An original
08/23/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I first encountered Yosuke Yamashita on Bennie Wallace's excellent album _Brilliant Corners_ (Denon). The distinctiveness of his approach immediately struck me. Like many highly original styles, Yamashita's takes its bearings from unfashionable or less-explored corners of jazz. He synthesizes the idioms of a number of 1940s and '50s bop pianists: Powell, Monk, Cecil Taylor, Mal Waldron most obviously, but I'd also guess Elmo Hope, Sonny Clark, Herbie Nichols & Andrew Hill too. His touch is quicksilverish & precise, but has some wallop; he's decidedly unafraid to step outside conventional harmony or rhythm. He's capable of handling Monk tunes, old chestnuts like "My Ideal", Ravel's "Bolero", & free jazz, without a hint of strain or pastiche. The closest stylistic kin I can think of is Don Pullen. Enough for generalities & influences: what's on the disc? Yamashita's sidemen are the formidable team of Cecil McBee, bass, and Pheeroan akLaff, drums, with Joe Lovano added on 3 tracks. The music is punchy & funky, hammering asymmetrical timesignatures & unusual harmonic movement into results that are improbably catchy & toe-tapping. Lovano uncorks some of his most unfettered playing on record, comparable to his work with Paul Motian. Yamashita's sustained Ayleresque cadenza on "My Grandfather's Clock", the only non-original in the set, is perfectly stunning. This is a fine disc, providing a good introduction to Yamashita's work."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1