Label: Fresh Sound New Talent, 2020
Personnel - Kazuki Yamanaka: alto and soprano saxophones; Russ Lossing: piano; Cameron Brown: acoustic bass; Gerald Cleaver: drums.
New York-based Japanese saxophonist Kazuki Yamanaka puts together a multigenerational quartet - pianist Russ Lossing, bassist Cameron Brown, and drummer Gerald Cleaver - for his second album, Dancer in Nirvana. The CD is composed of eight Yamanaka originals plus an improvised piece created in the spur of the moment and, consequently, credited to the group. The latter number, “Epilogue”, closes out the album with avant-garde commotion, exploring unconditionally as it moves in a direction of ambiguity. The bandleader’s ideas vary in shape and timbre, but often get great responses from Lossing, with the quartet entering in momentary frantic spirals.
The Motian-esque “The Lost Sheep” embraces suspension, and its strong sense of exploration is corroborated with avant-jazz sympathy on “The Life of a Mushroom”, whose forward motion is settled by a fascinating groove in five.
“Stella’s Fancy” works in a bopish vein that takes it closer to a jazz standard. Launched by Lossing’s independent ramble, this sonic canvas is painted with assertive soprano strokes, a relaxed bass drive, and elegantly brushed drumming. It sort of prepares the tone for the next track, “Lady Peacock”, another bop-inclined piece that swings in great fashion.
Having the bass moving and grooving again in a swinging route - and complemented by Cleaver’s uniform ride cymbal pulse - “Elusive Mood” brings some breeziness in its clean-cut interconnecting sounds.
Statues of Buddhism in Kyoto served as an inspiration for the memorable title cut, which opens the record with impeccably synchronized movements and the exact amount of thrill needed for us to understand that this quartet lives somewhere between tradition and modernity. Contrasting moments are found when the improvisers have the spotlight - Lossing is pretty inventive in his speech, interspersing chordal work with single-note phrasing to achieve splendid colors; in turn, Yamanaka unhurriedly builds a narrative rich in emphatic melodicism and sporadic rhythmic figures, having Brown and Cleaver shaping the backbones with their known rhythmic robustness.
“John’s Green Waltz” is another highlight on the album. Written for the late guitarist and former mentor John Abercrombie, it’s expressed with emotion and intensity, building and releasing tension along the way.
Grade B+
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Dancer in Nirvana ► 03 - John’s Green Waltz ► 09 - Epilogue