Tokyo in F

It is nothing less than risky business to do what American saxophonist Ken Field successfully accomplishes here. Imagine the scenario: Field is visiting Japan, and does not speak Japanese. He has little experience with free (or as he calls it, "unstructured") improvisation. He travels in the pouring rain to play with three musicians whom he has never met and whose only means of communication is the music. The only rule is that they begin in the key of F (in deference to the club's name: In F). What they produce is nothing short of magical. What might appear at first to be an odd mix (sax, piano, violin, and guitar) produces a special blend of surprisingly original, largely accessible, unusual sounds. It helps that all four performers listen closely to each other. It also helps that they are as good as they are. They resist the temptation to take the easy way out and scorch the earth, instead opting for a melodic, chamber-like fusion that burns intensely with some remarkable collective soloing. Katsui Yuji is a splendid violinist who eschews idiomatic phrases for his own angular style. He blows pretty, too, but like the rest of the quartet, he resists clichés. Shimizu Kazuto has absorbed radical technique, but he uses it sparingly and effectively, while Kidu Natsuki bounces, jabs, and darts with his guitar. Ken Field keeps his tone silky while he punches out short spurts of notes. Whether on flute or alto, his experiment with free improv is an unmitigated success and a good example of sounds that surprise.