The intensity and audacity of this disc does not cease to amaze. "How long can he go on?" is a question that comes to mind as tenor saxophonist Junji continues and reiterates his altissimo flights.
The series of 17 improvisations recorded live in Tokyo at Knuttel House over a few dates from October 2009 until June 2010 starts with an incredibly high-pitched track, a whistle-like introduction. It is followed by a richer-toned, slightly lower-pitched piece, but still way up on the tenor's range, a long, flowing blow with saw-edged overtones. The series continues getting slightly lower and more rounded in tone, as a consequence, but always the aesthetic favors the long blow and the spinning lines of solo sax, with altissimo virtuosity the featured expressionism.
At track 5 Junji varies the game with long punctuations of silence, but also dips lower down the horn at times, maintaining a bright, altissimo edge to the piece. He begins to more fully explore the overtones of the altissimo in track 6 and elaborates on these, alternating with lower tones and the modulation back and forth from high to low in the space of microseconds from track 7 onward, adding speedy flights of quickly fingered passages, slap-tonguing, growling, squeaks, squawks and full-voiced tenor. The Japanese free jazz tenor sax man even gets somewhat lyrical and romantic in track 14 where the playing sounds more like a voice and a resonating violin or the traditional stringed instruments of that part of the world. Track 16 is minimalist as it incorporates near-silent playing, an exercise in soft, high register playing.
While staking out new ground in the expressionism of the playing here, the whole set reminds one of the kind of thing Evan Parker — one of Junji's inspirations — has done, but also of the past masters of the tenor who can speak through it in emotionally-charged, and technically fascinating ways.
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