Tokyo Jazz Nights at Body & Soul
The Body & Soul jazz club represents the pinnacle of Japanese jazz. Established in 1974 and located in Shibuya, Tokyo, the club has maintained its reputation through decades of beautiful music and intimate ambience. Over the past fifty years, audiences have witnessed firsthand the canonical evolution of jazz—from the end of the hard-bop era, to avant-garde, to fusion, to the emerging voices of tomorrow. When DownBeat recognized it as one of the top venues for jazz in Japan, they acknowledged what musicians and serious listeners have known for decades: Body & Soul is the real deal.
Body & Soul is known for hosting local sensations and international stars alike. Fantastic local artists like trombonist and arranger Itsume Komano; innovative trumpeter Shinpei Ruike; hard-bop masters Uniquely 5; the experimental genius of Kazuhiro Takemoto and his Real Departure Octet; and Hironori Suzuki’s Electric BeBoplicity Band bring life and color to the stage. With a local scene so vibrant, it is hard not to fall in love with the culture.
American-born saxophone superstar Patrick Bartley Jr. knows this well. While most musicians touring Japan are simply passing through, Bartley actually moved there. As a lifelong lover of Japanese culture, with a childhood rooted in anime like Dragon Ball Z and a deep appreciation for its music and assimilation of the Black American art form of jazz, it was a no-brainer for Bartley to relocate. After gaining worldwide recognition from his pedagogical solo on a viral recording of the tune “After You’ve Gone” with Emmet Cohen, Bartley’s career has soared to new heights. Now, he leads Dreamweaver, a Tokyo-based ensemble featuring some of the city’s hottest players, and directs the J-MUSIC Ensemble, which recontextualizes video game and anime compositions within the jazz idiom.
Available to stream here on Oh! Jazz in premium Dolby 5.1 surround sound is one of Patrick Bartley Jr.’s most electric performances yet. Leading his band Dreamweaver, Bartley debuts an entire album worth of new compositions. Beginning with a tune entitled “This Is Our Home,” featuring a beautiful piano intro from the masterful Takafumi Suenaga, the audience is introduced to the full dynamic range of the band. On bass, Yuji Ito is utterly locked in, as is the effortless and immovable Hiroshi Kimura on drums. In fact, the whole band is truly flawless in their sense of time. The second composition, entitled “Familiar Road,” is based on the soundtrack from a popular video game, Fire Emblem. This track features Bartley, and he uses his instrument to voice every feeling from a whisper up to a soulful cry. The third track, “Island People,” is a love letter to Bartley’s own heritage in the Caribbean Islands, as well as his newfound island home, Japan. The beat is infectious, and featured guitarist May Inoue gets a chance to show off his technical
virtuosity and tasteful phrasing. On this track, Patrick’s playing is just supremely expressive. Forget about his clear mastery of the altissimo range and melodic genius. He seems to have achieved the goal that every musician covets: to remove the horn from the equation, and have a direct pathway of thoughts and emotions into sound. The entire performance was sublime, and in the interest of leaving some mystery, I encourage any reader to stream it here on Oh! Jazz.
by Theo Bookey