free jazz phrasing of Masayo Koketsu. That is actually the second amazing aspect of this album: the battle of two alto saxophones. The opening monumental "Uchi-soto - Inside Outside" is a great illustration of these aspects.
All of this happened with the help of the amazing rhythm section of Daisuke Fuwa and Takashi Itani: imaginative, creative and expressive. "Kacho-fugetsu - The Beauties of Nature" is notable for the incredible load of joy of joint making music. It is a more traditional track with a "walking bass" structure, but a completely crazy conversation of altos that develops into an orgiastic free jazz explosion.
"Rakuyou - Falling Leaves" is the most beautiful track of the album - a slow ballad-like track with heart breaking howls of the two saxophonists. "Ogose", which is the name of a town, starts with a wonderful bass solo and develops into another tears-squeezing ballad with an eruptive and expressive final . "Yuzu - Citron" returns to the more powerful climates in terms of saxophone phrasing, keeping, however, a moderate tempo. "Kaze to kumo ni noboru - Climb the wind and clouds" end this outstanding, but unusual record of Francois: it is without any doubts his music, yet very different from what were used to. A multi-carat diamond!!!"-Maciej Lewenstein