Gato libre is Spanish for “free cat,” and as jazz masters are colloquially called ‘cats,’ this title couldn’t be more apt for a combo led by trumpeter, composer and bandleader Natsuki Tamura. Not only has he made or been a part of inspired records that break free of jazz’s conventions, but recently he’s even made records that looks at new ways of making sound, period.
But Gato Libre is a long-running project of his and what promises to be Tamura’s most prolific year yet in 2022, there is a new, ninth album from that combo.
Sleeping Cat is the name of this one, with Tamura on trumpet and his wife Satoko Fujii at his side playing accordion, as is usual for this project. Yasuko Kaneko returns at trombone for the third album in a row, maintaining a stable lineup that was rocked by a couple of passings in the 2010s. But no challenge is too large Tamura, including the current one whereby Kaneko recorded her parts remotely in a different studio in another part of Japan. That’s a tall order for most any group that relies heavily on group improvisation, but these are not even ‘ordinary’ improvisational musicians. An exchange of files with a set of instructions and it was enough to fool anyone that they weren’t in the same room when recording this. Throughout listening to these recordings, I often forgot about that myself.
Through all the line-up and configuration changes, Gato Libre has never really been about jazz; it’s folk music with an open mind. Like, for instance, when Kaneko is reacting to every move Tamura makes on “Running Cat,” following closely behind. The trumpeter leaves behind these small cracks for the trombone to jump in, it’s as if he could anticipate right where she’d jump in.
Tamura’s unfailing wit is the first side of him you hear on the title song opening with both horns resembling the sound of a cat making growls and yawns. Meanwhile, Fujii’s accordion balances out the coarse murmurs. The regular resonance of the trumpet eventually emerges with the trombone in spurts, but the mischief never leaves.
Things get a little more somber for “Walking Cat,” where you only occasionally hear all three play together, preferring to tactfully pair off and even solo (Fujii’s accordion providing the perfect chordal backdrop). Over time it sinks in that this understated song was meticulously composed and arranged.
Tamura gobbles up notes like a hungry feline during “Eating Cat,” showing no weakening of his pure technique. Fujii gets extended time alone on the accordion, who plays with all the ardor and thoughtfulness that she applies to the piano.
Kaneko was given the task of starting “Laughing Cat” before anyone else jumps in, and the song ends up involving more three-way interplay than the rest of the program. The great extent that they are listening and reacting to each other within the harmonic framework set out by Tamura is palpable. Even if they weren’t doing so at the same time.
Sleeping Cat is now out and is only available for sale via Bandcamp.
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