Gato Libre
Libra, 2020, CD
Instrument: Instrumental
Issue: 26.3
Jazz Ruler Type: Avant Garde
Performance: 4
Sound: 3
Score: 76
O’s Notes: This iteration of Gato Libre features the fifteen-year-old, Japanese, free-fusion band as a trio, with Natsuki Tamura (t), Satoko Fujii (accordion) and Yasuko Kaneko (tb). The music is less aggressive than many of the past efforts, instead leaning on mysterious, blue ballads with rich tones all the way around, as the musicians play only the essential notes. The 8 songs of Koneko (cat in Japanese) are named for different types of cats and the music takes on those characteristics, strolling with the independence of the canine species.
Publicist: Braithwaite & Katz