November 24, 2004
No Border Sessions
Kichijoji Star Pine's Café
Fernando Kabusacki: guitar, samples
Yasuhiro Yoshigaki: drums
Natsuki Kido: guitar, samples
Yuji Katsui: violin
Yumiko Ohno: bass
Kumiko Takara: vibraphone, marimba, percussion
Taisei Aoki—trombone, keyboards, bass, pianica
Sugar: electric guitar
An unusual evening of different and unusual combos--of people, instruments, concepts and styles—the No Border sessions of cutting-edge music was a delight. Many electronics-based groups leave a cold feeling lingering in the air, relying on clever electronic stunts, but these groups merged their technological fiddling into a richly acoustic feeling to create vibrant, engaging music.
The evening started with a vibraphone, bass and guitar trio. Leader Kido, on guitar, kept a lively ever-shifting eclecticism. With Latin-feel beats, fast tempos, and relaxed atmospherics flowing back and forth, the textured nuance of his group was intriguing. The absence of straight-ahead drums unleashed the three to range through a range of different moods and mixes. Clever, lively and at times, very pretty, their freshness was invigorating.
Next up was multi-instrumentalist Taisei Aoki. His tightly arranged, almost orchestral-minded compositions were not held back from great grooves. "November 8" was a fast, throbbing slice of raw energy that let everyone jam with pleasure. Yoshigaki's drumming kept the tunes moving forward with taut efficiency and Aoki was incapable of missing a note on bass, keyboards, trombone or any of the other instruments he kept at hand.
Argentenian guitarist and sampling genius, Kabusacki then took over the stage for a gradually expanding set of combinations that added musicians with each tune, until the stage, and the music's soundscape, was packed full. Kabusacki specializes in free-form jams that filter through his guitar and array of sampling gadgets. Though many musicians fumble around with the technology, Kabusacki created a fluent holism with the machines and musicians. His music was deeply improvisational, and very human for that. With bits and pieces of Dixieland, blues, atonality and pure sonic textures, it all flowed together with a youthful enthusiasm. Their final two jams were brilliant.
The future of improvised music often seems better at a distance than up close, but quite the reverse was the case here. Dedicated passionately to spontaneity as an important principle in creating vibrant music, these musicians brought tremendous skill to the process of interacting musically. More startling perhaps is that they did it with warmth, humor and an unending sense of fun. Hopefully, Kabusacki will come back from Buenos Aires again soon to join with these local talents for more sessions very soon.
