Four Colors
Satin Doll January 5, 2008
Shinpei Inoue – Flute
Steve Sax – Flute
Rie Akagi – Flute
Yuka Kido- Flute
Masaru Okuyama – Piano
Gregg Lee - Bass
Setsu Fujii - Drums
Four-piece horn combinations are common enough in jazz with saxophones, drums and trombones even, but four flutes together is the rarest of creatures. Four Colors is a marvelous group project that brings together four Tokyo-based flautists to create a lovely, clear and nicely textured expression. The flute players all lead their own groups, and play often around town, so this project is not about ego, but about their mutual love of the flute.
Their first-of-the-year show in January showed how powerfully they believe in the flute's power to make beautiful music. The full-house crowd believed as well. They seemingly knew each and every one of their songs already. The first set showcased several songs from their soon-to-be-released CD. These tunes were excellent, and made everyone hope the CD comes out soon.
Most striking was the four-part tone they create, even though the sound system could never do justice to the four's attention to tonal quality and clarity. Flute players are usually meticulous in the subtleties of the sound of their instrument, but these four players have a feel for taking that tone in new directions, not just having a nice sound. Their jazz hearts make their classical techniques swing and groove with great feeling.
"Smoke Rings and Wine" had a taut funkiness to it, in slow tempo, that brought the rhythm section deep into the groove. Drummer Fujii brought in Latin rhythms from the many Latin bands he plays with.
Lee's measured accents and deeply funk bass kept the sound grounded and rounded. Okuyama's fingers-ful of harmonies set the flutists free to focus on melodies. These three know how to support the flutes without muddying the sound, as might happen when heavy sounds meet delicate ones.
On the standard "Two-Bass Hit," Sacks and Inoue took the melody on two bass flutes, which look something like the huge water pipe under the sink. These bass flutes really rocketed out the tone, propelled by the rhythms, and adding a nice grittiness. The first set then showcased an a capella number with all four flutes together, and the rhythm section sitting out. The interplay and overlay of sounds truly became something more than the sum of its parts. An adaptation of Smetana's "Moldau" from the tone poem musical suite about the Volga River, was a stunningly accomplished jazz-meets-classical gem.
The second set got started with an upbeat version of "Green Dolphin Street" that had the club bouncing along. "Open Door," an original by Sacks, had a bumped-up jazzy groove that gave everyone a chance to open up and jam. It was fascinating to hear each of the four flautists make their statement one after the other. The contrast was excruciatingly lovely. The most beautiful song in the second set, though, was a duet of Akagi and Kido on "When You Wish Upon a Star." They made the song sound like it had always been intended for two flutes all along. Their first CD release will be coming out sometime this year. Don't miss it and their next gig.