By Michael Lara
Tokyo Bureau Chief
Tokyo, Japan
Hiroyuki Yokota
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You must be Stanley, I’m Blanche…Oh, you’re Stella’s sister?...Yes…How are yuh? Where’s the little woman?...In the bathroom…You want a shot?...No, I rarely touch it…Well, there’s some people rarely touch it, but it touches them often.
This ever classic exchange between Vivian Leigh and Marlon Brando in Elia Kazan’s A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) forever holds its raw freshness and sultry body, and is a fitting backdrop for blues or jazz compositions created with strong collaborative components.
While sixty years have gone by since the film debuted, one quartet from Japan could provide music for its next screening, no matter where, courtesy of Yokota Hiroyuki’s Quartet Gaudav. One could only imagine that the late Alex North, who provided the original music for this cinematic gem, would be keen to see these four superb musicians engage their collective talents and passions to unfurl their own interpretations.
With Hiroyuki Yokota (sax), Hideaki Hori (piano), Noboru Ando (bass) and Kazuaki Yokoyama (drums), their latest 10-track creation provides both the music and the atmosphere that could brilliantly mirror the timeless, visceral beauty of this classic film.
Opening with “We’re Young Lions,” the hustle and bustle of urban nightlife, as it nears midnight, commences, jangling freely about, with an urgent sense of vitality as the drinks are poured and cigarettes are lit in anticipation. Just as the last cymbal crash echoes, a smooth cascading piano follows in “Omotesando-One Piece” that meanders and swirls, helping to keep momentum as conversations’ volumes increase and inhibitions decrease. Flowing into a warm sax-led, bass-buttoned “Arendt’s Love,” as both smiles and body language loosen up.
Upon hearing the walking “Run, Melos,” one knows it’s time for round two, as its peppering sax and swing bass that quickens your thirst, followed by the cozy quiet calm of “Sora ha Umi no Mono.” Its clean finish, the 1-2-3-4 warm bass line, complimented in a balance way of “Ao no Midori to Midori no Ao,” is hypnotic.
Alas, one finds their glass amazingly empty again when “Ask” demands another round, with its rousing rumbling, quick tempo, as the collaborations between these four give you a tequila shot to the senses. The tender opening of “Owaranaide Galois” builds into a 1-2, 1-2, 1-2 bass-fed feed that crashes firmly into the slinking rum punch of “Always There,” and helps all head out in good company to the awaiting dawn.
Links:
YOKOTA HIROYUKI QUARTET "GAUDAV"
www.gauchedavinci.com
YOKOTA HIROYUKI TRIO "ETHNIC MINORITY"
www.gauchedavinci.com/ethnicminority
