Mizuki Wildenhahn adds an unusual percussive instrument through dance to the multi-arts Amu quartet of Wildenhahn, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, pianist Satoko Fujii, and percussionist Takashi Itani, heard on the CD and seen on the DVD of this 2-disc set of their unorthodox and absorbing live performance at Kanagawa Prefectural Lake Sagami-ko Exchange Center in 2018.
Format: CD & DVD Condition: New Released: 2018 Country: Japan Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold w/ booklet Recorded at Kanagawa Prefectural Lake Sagami-ko Exchange Center, Kanagawa, Japan on July 1, 2018, by Tatsuya Yoshida (.
"Weave, a special CD/DVD set by multi-arts quartet Amu, blends dance and improvised music into a unique sensory experience. With sound and motion, pianist Satoko Fujii, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, percussionist Takashi Itani, and percussive dancer Mizuki Wildenhahn make music so vivid and colorful you can practically see it and percussive footwork that adds a dimension to the dance that you can hear. Weave will be released on October 26, 2018 via Libra Records
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Amu is the latest project in a 17-year friendship and artistic collaboration between Wildenhahn, Fujii, and Tamura. Bassist Mark Dresser introduced them at an Orchestra Tokyo concert in Japan back in 2001 and they immediately clicked. They have since toured Germany, Japan and the U.S. in several different ensembles including Hakidame-ni-Tsuru with guitarist Yasuhiro Usui and percussionist Takaaki Masuko, and Dos Dos, a quartet that also featured percussionist and Radio Tarifa musical director Faín S. Dueñas. "It is hard to explain our chemistry," Fujii says. "I can feel what she is dancing, even without looking, although I do watch her dance when we perform together, because I like her dancing. I think we are using a kind of sixth sense when we play." Weave at last documents their extraordinary audio-visual magic.
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Amu, which means "to knit" in Japanese, is the perfect name for a quartet that so effortlessly interlaces melody, sound, rhythm, and motion into intricate and beautiful patterns. Each of the six completely improvised quartet tracks (the seventh, "Hajori" is by the instrumentalists alone) is a collective orchestration of a dazzling range of sound and motion.
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The opening "Megosona" evolves from the subtle sounds of trumpet half valve squeaks, the quiet dragging of a foot along the floor, and nuanced piano chords into a high-energy climax highlighted by Fujii's rapidly developing lines buoyed by Wildenhahn's clearly articulated heel and toe rhythms and Itani's percolating explorations of rhythm and timbre. There's a similar conversational ebb and flow to "Ubega," a beautifully shaped improvisation that opens with a multi-hued kaleidoscopic percussion solo, then moves into a collective improvisation blending flamenco-influenced footwork, soaring, whooshing trumpet, and Fujii's short, flitting motifs and calm, stately chords. On each track the band seems to discover something new and beguiling to investigate. The bright, powerful "Bittagando" revels in speed and energy. "Gorondari" swings between sonic extremes, with Tamura's slightly mad and frantic trumpet muttering giving way to a spacious dance and percussion duo.
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The crackling conclusion features Fujii and Tamura freewheeling improvisations powered by Wildenhahn and Itani's locked-in rhythms."
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The artfully directed DVD gives viewers the fully immersive experience of the band in action, with Wildenhahn's gestures and body movements integrated into the sound. Fujii conceives of the CD more as an invitation to the listener's imagination. "A friend of mine said it was quite interesting to listen to the CD while imagining the dance," Fujii says. "I think you can listen to the CD like that. In Japan we have a sense of beauty in which what is left unsaid is important. The artist doesn't have to explain or express everything and you can enjoy reading between the lines. I really hope listener can enjoy the CD in this way."-Libra
DVD is NTSC format, 720x480 16:9 wtih PCM 2-channel audio, region free. Include a 6 page foldout insert with text in English and Japanese.