NATSUKI TAMURA - Summer Tree
LIBRA RECORDS CD 101-070
Natsuki Tamura, trumpet, piano, wok; Satoko Fujii, voice (on Summer Wind)
Recorded at home, Kobe City, Japan
Libra Records tell us that Tamura recorded a foundation track for each of the four works on this album, then added further tracks on top, thus creating dense, richly textured pieces. Summer Tree and Summer Dream have composed themes from the muted trumpet, with improvised passages laid over: the other two are entirely improvised. There is no post-production editing, manipulation or mixing; every sound is heard as it was played.
Natsuki Tamura is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music, both at Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He has refined his skills and his art while living in New York and Tokyo and has played in many concerts and festivals, all over the world.
In Summer Tree, Tamura once again dismantles the conventions of the trumpet, as is his wont. Now it is alarming and complex, sinister and dark. The title track has opened in a disturbing and peculiar wail, the trumpet arising from this frightening sound environment to transform itself from the unknown to the familiar. There is, though, a mystical facet to the music, arising from the nature of the experimentation, the improvisation and the beautiful playing, all of which create a sense of remoteness.
There is one more factor which adds to and multiplies the effect of spirituality invoked by this music. Pianist-composer Satoko Fujii joins husband Tamura – on vocals in track 3 – for only the second time in her career. Now she is using a broad gamut of non-verbal discourses – howling, screeching and warbling, altogether sounding at times like a lingua franca, alternatively like an unheard-of, unspoken language. This Summer Wind adds further to the feeling of unmitigated tension that is present throughout the album.
Sometimes the music is discovered in some very murky environments, but it is always superbly fashioned and distinguished by its perception and its perils. It is filled with astonishments, is highly sensitive and exudes passion and excitement. Summer Tree is a truly astounding and outstanding Avant-garde jazz release.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
LIBRA RECORDS CD 101-070
Natsuki Tamura, trumpet, piano, wok; Satoko Fujii, voice (on Summer Wind)
Recorded at home, Kobe City, Japan
Libra Records tell us that Tamura recorded a foundation track for each of the four works on this album, then added further tracks on top, thus creating dense, richly textured pieces. Summer Tree and Summer Dream have composed themes from the muted trumpet, with improvised passages laid over: the other two are entirely improvised. There is no post-production editing, manipulation or mixing; every sound is heard as it was played.
Natsuki Tamura is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music, both at Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He has refined his skills and his art while living in New York and Tokyo and has played in many concerts and festivals, all over the world.
In Summer Tree, Tamura once again dismantles the conventions of the trumpet, as is his wont. Now it is alarming and complex, sinister and dark. The title track has opened in a disturbing and peculiar wail, the trumpet arising from this frightening sound environment to transform itself from the unknown to the familiar. There is, though, a mystical facet to the music, arising from the nature of the experimentation, the improvisation and the beautiful playing, all of which create a sense of remoteness.
There is one more factor which adds to and multiplies the effect of spirituality invoked by this music. Pianist-composer Satoko Fujii joins husband Tamura – on vocals in track 3 – for only the second time in her career. Now she is using a broad gamut of non-verbal discourses – howling, screeching and warbling, altogether sounding at times like a lingua franca, alternatively like an unheard-of, unspoken language. This Summer Wind adds further to the feeling of unmitigated tension that is present throughout the album.
Sometimes the music is discovered in some very murky environments, but it is always superbly fashioned and distinguished by its perception and its perils. It is filled with astonishments, is highly sensitive and exudes passion and excitement. Summer Tree is a truly astounding and outstanding Avant-garde jazz release.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
