Jazz Art Sengawa 2010: Day Two

It was a typical day in summer. The weather was sunny and it was great for Club Jazz Byobu. During the daytime, a lot of children hang around the byobu and all enjoyed themselves with it.




Free Session for Improvisation, moderated by Makigami Koichi

At first, I was surprised the venue was pretty crowded. Compared to the past two years, the number of the musicians and the size of the audience were exponentially grew. It was a good sign. Apparently the event became more popular than ever.

At the same time, it also means that the moderator has to have some burdens. Indeed, there were some moments of difficulties but Makigami handled the situations properly. Each performance was for about five minutes and between them, Makigami added comment. He also frequently talked to the audience and tried to keep the atmosphere favorable. It was appropriate and very encouraging indeed.

And I hasten to add there were brightful moments, of course. Besides amateur improvisers, there are some professional musicians participated and it gave some positive effect to the scene.


Samm Bennett

He did a short but nice set with handmade instruments. Having witnessed his solo performance in the past, I was looking forward to the set very much (First I recognized him as a proficient percussionist, so I was somewhat surprised to know his singing so good). And he responded to my expectations by singing magnificiently a number of the Americana songs he penned. He had a style and his singing is pleasant to listen to. Go see him if there's a chance.


Sakata Akira

Besides playing his instruments profusely, the veteran saxophonist rang bells, made hollers and rocked the house pretty hard.

Yagi Michiyo (12 and 16 strings koto) and Jim O'Rourke (guitar) were mostly to reserve themselves in supportive role but Pika (drums) was not. She even occasionally came to the front and sang proficiently. With two extended pieces of ferocious improvisation, they hit the audience to the core and at the end of the performance there was a huge applause.


Kokopelli

Unfortunately, as I rushed to the venue, the set was about to end. The voice-piano-drums trio was basically doing improvisation but the last number was a composition. It was a ballad, and the vocalist Saga Yuki sang about the stars and the skies. Solemn, impressive, and a nice treat to close a long day of the music instinct with life.


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