Sezu

Since Five & now Four, I've been paying more attention to Adrian
Northover — who, among saxophonists, is capable of quite subtle
ensemble contributions, and the latter might be said of Marcello
Magliocchi on drums as well. (Indeed, continuing the remarks begun
around Patrizia Oliva & Factorial, Magliocchi has appeared on twenty
albums for Setola di Maiale, so he's actually been quite prolific....)
On Sezu, another recent release on FMR (recorded in Bristol in March
2017), they're joined by Phil Gibbs on guitar (& banjo for one track),
and Maresuke Okamoto on cello & voice (for one track). Gibbs appearson many FMR releases, especially with Paul Dunmall (such that I'm notsure that I've heard him before without Dunmall), but Okamoto (b.1960,Tokyo) was new to me: The most unusual track of the album is clearly the third, on which the vocals appear, mysterious Japanese in the foreground with various shimmering accompaniment. That track does bring an emotional impact after the intricate openings, but the format (straight solo & accompaniment) is simply not one I tend to enjoy.
Fortunately, the other tracks are more intricate & contrapuntal: Gibbs
brings a dazzling quality on guitar, and has a tendency to dominate
the (front line) sound (as opposed to the more "earthy" Thompson,
above, who weaves in & out...), but Northover can be more assertive &
to the fore on alto sax here as well. Okamoto's cello is the more
novel contribution, however, provoking some unusual & creative
textures early in the program, and forging more characteristic timbral
combinations by the end, especially around noisy bowing, and amid the relatively straightforward yet creative percussion sounds (tapping,rubbing, etc.) from Magliocchi. FMR produces a lot of "chamber jazz,"
much of it rather similar in style & orientation, but Sezu provides
some ear catching innovations around its carefully modulated
collective quartet texture, and so makes a powerful first impression.
In that sense, the vocal track might not be a favorite, but it's
provocative, especially on first hearing, changing the way the quartet
interaction is perceived — even as the vocals never return. (The
resulting stance is a mix of striving & poise....) I've yet to be
especially interested by the more soloistic Japanese productions, or
by those oriented on (often delicate) pianism, so Sezu ("Without" in
Japanese) is a welcome opportunity to hear a Japanese instrumentalist in a more polyphonic (yet still intense) improvisatory setting. More is clearly possible from such a setting....
Todd McComb's Jazz Thoughts
www.medieval.org/music/jazz/