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Yasuhiro Yoshigaki ist eine Schlüsselfigur des Jazz und der experimentellen Musikszene Japans. Als Drummer in Japan und international bekannt durch sein Engagement in Otomo Yoshihide’s New Jazz Orchestra, „Rovo“, „Altered States“, Hiroshi Minami's Go There u.v.a. Seine eigenen Formationen machten ihn über Japan hinaus bekannt (Vincent Atmicus, Emergency! Und Orquesta Nudge! Nudge!). Sein aktuelles Projekt Orquesta Libre, das auch schon vor exakt einem Jahr im P&B zu überzeugen wusste, präsentiert mit 10-köpfigem Ensemble Interpretationen von Standards von Komponisten wie Duke Ellington oder Charles Mingus, aber auch Tunes aus der 60er Pop & Rock-Szene, Filmmusik und Stücke aus dem afro-brasilianischen Repertoire, sowie natürlich japanischen Originals. Spannend! CH

Japanese drummer Yasuhiro Yoshigaki is one of the most influential drummers in the left-off-center alternative music scene in Japan. A close collaborator of sound sculptor Otomo Yoshihide, included in all incarnations of Yoshihide's New Jazz Quintet/ Ensemble/ Orchestra, and member of the groups Emergency! (with Yoshihide), Altered States (with guitarist Uchihashi Kazuhisa), Rovo (with violinist Yuji Katsui, former member of Shibusashirazu Orchestra) and leader of the percussion ensemble Orquesta Nudge! Nudge!.

Yoshigaki is a versatile and resourceful improviser, arranger and composer that can play the trumpet in addition to the drums and percussion, can feel at home with a traditional klezmer band, and enjoy arranging music from musicals, films or pop songs from the Sixties and Seventies. Therefore his new, ten-member Orquesta Libre eclectic repertoire should not be surprising. This horn and percussion ensemble redefines and personifies well known standards and songs in a delightful manner.

Orquesta Libre 'Can't Help Falling In Love' (Suki ni Narazu ni Irarenai)

This album is subtitled Orquesta Libre Plays Standards Instrumental Version. The arrangements contrast the horn section with the rhythm section and usually emphasize one or two horn above the other instruments, thus creating a poignant and colorful choir of colors, shades and emotions. These carefully structured arrangements are interspersed with eccentric comments by the musicians, who are not afraod to add a sudden noisy percussive sound, or screaming blows to the tight and powerful interplay.

The choice of covers is indeed eclectic. An energetic arrangement of Argentinian tango master Carlos Gardel, a driving cover of Deep Purple's early hit, "Hush," where the horns replace the role of Jon Lord's Hammond organ and guitarist Motomu Shiiya compete's with Ritchie Blackmore's guitar pyrotechnics and speed, and a relaxed, percussion-laden, cover of Jimi Hendrix' "Purple Haze," again with an impressive subtle guitar work of Shiiya.

The arrangements of Burt Bacharach's "I Say A Little Prayer" and "Close To You" stress the shiny optimism of Bacharach songs, the sophisticated rhythmic structure—and its captivating momentum on the first song—and the rich and lush spectrum of polyphonic voices of the horn section, arranged beautifully on the latter song. The arrangement ofJerry Herman's song "Hello Dolly," identified with Louis Armstrong, takes this song to the early days of jazz, and highlights Takao Watanabe's trumpet in a playful duel with the banjo of Shiiya, before the Orquesta Libre joins in a New Orleans-Dixieland celebration. Ennio Morricone's cinematic "Le Clan Des Siciliens}} demonstrates how the rhythmic section—especially the vibes of Kumiko Takara/Massimo Pupillo/Paal Nilssen-Love and the bass of Masato Suzuki—set the atmosphere and the tension of this composition. The most ambitious arrangement is of the title song, recorded by Elvis Presley and many others. This cover strips this song of its original saccharine layers and exposes the inner architecture of the rhythmic elements and the infectious melody and harmony. (All about Jazz)