Search - Masashi Harada :: Obliteration at the End of Multiplication

Leo's given us some very fine discs of late . . .

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 03/08/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

". . . this being one of the finest. For example, there's the spectacular John Wolf Brennan, Peggy Lee, Dylan van der Schyff disc Zero Heroes. And the Actis Band's Garibaldi. Not to mention The Ventriloquist by the inimitable Ivo Perelman, Time Jumps -- Space Cracks by John Wolf Brennan and Daniel Patumi, and Phoenix: Live in Salzburg and Zurich by Pago Libre.This trio features two players new to me--percussionist/vocalist/leader Masashi Harada and guitarist Philip Tomasic--and one old hand, whose work I'm finally finding proper hermeneutical access to, violist Mat Maneri.Definitely operating in the hinterlands of modern jazz, a place occupied by some of the smarter improvisers, such as bassist Joelle Leandre, trumpeter and saxist Joe McPhee, the above-mentioned pianist John Wolf Brennan, and guitarist Burkhard Stangl, this trio purveys deconstructed modernist jazz of the highest order. Admittedly, it may take some getting used to (esp. the "eartheal," gender-bustin' vocals of leader Masashi Harada), but I recommend sticking with it. For those of you on to Brennan, Leandre, McPhee, and other "out" postmodernist jazz masters, this disc will present few problems and many rewards. For the neophyte, it might be a little "disc"-concerting. Very highly recommended."