Search - Otomo Yoshihide :: Flutter

Beautiful stuff

Allan MacInnis | Vancouver | 06/24/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is as jazzy as I've heard Otomo Yoshihide get. Nevermind that a couple of the tracks are by Dolphy -- this reminds me more of Ornette Coleman circa 1968, passionate, dark, and challenging. Some other reviewer makes a glib remark to the effect of "What's that noise;" he's referring to Sachiko M. of Ground Zero, who provides a sine wave drone on a few of the compositions. Admittedly, the high pitched tones stand out a little too much on the first cut, seem more of a distraction than a compliment -- but I guess Otomo wasn't fully prepared to leave the realm of noise entirely behind him here. It's a great disc anyhow; fans of Ground-Zero will love it, but also fans of more "conventional" free jazz. Tsugami Kenta, on alto sax, and Kikuchi Naruyoshi, on tenor sax, are the predominant players here; Otomo's guitar and samplings are more a matter of background support. I assume this is the same Kikuchi who provides the big Ayleresque sounds on GROUND ZERO PLAYS STANDARDS -- which is essential stuff from Otomo, if you don't know it. FLUTTER will make any fans of avant jazz happy."