YOSUKE YAMASHITA 山下洋輔 — Inner Space (with Adelhard Roidinger) (review)

YOSUKE YAMASHITA 山下洋輔 — Inner Space (with Adelhard Roidinger) album cover Album · 1977 · Avant-Garde Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
snobb
Japanese pianist Yosuke Yamashita built his name as one of the country's avant-garde jazz leader with his bass-less trio founded still in 1969 (with drummer Takeo Moriyama and tenorist Seiichi Nakamura,in 1973 Nakamura has been changed by alto sax player Akira Sakata). Early-mid 70s were all years of trio's fame documented by representative collection of studio and live albums, all containing high energy fast and tight strongly improvisation music.

Year 1977 was a transitional for Yosuke, when he disbanded the trio and started playing in different new formats, from solo to combo with members of Art Ensemble of Chicago."Inner Space" is a small album, coming from that time and it evidences quite unusual for Yosuke music - four duets with groovy acoustic Austrian bassist Adelhard Roidinger.

From very first seconds it becomes obvious that you're listening to different Yosuke album - airy,almost mellow and dreamy tunes would fit well on one of ECM albums of the time. Still sound is quite different from what is known by "ECM sound" - "Inner Space" has warm deep acoustic sound more usual for Japanese Three Blind Mice audiophile label.

By it's atmosphere album reminds some other transitional albums of the era, when duo combines two quite different artists, better example is Archie Shepp and NHO Pedersen's "Looking At Bird", recorded and released in 1980. There on "...Bird" one could hear advanced Shepp's sax soloing contrasting with extremely earthed Pedersen straight bass. Here on "Inner Space" Yosuke plays Cecil Taylor-kind of piano improvisations framed by almost hard-boppish Roidinger bass line. Surprisingly,in both cases what sound suspicious on paper works well in real life.

It took another decade for Yamashita to form his new trio (this time - with Americans bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Pheeroan AkLaff) - so-called New York Trio, which bring him popularity in States at last. "Inner Space" stays Yosuke's most mellow album coming from his early period (late 60s' - 70s), and one of his most beautiful one.
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