snobb
Kazutoki Umezu is a reed player and a significant figure on the Japanese jazz scene. He started his career in the late 1970s, playing with some of the country's most renowned avant-garde jazz artists, but soon switched to a more quirky crossover between free jazz, folk, electronics, and avant-rock. At the peak of his career, in the mid-90s, he recorded one of the most significant Japanese albums of "new eclectic fusion" - "Eclecticism" (with guitarist Mark Ribot and trombonist Curtis Fowlkes on board among others).
Umezu continued his experimental recordings collaborating with such different artists such as the Japanese brutal avant-rock band, Acid Mothers Temple, and Russian (and Russia-based) unorthodox bassist Vladimir Volkov as well as running his own KIKI Band. "KabuOngyoku", released in 2015, is one of Kazutoki's more left-field albums. He runs a reeds-only quartet here playing a quirky mix of avant-garde jazz and folk from all around the world. As a result, it often sounds like a wedding and funeral band from a parallel world.
The opener "KabuOngyoku", is a drunk klezmer with a touch of Japanese folk. "Tohoku" recalls a Finnish folk song and contains Japanese vocals. "Ridge of Miranda" sounds like a tune from a movie from the 70s, cinematic and theatrically melancholic. "Geyser" is an angular hyperbolized waltz, fitting well for imaginary ballet. Another waltz-like piece, "Flotage", sounds a bit like a minimalist version of Charlie Haden's Liberation Orchestra song from the 70s. On "Station" the quartet combines a waltz-like rhythm with the drunk band's free brass arrangements and klezmer spirit.
"Fey O" starts as a funeral march but continues in a funny danceable manner. "Western Picaro" is a tune from a Western movie. As the title says, "Waltzing Matilda" is a waltz, with a childish-like Japanese vocal (in moments it recalls Soviet-times pioneer songs from Russian cartoons). The closer "Tohoku March" is a true march, just swinging a bit.
In all, not an unexpected album for Umezu, it can be recommended for his musical die-hard fans only.