Bild på Arashi + Signe Emmeluth

Arashi + Signe Emmeluth

Akira Sakata grew up in Hiroshima, trained as a marine biologist and first heard jazz on shortwave radio. Since the 1970s he has been one of Japanese free jazz’s heavyweights. Onstage he might suddenly put down his alto saxophone and make sounds into the microphone with his voice, as funny as it is musical. He has also invented a language of his own, which he uses in his books and as an actor.

Arashi means “storm”. The trio of Sakata, bassist Johan Berthling and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love debuted at Molde Jazzfestival in 2013 and went into the studio a few days later to record their first album. Berthling comes from Fire!, among others, and runs the label Häpna. Nilssen-Love has played with Peter Brötzmann and in The Thing, and appears on more than 260 albums. On the record Tokuzo, drummer Takeo Moriyama joins the trio for double drums.

Now the band is joined by saxophonist Signe Emmeluth, known for an uncompromising approach and a high-energy attack. Two saxophones, double bass and drums, with no piano or guitar to hold it together. The music is improvised, and nobody knows in advance where it’s headed.

LINEUP

Akira Sakata – alto saxophone, clarinet, voice
Signe Emmeluth – saxophone
Johan Berthling – double bass
Paal Nilssen-Love – drums, percussion

Photo: Frank Schindelbeck