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Artist: Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra feat. Lew Tabackin
Album: Last Live in Blue Note Tokyo
Genre: Modern Big Band, Progressive Jazz
Label: Wounded Bird Records
Released: 2011
Quality: FLAC (tracks+.cue)
Tracklist:
01. Lady Liberty (Akiyoshi) - 12:26
02. The Village (Akiyoshi) - 12:21
03. Unrequited Love (Tabackin) - 11:36
04. Hiroko's Delight (Akiyoshi) - 13:09
05. Chasing After Love (Akiyoshi) - 10:34
06. Hope (Akiyoshi) - 5:22
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Personnel:
Toshiko Akiyoshi - piano, conductor
Lew Tabackin - tenor saxophone, flute
Mike Ponella, John Eckert, Jim O'Connor, Jim Rotondi - trumpets
Dan Levine, Steve Armour, Pat Hallaran - trombones
Tim Newman - bass trombone
Dave Pietro, Jim Snidero - alto saxophone, flute
Tom Christensen - tenor saxophone, flute, soprano saxophone
Scott Robinson - baritone saxophone, soprano saxophone
Paul Gill - bass
Andy Watson - drums
Terumasa Hino - trumpet
Toshiko Akiyoshi kept her jazz orchestra going for three decades before finally disbanding it at the end of 2003. Last Live in Blue Note Tokyo, recorded over two nights in November 2003, contains some of the band's final performances. Her playful "Lady Liberty" comes from Akiyoshi's 1986 "Liberty Suite," written in honor of the centennial of the Statue of Liberty. Her bustling "The Village" is a multifaceted extended work, including her infectious introduction on piano, Lew Tabackin's explosive tenor sax solo, and a conversational muted trombone solo in the mold of Tricky Sam Nanton. Tabackin's "Unrequited Love" is an impressive Far Eastern showcase for his magical flute. Akiyoshi's hard-charging bop vehicle "Chasing After Love" is a superb variation on the standard "Lover," featuring Tabackin's boisterous tenor. If Last Live in Blue Note Tokyo ends up being Toshiko Akiyoshi's final documentation of her orchestra, it will easily rank as one of the best recordings by a modern big band of its era.
Review by Ken Dryden