Search - Miles Okazaki :: Generations

Visual artists and musicians often use similar techniques to create their art. No one illustrates that confluence better than the Seattle-born, Brooklyn-based guitarist Miles Okazaki, who, in a few years, has burst on the scene with a musical approach that is rooted and revolutionary in its sophistication and simplicity, both of which are on full display on his amazing Sunnyside debut, Generations. Joining Okazaki on this impressive label debut are alto saxophonists Miguel Zenón, David Binney, and Christof Knoche; vocalist Jen Shyu, drummer Dan Weiss, and bassist Jon Flaugher, a group of musicians that has been working together for over ten years. Written, produced and illustrated by Okazaki, whose simmering guitar sound is a unique blend of traditional, unprocessed tone and futuristic musical vocabulary, the nine tracks weave and breathe with a melodic, rhythmic and harmonic character much in the way an artist paints with a brushstroke.

This recording was made in a single continuous take, in order to present the material as it might be heard in a live setting. As a result, there are no breaks between tracks, Okazaki writes in the CD liner notes.

The goal of this unusual approach to recording is to capture the energy and authenticity of live performance, while maintaining the high sonic quality of the studio. The result is a syncretic and sophisticated wall of swinging sound, laced with the triple-threat saxophonics of Zenon, Binney and Knoche; Shyu s Icarusian vocals, Flaugher s anchor-sure basslines, Weiss lickety-split drumming, and Okazaki s point-of-departure textured expressions: from the complex, swing-at-speed-of sound pace of Sun, Generations and the anthemic Moon, to the funereal Latinesque tinges of Fractal, and Waves; the cosmic jam vibe of Ghosts, and Weiss volcanic drumming on Break. Okazaki constructs a sound-world that breathes instead of dictates, allowing the musicians to paint their own sonic stories on his compositional canvas.