The amazing
Alan Silva is currently touring Japan, and in addition to trio shows with guitarist Takuo Tanikawa and drummer Shota Koyama, on August 26 and 27 he'll be conducting a Japanese edition of his legendary free jazz big band, the
Celestrial Communication Orchestra.
Mark Rappaport and Mike Kubeck have selected an incredible lineup that transcends the various "cliques" that characterize the Tokyo jazz scene. The personnel will slightly vary over the two evenings. Featured on the 26th are TWO tubas -- Messrs. Sekijima and Takaoka are the premier tubists in Japan, and together they may very well blow out the floor -- and on tenor saxophone, the great Tetsuro Kawashima, in a rare return to free jazz territory. The exciting young drummer Tatsuhisa Yamamoto will also be on hand. On the 27th Tatsuhisa will hand over his sticks to my favorite Tokyo drummer, Tamaya Honda, while the two tuba players will be replaced by...hyper-violinist Keisuke Ota! And Kawashima-san will be replaced by the legendary free jazz saxophonist Naohiro Kawashita.
The rest of the band will be playing both nights. This will be a rare opportunity to see, for example, the great altoists Akira Sakata and Kazutoki Umezu play alongside each other...
I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Mr. Silva last year at Instal 08 in Glasgow, but the gig was so loud neither of us could hear each other!