Akira Sakata, Chikamorachi feat. Masahiko Satoh
Proton Pump

THE REVIEW

The sponsor of this operation has been one of the greatest agitators of the alternative scene in the USA for many years. I'm talking about Jim O'Rourke. The musician originally from Chicago has been living in Tokyo for some time and is now deeply involved in the musical reality of the Land of the Rising Sun. He was the one who pushed for the release of this LP titled "Proton Pump," published by Family Vineyard, which captures the recording of a historic live performance from 2015 at the Pit Inn in Tokyo. On stage, Akira Sakata, a free-jazz saxophonist born in 1945 known for his histrionic style (characterized by his habit of giving vocal performances in the middle of his live shows where he uses his voice literally like a saxophone) and incendiary, performed alongside Chikamorachi (a duo composed of bassist Darin Gray and drummer Chris Corsano) and pianist and composer Masahiko Satoh (1941).

Jim O'Rourke described this event as a unique performance and "the fastest exchange of information I have had the chance to witness in many years." A curious definition but one that finds justification right from the initial beats of the album in hyperbolic avant-jazz musical constructions, supported by a rhythm section that plays in an absolutely unconventional manner. The sounds of Sakata's saxophone and clarinet and Satoh's piano intersect like two birds flying next to each other at dizzying speed, crossing their trajectories but never colliding, because their flight is not the result of programming or study, but something instinctive where that variation which someone might call "error," instead constitutes the miracle of life.

Both formed in the Tokyo jazz music scene during the sixties, Sakata and Satoh are two musicians now known internationally by genre enthusiasts, having collaborated over the years with artists from every corner of the world. The beauty of this concert perhaps lies in this kind of compulsive and avant-garde show of strength, where contemporary jazz in its most expressionist form finds its justification in an environmental context like the metropolitan city of Tokyo. In a world that spins ever faster, there is no longer room for the dear old nocturnal jazz that played in a consoling manner while you passed alone through the streets illuminated by the neon lights of store signs, because these lights now chase each other and almost seem to follow you because they recognize you while you think you are just an indistinct stain in a sea of people.