Tokyo, Japan - JazzTokyo - Okuden | Walerian Shipp Parker Drake
"His latest work is so fulfilling that I want to list it as the best album of the year ā¦ researcher of Indian and Japanese culture ... an understanding of Japanese artworks that value the beauty of blank spaceā¦ Walerian composes songs filled with respect and deep understanding of Asian culture, especially Japanese paintings, films and musicā¦"
"Walerian's saxophone and bass clarinet drift in the dark, with a hint of bluesā¦ wood-based sound like the sound effects used in kabuki and old Japanese movies."
"Shipp, Drake, Parker are familiar with his aesthetic sense, and the good compatibility and mutual trust of the four people have led to the success of this workā¦"
Mat Walerian's "Okuden" series 4th (ESP). This is an album by the Okuden Quartet, led by Mat Walerian, a lead player from Poland born in 1984, and his fourth leader work released on the US ESP label. I was at a loss as to which one to pick first among the albums from Poland, a country that boasts a particularly prominent jazz culture in Central Europe. His latest work is so fulfilling that I want to list it as the best album of the year, so I decided to choose his album regardless of its name recognition.
Walerian's co-stars include three influential figures who have made their names in the history of American free jazz. Those who know them well may be surprised to find that the three former David S. Ware co-stars are now playing with an almost unknown Polish lead player. Articles about Mat Walerian's albums often mention David S. Ware as the name of his co-star. They may have similarities, but they are almost a different type of lead player.
Mat is a researcher of Indian and Japanese culture, an understanding of Japanese artworks that value the beauty of blank space, and can be imagined as a person who tries to reflect that beauty in his own work. Matthew Shipp (p), Hamid Drake (ds), William Parker (b), are familiar with his aesthetic sense, and the good compatibility and mutual trust of the four people have led to the success of this work. Walerian's saxophone and bass clarinet drift in the dark, with a hint of blues. There may be a lot of heavy songs, but it's an album that I want you to listen to carefully.
The first song, "The Forest Council," which lasts more than 18 minutes, begins with a wood-based sound like the sound effects used in kabuki and old Japanese movies, followed by a heavy, roaring bass clang sound that reminds me of it. It was the old Western castles and forests shrouded in darkness. The sound of plucking the strings inside the piano and the bass sound of the biwa strumming lively. The next track, Thelonious Forever, despite its title, at first reminds us of the interaction between George Adams (ts) and Don Pullen (p). The trilogy that follows, Magic World, alternates between heaviness and lightness. The terrifying sounds of the bass clad are used humorously, and in Part 3 of the suite, you can feel the best groove of this work, but before long, the dimness that this quartet is good at sweeps over.
Even in the second half of Sir Denis, the atmosphere does not change, and although the four members' attitude is thorough, Hamid Drake's cymbals and Matthew Shipp's piano that can be heard as if the sun is shining through the clouds are beautiful and easy-going. The contrast with the soprano clarinet is interesting. Where William Parker's intense but poetic performance stands out even more in Business With William, the structure leading to the final song Lesson II, which solemnly begins, is splendid. Parker's shakuhachi and Walerian's flute clash violently before Parker reappears with his bass, strumming wildly.
As with the first song of this work, the four of them are not just playing a vaguely Japanese sound on this final song. Walerian composes songs filled with respect and deep understanding of Asian culture, especially Japanese paintings, films and music. I was surprised by the wonderful sense of using this for the opening and closing of the album, and I was impressed by the appearance of the other three performing improvisational performances as if they were close to Walerian's thoughts and challenged.
Well, how did Mat Walerian, who was active in Poland, get to know the important figures of the American avant-garde jazz world and come to sign with the ESP label in 2015? I'm curious about the reason, but anyway, according to information on the internet, he basically learned his current playing ability by self-study. He also seems to have studied Japanese music somewhere in Poland. The influence of Asian culture, including that of Japan, is strong in any of the four albums he has released, confirming this information.
He took lessons from Hamid Drake in 2008 and developed a relationship with him before meeting Matthew Shipp and getting the chance to work with them. Two people began to appear in regular concerts of the music project "Okuden Music" that he launched in the city of Torun. It was also released as a second album.
I can't find any materials that explain in detail why Walerian named the word Okuden to his music projects and quartets, but it means "to be taught a secret (from a teacher to a student)." He may have tried to connect this word with concept sharing in free improvisation. Some US jazz critics describe Okuden as 'inner teaching'. Reminiscent of the world of martial arts, this solemn-sounding word may well fit the atmosphere of the first and last songs of this album.
Finally, I would like to add about the bassist of this work, William Parker. Probably because he seems to be a great understanding of the Walerians.
The Okuden concert was being held in the city of Torun, which is less than three hours away from Warsaw, the capital of Poland. William Parker, an ally of the two, also admired Wallerian. Parker has written the liner notes for two albums, and they exude extraordinary excitement. It's a bit of a paraphrasing, but the words "Walerian's play is reminiscent of Sesshu's brilliant brushstrokes in Japanese paintings. There is a haiku-like narrative and a mysterious charm." will be represented in.
After that, William Parker, who co-starred with Walerian, drew a world full of Japanese emotions, sometimes adding to Walerian's paintings, and listened to his intense play, which can be felt as his true value. Praises abound for the other three, but when the bassist comes on board, you can't help but be overwhelmed by his playing. And this work is not his leader work, but I think it is memorable as an important work.
(William Parker appeared on Wallerian's third album as a member of the trio Toxic with Matthew Shipp before joining the quartet.)
Okuden Quartet / Every Dog Has Its Day But It Doesnāt Matter Because Fat Cat Is Getting Fatter JazzTokyo review available here :
https://jazztokyo.org/reviews/cd-dvd-review/post-58230/
