Itadakimasu: Improvised Duets 1994-2000

Albums like this one have inherent qualities that also turn into their shortcomings. Itadakimasu features Brett Larner, one of the leading koto players in avant-garde music, in ten duets with as many musicians. Therefore, his adaptability and range of expression is very well-illustrated. On the other hand, the CD lacks a bit of cohesion, the same cohesion that gave his trio album, Indistancing (with Philip Gelb and Shoko Hikage), such strength of evocation. Still, Larner's recordings are not numerous and this one should not be overlooked. These duets were performed between 1994 and 2000 in various locations. They put the kotoist head to head with a wide array of improvisers, from his teacher, Anthony Braxton, and Italian saxophonist Gianni Gebbia, to electronic artists G.E. Stinson and Samm Bennett. Jim O'Rourke performs on hurdy-gurdy. Neo-tonal guitarists Taku Sugimoto and Loren Mazzacane Connors also shared the stage with the ancestral Japanese instrument. Some encounters turned out very nice: Larner matched the plaintive tone of O'Rourke's instrument, the electricity in Connors' playing, and the familiar techniques of Braxton. But Gebbia's jazzier playing clearly destabilized him, and the Stinson track cuts almost too abruptly to be natural. The album closes on a warm improv with Gino Robair, both musicians playing on the same koto. Not as important as Indistancing or the Soemon CD, Itadakimasu remains an interesting effort. Recommended if one can handle the photographs of Tibetan meat markets. ~ François Couture, Rovi