Kaoru Abe, Motoharu Yoshizawa, Toshinori Kondo, Derek Bailey - Aida's Call

Kaoru Abe: alto saxophone
Motoharu Yoshizawa: bass
Toshinori Kondo: trumpet
Derek Bailey: guitar

Review

by Skip Jansen

This 1978 session saw three leading figures of the Japanese free improvisation scene in collaboration with the godfather of British improvised music, Derek Bailey. The guitarist is at home in the highly abstract rapid-fire ad-hoc setting with trumpeter Toshinoro Kondo, bassist Motoharu Yoshizawa, and saxophonist Kaoru Abe, the latter in fact the outstanding player of the quartet through the sheer force with which he plays. The recording is let down somewhat by poor recording quality -- but nonetheless is a vital and historical date for Derek Bailey, who worked with all the players in duo settings on other occasions -- but rarely with three of the Japanese avant-garde's finest musicians.

1978 AIDA'S CALL